Heater Plenum Replacement
Thread Starter
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Laughing Gas
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 940
Likes: 2
From: Morris Plains, NJ
Heater Plenum Replacement
Well, I got the part from www.rangerexplorer.com. Kevin the parts guy there is a real help. He found me the right part, checked it to make sure the blend door was intact, emailed me pictures, dealt with me on the phone at least 10 times, shipped it out special for me, and even included an "ocrap" handle that I needed for no charge. It's a real quality operation down there at Jones Brothers Auto, at leat that's what I think after my parts buying experience. 
Anyway, the point of the thread is this. I know you guys don't reccomend it, but I tried the cheap fix and failed. See my other thread. So I am swapping out the Plenum. Don't try to talk me out of it, the dash is already dangling by itself. I have to try and unbolt the plenum tomorrow. If anyone has any useful suggestions, I would be very appreciative.
Will the heater core need to be disconnected?
Will the AC Evaporator need to be disconnected?
Thanks in advance,
Jim
Anyway, the point of the thread is this. I know you guys don't reccomend it, but I tried the cheap fix and failed. See my other thread. So I am swapping out the Plenum. Don't try to talk me out of it, the dash is already dangling by itself. I have to try and unbolt the plenum tomorrow. If anyone has any useful suggestions, I would be very appreciative.
Will the heater core need to be disconnected?
Will the AC Evaporator need to be disconnected?
Thanks in advance,
Jim
Last edited by PSKSAM2; Sep 15, 2003 at 11:16 PM.
Thread Starter
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Laughing Gas
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 940
Likes: 2
From: Morris Plains, NJ
Heater Plenum Replacement
Old Plenum is out New Plenum is in. It took me last night to get the dash and all off (3 hours in the dark), this afternoon/evening to get the old plenum out, swap the heater core, get the new one in, and start to put the dash back together.
Problems:
1) I confused some bolts. Can anyone help me? I need to know what color the following bolts are that hold the dash in place: The two on the driver's side near the fuse panel
The one on the passenger's side that mirrors that one
The two directly above the steering column, back behind the instrument cluster, under the defrost cover
the one in a similar location on the passenger's side
2) The stud that holds the engine bay side of the plenum got bunged up, I hope I can get it at a Ford Dealer.
-Jim
Problems:
1) I confused some bolts. Can anyone help me? I need to know what color the following bolts are that hold the dash in place: The two on the driver's side near the fuse panel
The one on the passenger's side that mirrors that one
The two directly above the steering column, back behind the instrument cluster, under the defrost cover
the one in a similar location on the passenger's side
2) The stud that holds the engine bay side of the plenum got bunged up, I hope I can get it at a Ford Dealer.
-Jim
Thread Starter
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Laughing Gas
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 940
Likes: 2
From: Morris Plains, NJ
Heater Plenum Replacement
1) Figured out the bolts. One got stuck to the bottom of my magnetic tray. 
So much for a handy tool.
2) Still need to go get the stud.
3) Airbag light came on for a bit and I got really scared. Then I was playing around with the heater controls and noticed a connector that was not plugged in. Yeah, it went into the back of the Passenger Airbag shutoff. Duh. Fixed that light.
4) The fan is only working on Hi. Lo, Med-Lo, and Med-Hi are dead. I am suspecting the resistor network that controls them. It is screwed into the fan housing in the engine bay. It looks like a couple of wire wound resistors or coils and a thermistor. It's all rusted up and dirty. I'll have to clean it off tomorrow and solder the components in and see if I can fix it.
5) I have HEAT AND A/C!!! I haven't ever had this in this truck, the blend door was broken when I bought the truck. In trying to fix it, I broke it such that I couldn't use the entire system. Now I'll be able to see out the window in fogging windshield weather!!
