heater/ac unit rebuild. HEAT works! need cable help

[flyboy2610]

i use the word "thingy" because when the thingy that is on the mcbobber, and that guy does that stuff, the funky doodad is a thingy that needs to be used when talking about a doodad that results in a doohicky.

OK. Now my brain hurts.

[1971ford]

its not my fault that you dont know how to talk "thingy". just kidding

[basketcase0302]

Ryan,

Thingy and doohicky have been in my vocabulary for many years too!

is there a way i can test my ac compressor to see if it still works after sitting for so long?

Here's where the residential/commercial side of my trade sets me apart from automotive air-conditioning. Hopefully someone else will jump in here.
You have asked a question that I can't answer for sure!

I know the York compressors in our Fords have been used for "on-board" air compressors as well. With this said, I'm assuming a belt could be hooked-up and spin the compressor to check and see if it will still pump?

Testing the clutch on the compressor shouldn't be too hard. I believe you could put a good ground to the compressor and supply 12 volts to the wire that comes from behind the pulley. I would believe it to be a lot easier to test both the clutch and compressor if they were bolted up to the engine.

I do know you'll want a new filter/drier when you put the A/C system back into service for sure, (it's the black round thingy about 3 inch diameter and 12 long with a bracket on it that bolts under the hood). This is yet another standard that when any refrigerant system is opened up the drier is replaced, (as air which has moisture in it is an A/C's worst enemy when put into the gas side of the system).

Hope this helps.

Basketcase/Jeff

[1971ford]

thanks for the reply!
the compressor is still bolted up but with no wire hooked up to the plug coming from it, and with no belt. maybe i can go get a new belt and try testing it.
as for the drier/drier, i have no clue what your talking about. i could go look for it in a bit but i dont remember ever seeing something like that.
thanks!

[1971ford]

my dad went to the junkyard and got a new heater hose valve and a five wire plug thing to plug into the fan control thing. the valve is plastic so it wont rust and you can easily see it opening and closing when you look down it and move the valve.
i also got some foam to replace the defroster foam from a arts/crafts store. i replaced it earlier.

Question:
according to the air conditioner diagram, there should be a yellow wire coming out of the "curcuit braker".
1) is the circuit braker the fuse box?

2) i dont have that color of wire coming from the fuse box. is that because my truck is a 71 and not a 68(or 67,69, i forget.) like the diagram? i dont think the PO would go as far as taking the wire off the fuse because he left most other heater/ac wires there. i need that wire i think because it plugs into a plug that goes to the five wire plug that plugs into the fan control.

thanks for the help! if i get a response today or early tomorrow i can hook it all up hopefully.

[1971ford]

well my dad said it isnt hard to put a new wire in there so well do that tomorrow.
i forgot, when i was at the junkyard, i was sitting in the lobby with a walkie talkie listening to what my dad describes about the trucks there. anyways, i got bored so i started wondering out into the parking lot, when i was a few steps away i heard a loud crash and people yell "crash!" , so i went one more step and saw a brand new cheby with dealer plates still, smashed into a big rock off the side of the road, and a toyota behind it off the road with its whole front smashed in. i missed the crash by about 2 seconds. at least it was a chebby and a toyota and not a bump. i dont think anyone was injured.

And, in the pick n' pull parking lot beside my truck was a green 72' f250 with a little rust and huge stacks in the bed by the cab. when he got in to leave, i noticed he didnt even glance at my truck. he must not of cared about trucks like his. shame on him .

And then i went to vintage ford to pick up a glovebox and domelight cover and i noticed that i should really start carying fordification cards because i could of carded the green truck and i could of carded this really nice 67/68/69(not sure) . it was a stepside ( i know thats not the right name, but i dont know the other name. its something like fleetside right?)
ill get pictures up in a little while. its a nice truck! i wish i had a card with me!

[basketcase0302]

Ryan,

as for the drier/drier, I have no clue what your talking about.

On the 73-79's(dentsides) the drier is bolted up to the drivers side radiator support, (maybe somebody with factory air can jump in here anytime with a pic of this). Gotta have a receiver drier in the system for sure.

Sorry, I don't know about the wiring.

Hopefully someone else will jump in here.

Glad nobody got hurt in the "crash"!

Basketcase

[flyboy2610]

Here's a photo of the receiver/drier. It's function is to remove impurities and moisture from the refrigerant. Most bump had these mounted in front of the radiator next to the condenser (the radiator looking item in the very front of the truck.)

[1971ford]

yep ive got one.
i put the heater/ac back together and im putting the heater hoses/and electricy to it today. so i wont be dealing with a/c just yet. next summer probably. i could start testing stuff and replacing stuff though.
thanks for the picture flyboy

do i have to replace the whole drier assembly thingy or just a filter inside?
thanks

[1971ford]

update: installed!

my dad and i set the heater/ac in the truck and looked at how it would all bolt up. thats when i put a little too much pressure on the vents and they broke throught so i had to take the unit apart again to fix that, to fix, my dad just put in oversized screws, which worked nicely.
we put it back in the cab and we noticed that there was no place to bolt the two small brackets (not the firewall ones) that the unit has up to anything but it they lined up with the bottom of the dash, so we had to drill new wholes in the dash. so we drilled new wholes(worked out nicely) and we mounted the back to the firewall. and then i started splicing wires and my dad ran another wire from the fusebox. and then i got the keys and tuned the fan on and .... it worked!
so we have air flow! but were having trouble with the cables so no heat yet, although i could just manually do it.

question: we hooked the cables up to where we thought they should go and tried moving the levers on the heater/ac controls but they were super hard to move and started bending. so something has to be wrong.
what i know: i know that the correct cable is going through the firewall to the valve. thats pretty much it.

pictures!!!!!!!!!!!

the loose wires are speaker wires.



i still have to clean the wiring up.
ohhhh check out all that glove box space!! im glad the unit has one!

[mljjones67]

lookin good Ryan

[basketcase0302]

Ryan,

That is a good lookin' install!

question: we hooked the cables up to where we thought they should go and tried moving the levers on the heater/ac controls but they were super hard to move and started bending.

One of the first things I had to replace in my bump was the in-dash heater controls, (it had seized up). Try un-hooking the cables from the damper and valve and see if the control levers operate freely with just the cable attached.

Basketcase

[HOWDY69]

we hooked the cables up to where we thought they should go and tried moving the levers on the heater/ac controls but they were super hard to move and started bending. so something has to be wrong.

I just sprayed Heavy Duty Silicone Multi-Use Lubricant in the cables and worked them back and forth while they were disconnected. I also was able to spray the heater/defrost levers behind the control panel.

It works much better now.

[flyboy2610]

If you take the AC unit out again, remove the heater/AC control from the dash and clean it real good. They tend to get pretty gummy. Then lube the cable real well. Hopefully someone can get you a picture of where all the cables are supposed to go.

[1971ford]

when i took out the controls a few weeks ago, i sprayed it with lubricant and put a little lubrican down the cables. it worked much better and still does, but not when i hook the cables up. im pretty darn sure its the cables because some move alot farther than needed and some move not enough when the lever is moved all the way.
thanks for the replies!