1985 Ford F150 regular cab, 302 (351 originally), 4 speed, 4x4, factory A/C (I think) although I do not have a compressor currently or have anything of it hooked up

I have done some research but have not found the answers I need for my factory AC (? you tell me) truck.

Okay so I decided that it's a little too cold out to not have a working heater in the truck. I pulled the blower motor and found problem 1: There were leaves all over and in the back section where the flap moves to cover up there was about 4 inches of dirt. It looked like potting soil you'd but at Home Depot. So I shop vacced all that I could out of there and now it looks like this:















flap closed





flap open





Back to the right in the hole past where the flap opens to










I also found this. What is it and where does it go?









I'm not sure if the heat will work or not now if I put the blower motor back on but I am waiting on my new PMGR starter (under warranty) to get here to test it out. In the mean time, is this truck a factory A/C truck? I understand that replacing the heater core is a much easier job in a factory A/C truck.









behind the glovebox











Also, how is the heater core hooked up to the coolant? Is this the heater core or is this the unused A/C core? It is right behind where the A/C hose connections are so I'm assuming it is the latter. How would I go about swapping the heater core if need be?
















Thanks for all the help guys, y'all are the absolute best I started out about a year and a half ago with a truck I bought for $800 and an old iPhone I had laying around. It had a rebuild 302 from a 69 torino in the bed and MANY unforeseen problems. But here I am today with a running truck (well it will be again once my new starter gets in) and a huge part of that is due to this forum. Even if I haven't posted too much I have gotten a ton of invaluable information from y'all. I will almost certainly have more questions to come. Here's how she's sitting today on 35s:

 

The above is a body plug. I am not sure exactly where it goes, but I would guess it it goes to plug a hole in the cowl, either up where the wiper linkage is, or down inside somewhere. Hopefully someone knows. This may plug a big opening that is important to seal out cold air so you need to find out.

 

First, glad to help. Second, I'll try to address your questions, but I'm sure to miss some of them.

Yes, I'm pretty sure that is factory A/C. And changing out the heater core is done by removing the glove box lid and then the glove box liner, which gives you access to the cover over the heater core. Pull the screws and the cover and you'll be looking at the core itself.

As for heater hose connections, they run to the engine - one to the water pump and one to the block. Here's a drawing from the master parts catalog:




And the little hose you showed is the A/C drain.

 

See those two black hoses with hose clamps up near the firewall? That's your hot water coming to the heater core and then leaving the heater core. If you want to pull the heater core, you will need to drain the coolant some out of the radiator, CAREFULLY take these hoses off(the heater core has pipes coming through to where the hose clamps clamp on) and then pull the heater core out from the inside.

Your truck is a factory A/C truck.

 

It is definitely a factory A/C truck. You can see the OEM Freon lines to the right of the blower motor. Also, when you look at your glove box, it will be shallow. Only five ir six inches deep. The non A/C trucks had more capacity because the space was available.

 

You need to remove the cowl to see the hole that piece goes into. It is off way to the passenger side and hard to see with the cowl in place.

 

I tend to agree... it looks familiar, and I *think* is the one under the cowl right near the antenna. IIRC it has nothing to do with the HVAC system but everything to do with the channels through which water, snow and air are supposed to flow from the cowl down to the kick panels to the holes behind the wheels exiting to the ground.

 

Yes that appears to be factory air. Now as far as trouble to change the heater core that depends on who you ask. Mine is dealer air, so my heater core sits under the hood. Ive replaced it before and its really not hard. Just unbolt the plenum on the firewall and remove the heater core.

 

Okay thanks guys. Ive got everything hooked up right I think. I'm gonna test everything out once the starter gets here. I think my next thread will be vacuum related as I think that flap is run by vacuum and the only vacuume connection I have hooked up currently is the brake booster haha. Hopefully I'll figure all that out.

 

It is run by a vacuum. The actuator in under the hood on top of the flap. I see the vacuum line in your picture of the glove box. I believe it is the black with white striped one. This should go to your heater control panel.

 

I just recently replaced the heater core in my 1982 F100 with factory A/C. It was way easier than I thought. Just like Gary and others said. Remove the glove box completely. Once you remove the glove box, you will see a cover with 8 bolts holding it on (I think it was 8 bolts). Remove those bolts and the cover will come off. The heater core is just sitting in there. If you have the 2 coolant connections disconnected, the heater core will just slide right out. Pop the new one in, and close it up...

I just use the heat when needed. I didn't connect any of the vacuum lines so when I want heat, I put the blower motor on high, with the slider over to heat, and it's set on defrost. Actually no matter where I put the controls it always puts heat to the windshield. Exactly the way I wanted it to.