I'm really enjoying replying to myself since everyone must think I'm crazy for trying to replace this. I'll try to post some pics, I've taken a bunch. What I've learned is that the plenum is definitely replaceable. It is a pain in the neck, but with a little perserverance and time it can be replaced. I may type up a procedure for how to do it later in this thread, so that others don't have to trip on every little thing that I did.
-Jim
So much for a handy tool.2) Still need to go get the stud.
3) Airbag light came on for a bit and I got really scared. Then I was playing around with the heater controls and noticed a connector that was not plugged in. Yeah, it went into the back of the Passenger Airbag shutoff. Duh. Fixed that light.
4) The fan is only working on Hi. Lo, Med-Lo, and Med-Hi are dead. I am suspecting the resistor network that controls them. It is screwed into the fan housing in the engine bay. It looks like a couple of wire wound resistors or coils and a thermistor. It's all rusted up and dirty. I'll have to clean it off tomorrow and solder the components in and see if I can fix it.
5) I have HEAT AND A/C!!! I haven't ever had this in this truck, the blend door was broken when I bought the truck. In trying to fix it, I broke it such that I couldn't use the entire system. Now I'll be able to see out the window in fogging windshield weather!!
I'm really enjoying replying to myself since everyone must think I'm crazy for trying to replace this. I'll try to post some pics, I've taken a bunch. What I've learned is that the plenum is definitely replaceable. It is a pain in the neck, but with a little perserverance and time it can be replaced. I may type up a procedure for how to do it later in this thread, so that others don't have to trip on every little thing that I did.
-Jim
Last edited by PSKSAM2; Sep 16, 2003 at 11:05 PM.
Thread Starter
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Laughing Gas
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 940
Likes: 2
From: Morris Plains, NJ
Heater Plenum Replacement
I broke it into a series of smaller jobs. If need be, I can expound on them. You'll need sockets (extensions and universal fittings), screwdrivers, and some patience. And some beer wouldn't hurt either.
Heater Plenum Replacement:
1) Remove Glovebox. There is one nut on the inside that holds the heater plenum in place. It is just below where the glove box is. Unplug the black/white vacuum line connector that is near this nut. You can wait till later, but the dash will make it a pain.
2) Remove Radio/Radio&Vent Bezel. Carefully unplug all the connectors from the 4x4 switch, foglight switch, etc.
3) Remove the Instrument cluster. Be sure to disconnect the battery before you do, because at this point, you are serious, and you probably don't want an airbag in the face. Take off all the panels below the steering column, the instrument cluster bezel, and the steering column cover. Unplug the connectors from the back of the cluster carefully, the circuit material is fragile.
4) Take off the fuse panel cover. (Needed to put something easy in). Unscrew the "ocrap" handles and pop the plastic trim pieces they hold on off. Take the front screw out of the door sill covers so that you can get the bottom trim piece out.
5) Pop off the defroster cover. Black piece of plastic where dash meets windshield.
6) Unbolt the dash. Start with the four nuts that hold the steering column to it. The steering column will now hang down and be a real PITA. Just rest it on the front of the seat. There are two large gold-colored bolts by the fuse panel, one on the passenger's side, and two above the steering column where the winshield meets the dash. There is one black bolt in a similar location on the passenger's side. There are two more smaller screws also in that area, above the radio bezel. There is also a screw below the dash, on the driver's side, that is holding a bracket from the dash to a location near the front of the tranny hump.
7) Get a friend, give him/her a beer while you explain that you are about to pull the dash forward. Have some jackstands on hand to be able to prop the dash up so it isn't resting on wires.
8) Pull the dash back and up. It should come, if not hold it (or prop with jackstands) and look for what it is hanging on. Gently unscrew/unplug it and be sure to document it. You'll probably need to unplug the vacuum lines from the heater plenum and the electrical connector from the actuator.
9) Now that the dash is hanging there, you are probably thinking, "what the heck am I doing?". Move to the engine bay and start attacking there. First take the two heater lines off the heater core. They are held in by hose clamps. Just use a pliers to clinch them, then pull the hoses off and point them upwards. Have several rags on hand. Put one under the two before pulling them off.
