Working on junk

[beastep]

You do not ever want to change the climate control blower control module on an 01 Lincoln Towncar. It sucks. And I had to buy one of those cable operated hose clamp tools just to get it done. The tool cost more than the new part. But now its done and I have one of those handy dandy cable operated hose clamp tool thingys.

 

[swampratt]

Tools are nice ..newer cars not so much.
Newer in my mind is anything with electronic fuel injection. except for early Datsun Z cars with FI.

I remember fixing that sort of thing with some bailing wire.. just pull the air mix door one way in the summer and let it go the other way in the winter.
Damned if i would buy something expensive to fix a comfort item like AC .

Those were the days

 

[beastep]

This just made the blower work. I was able to peck on it with a screwdriver when it would quit for a year but finally just quit working. On the firewall behind a valve cover and a heater hose. And now i get to replace the radiator on my focus so...

 

[swampratt]

Focus radiator is packed in there I done 2 focus front ends recently that were crashed, darn things will piss you off after working on way old school stuff.
Yea ya kind of need the blower to spin.
All the relays etc they put on stuff today drives me crazy.
I hate relays.. I do like heavy switches and large gauge wire best.

 

[beastep]

Yeah im sure its going to suck. I agree with you. I dont run relays unless its going to pull a whole lot.

 

[NightShade]

I need to replace some of the stuff on my truck so that the heat blows down to the floor when that is selected and replace the mix door as well. For now I just put a valve in the line that runs to the heater core and shut it off when it's warm. Used to be that the heater core had a valve that would open and close depending on if you want heat or not. Now they just open a plastic door and they warp which makes the AC pretty much worthless unless you are doing 70 on the highway. From what I saw the whole dash has to come out to get to it so I don't care enough to deal with it. I prefer closing the coolant line off anyway since r134a sucks.

And with my wife's health issues not having ac is a major pain. Her body does not regulate her temp correctly and she doesn't sweat when she gets hot so the heat can literally kill her.

 

[swampratt]

many of my cars I bypassed the heater core in the summer time.
Heck i did not even hook up the heater in my 57 last winter. never really got cold enough for long enough.
There were a few brutal days.
I did not know your wife could not regulate her temp .. no sweating.. man that would be miserable.
I was in Arizona for a week and it was 115 in the shade and super dry air.
No sweat on my body as it evaporated instantly and my mouth would dry instantly when I opened it.

I feel for your wife NightShade as I bet she deals with that feeling all the time in the summer here.

 

[NightShade]

Yeah it sucks, we try to keep the house around 70 most of the time. It's life. She has Neurosarcoidosis which causes lots of issues. Part of which is her body temp, she normally runs a little on the cool side temp wise but if she gets hot it really sucks since she also has a myocardial bridge. So basically gets hot and feels like she is having a heart attack. Have to do our best to keep her cool and keep the instant cold packs around whenever we are out. Still have to have ice packs at home from time to time.

Didn't used to be so bad but she started having chest pains three or four years ago and since then it has been and issue.

But talked with my father and he drove truck before he retired about a month ago and they have valves in line to disconnect the heater core from the systems on most trucks already so adding one in even with a vehicle that has good ac probably isn't a bad idea. The only downside is that if the vehicle starts to overheat you can't roll down the windows and turn the heater on to help cool the system a little more. Was pulling a trailer through the mountains in AZ on the way back to OK and was starting to overheat and used that trick once to keep it cool enough to continue.

Been in AZ as well when it was hot. I think it was 120 a couple days. Shot a steel challenge match out there one day when it was hot. This was before I figured out the issue with my truck and it would take 4 or 5 miles of driving before it would start to cool down a little inside but as soon as I would stop that cool was gone again. It's not awful now but if it gets over 100 the system takes a while to cool unless I am on the highway.

 

[swampratt]

I rigged up a hose that sprayed water on the front of my radiator using a windshield washer pump.
I tied it to the washer button on the vehicle and disconnected the regular washer.

You need a big reservoir to make any difference but it does work.. like those spray misters you know.

I also have a summer time radiator coolant mix that is different than my winter time mix.
Thermostat is drilled and it is also tested for proper opening in a pan of water I bring to about 200 degrees while watching the thermostat and the candy thermometer that is in the water.
Or other type temp probe if you have one.

160 T stats I found are full open at 160. 180 begins to open at 180 and full open around 195 and the 195 begins to open around 195.. and full open past 200.
I do not run the 195's any more.
180's or 160's or for some of my vehicles NO T stat in them just a restrictor.

But I do have accurate temp gauges hooked to my vehicles. and I watch them.
100+ the other day coming home from the lake and my 47 dodge stayed under 190F.

 

[beastep]

Im going to guess your truck is a gm product? They are bad about breaking the flap and yes the whole dash usually does have to come out. Which sucks.