10) There are more nuts that hold the plenum in place. One is directly behind the engine, near the middle of the firewall, off on its own. It has only one nut on it. Two are on the side of the AC housing that mates to the hole in the plenum. These have one nut on the outside, and one behind the housing. Tricky, eh? You'll need to get the other nut off the fan housing before you can reach those. Once all the outer nuts are off, pull the entire assembly forward in the compartment. Now reach the inner nuts. There is one more nut holding the plenum in place behind and between the two sections of the fan/AC housing. Now that you have it pulled forward, this one should be accessible. Also don't forget the two inside nuts that were on the other two studs. You won't remove the plenum with these still on, trust me.
11) Be sure that you have taken the inside nut off and the vacuum lines that were mentioned in step 1. You could do this now, but the dash makes it a pain.
12) The plenum should now just pull back. Be careful not to let it lean forward and dump coolant out of the heater core onto the floor. I didn't spill any, but it was tight. Basically, I took the plenum out the hole between the door and the dash (which should now be suspended over the passenger's legs). There is a wire harness that will make it a pain. You could probably unplug this and save yourself the hassle, but I managed to gently get the plenum past it.
13) Once the plenum is out, have a beer you've done a good job. Swap the heater core from one plenum to the other (unless the new plenum has one, or you are replacing it). This will require cutting the foam insulation a bit so that you can get the lines out. No biggie. My used plenum came with it cut like that. Just take the 4~5 screws that hold the heater core access hatch down, take it off, and pull the core straight up.
14) Put the new plenum in the way the old one came out. Line it up with the holes and have your beer-bribed friend start one or two of the nuts on from the engine bay side. Go around and check that he/she put them on right, then put the others on. Don't forget the inside ones (2 nuts on one post) or the one that is behind the housing. Reattach the Heater core lines. Get it all together and check to make sure it all looks good.
15) Now start reattaching the dash. It's basically the opposite of how it came out. Just try to get the dash placed on there properly so that air blows to the correct places. Put in all screws and reattach any connections you took out. Remember the nut on the plenum below the glove box, the vacuum lines near that (black&white), the vacuum line connector on the plenum (multicolored), the actuator lines, etc. Don't forget the steering column too, unless you'd like your own version of "tilt steering".
16) Put in all the interior pieces and cluster, glovebox, radio/bezel. Give them all a good wipe down and vacuum before you do.
17) Reattach the battery, cautiosly fire up the car and test it out. Hopefully you'll have heat/AC now! Watch for Airbag warnings (did you plug everything back in that you unplugged?) and other little bugs.
-Jim
Heater Plenum Replacement:
1) Remove Glovebox. There is one nut on the inside that holds the heater plenum in place. It is just below where the glove box is. Unplug the black/white vacuum line connector that is near this nut. You can wait till later, but the dash will make it a pain.
2) Remove Radio/Radio&Vent Bezel. Carefully unplug all the connectors from the 4x4 switch, foglight switch, etc.
3) Remove the Instrument cluster. Be sure to disconnect the battery before you do, because at this point, you are serious, and you probably don't want an airbag in the face. Take off all the panels below the steering column, the instrument cluster bezel, and the steering column cover. Unplug the connectors from the back of the cluster carefully, the circuit material is fragile.
4) Take off the fuse panel cover. (Needed to put something easy in). Unscrew the "ocrap" handles and pop the plastic trim pieces they hold on off. Take the front screw out of the door sill covers so that you can get the bottom trim piece out.
5) Pop off the defroster cover. Black piece of plastic where dash meets windshield.
6) Unbolt the dash. Start with the four nuts that hold the steering column to it. The steering column will now hang down and be a real PITA. Just rest it on the front of the seat. There are two large gold-colored bolts by the fuse panel, one on the passenger's side, and two above the steering column where the winshield meets the dash. There is one black bolt in a similar location on the passenger's side. There are two more smaller screws also in that area, above the radio bezel. There is also a screw below the dash, on the driver's side, that is holding a bracket from the dash to a location near the front of the tranny hump.
7) Get a friend, give him/her a beer while you explain that you are about to pull the dash forward. Have some jackstands on hand to be able to prop the dash up so it isn't resting on wires.
8) Pull the dash back and up. It should come, if not hold it (or prop with jackstands) and look for what it is hanging on. Gently unscrew/unplug it and be sure to document it. You'll probably need to unplug the vacuum lines from the heater plenum and the electrical connector from the actuator.
9) Now that the dash is hanging there, you are probably thinking, "what the heck am I doing?". Move to the engine bay and start attacking there. First take the two heater lines off the heater core. They are held in by hose clamps. Just use a pliers to clinch them, then pull the hoses off and point them upwards. Have several rags on hand. Put one under the two before pulling them off.
10) There are more nuts that hold the plenum in place. One is directly behind the engine, near the middle of the firewall, off on its own. It has only one nut on it. Two are on the side of the AC housing that mates to the hole in the plenum. These have one nut on the outside, and one behind the housing. Tricky, eh? You'll need to get the other nut off the fan housing before you can reach those. Once all the outer nuts are off, pull the entire assembly forward in the compartment. Now reach the inner nuts. There is one more nut holding the plenum in place behind and between the two sections of the fan/AC housing. Now that you have it pulled forward, this one should be accessible. Also don't forget the two inside nuts that were on the other two studs. You won't remove the plenum with these still on, trust me.
11) Be sure that you have taken the inside nut off and the vacuum lines that were mentioned in step 1. You could do this now, but the dash makes it a pain.
12) The plenum should now just pull back. Be careful not to let it lean forward and dump coolant out of the heater core onto the floor. I didn't spill any, but it was tight. Basically, I took the plenum out the hole between the door and the dash (which should now be suspended over the passenger's legs). There is a wire harness that will make it a pain. You could probably unplug this and save yourself the hassle, but I managed to gently get the plenum past it.
13) Once the plenum is out, have a beer you've done a good job. Swap the heater core from one plenum to the other (unless the new plenum has one, or you are replacing it). This will require cutting the foam insulation a bit so that you can get the lines out. No biggie. My used plenum came with it cut like that. Just take the 4~5 screws that hold the heater core access hatch down, take it off, and pull the core straight up.
14) Put the new plenum in the way the old one came out. Line it up with the holes and have your beer-bribed friend start one or two of the nuts on from the engine bay side. Go around and check that he/she put them on right, then put the others on. Don't forget the inside ones (2 nuts on one post) or the one that is behind the housing. Reattach the Heater core lines. Get it all together and check to make sure it all looks good.
15) Now start reattaching the dash. It's basically the opposite of how it came out. Just try to get the dash placed on there properly so that air blows to the correct places. Put in all screws and reattach any connections you took out. Remember the nut on the plenum below the glove box, the vacuum lines near that (black&white), the vacuum line connector on the plenum (multicolored), the actuator lines, etc. Don't forget the steering column too, unless you'd like your own version of "tilt steering".
16) Put in all the interior pieces and cluster, glovebox, radio/bezel. Give them all a good wipe down and vacuum before you do.
17) Reattach the battery, cautiosly fire up the car and test it out. Hopefully you'll have heat/AC now! Watch for Airbag warnings (did you plug everything back in that you unplugged?) and other little bugs.
-Jim
Thread Starter
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Laughing Gas
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 940
Likes: 2
From: Morris Plains, NJ
Heater Plenum Replacement
The resistor network that controls the lower fan speeds screws into the front of the blower motor housing (in the engine bay) and has 4 wires going into it. Mine was rusted and in trying to get the connector out, I broke both the resistor assembly and the connector. So anyone know where I can buy Motorcraft electrical connectors?
-Jim
-Jim
Last edited by Ken00; Sep 18, 2003 at 07:06 PM.
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From: South Jersey
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Logistics Pro
Joined: Jan 2002
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From: suburban atlanta
Heater Plenum Replacement
You didn't have to evacuate the A/C? The local shops here want to charge a days labor to do the R/R of the plenum. I thought they had to evac the refrigerant. There is a 'fix' for the broken blend door that you can do thru the glovebox opening.
I did the dash on my old Sable. Leaky heater core. Blech! Had to pull the R12. Got an A/C shop to pull it and hold it. Replaced the evap at the same time. At least I have defrost now. Used to have FOG setting...
tom
I did the dash on my old Sable. Leaky heater core. Blech! Had to pull the R12. Got an A/C shop to pull it and hold it. Replaced the evap at the same time. At least I have defrost now. Used to have FOG setting...
tom
Thread Starter
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Laughing Gas
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 940
Likes: 2
From: Morris Plains, NJ
Heater Plenum Replacement
No, I did not have to evac the AC. I read a pdf from a place refigerant worker's newsletter that said you could somehow replace the blend door from the engine bay side without removing the dash and that started with evac'ing the AC. I don't know why you'd need to. The plenum can only be replaced from the inside, and the AC stuff was all outside the firewall. All I had to do was disconnect the heater core lines. I can show you pictures if you'd like. It'll take me a little bit to size and upload them though.
Ken,
I tried the parts stores, but no one had it. Wasn't too bad at the dealer. $12 for the resistor network, and $8 for the connector. I expected I'd have to pay $90 for the entire wiring harness or something.
-Jim
Ken,
I tried the parts stores, but no one had it. Wasn't too bad at the dealer. $12 for the resistor network, and $8 for the connector. I expected I'd have to pay $90 for the entire wiring harness or something.
-Jim
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Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 9,748
Likes: 16
From: Connecticut
Heater Plenum Replacement
I'm really enjoying replying to myself since everyone must think I'm crazy for trying to replace this.
...and as bad as the Ranger dash is, I 've been told (warned) that the Taurus dash (all years and models) is an absolute nightmare to take apart.....Ford Techs even run for the hills when one of those comes into the shop...
P.S. Great information supplied once again....thanks for the contribution!
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Joined: Oct 2005
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I'm going to try to follow these steps this weekend. If anyone out there in Ford-Land has any more advice or tips , please post them. I'm hoping to do this in one day. I've already poped my glove box down and checked thing out , and also removed the blank plate above it ( where the passenger air bag would be if I had one ) . I'm no mechanic , but I think I'm familiar enough with the dash to handle it. If anyone on here is close to the booming metropolis of Soso ,MS this weekend , slow down and listen for the screams of madness ,you should be able to find me and my Ranger , and you can give me a hand.
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Joined: Jan 2003
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From: Connecticut
Originally Posted by grunt95
I'm going to try to follow these steps this weekend. If anyone out there in Ford-Land has any more advice or tips , please post them. I'm hoping to do this in one day. I've already poped my glove box down and checked thing out , and also removed the blank plate above it ( where the passenger air bag would be if I had one ) . I'm no mechanic , but I think I'm familiar enough with the dash to handle it. If anyone on here is close to the booming metropolis of Soso ,MS this weekend , slow down and listen for the screams of madness ,you should be able to find me and my Ranger , and you can give me a hand.
What kind of problem(s) are you having? Might it be something that can be fixed with the "Ford Blend Door Fix" workaround that has been developed?
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/s...07&postcount=2
Good luck whichever way you have to go.
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I have done of hundreds of these and can do it in about an hour. This may help a little this is all good except you can leave the steering column in place just remove the one 13mm bolt that holds the column shaft to the lower shaft. You can then move the dash with column attached. Also you dont have to remove the cluster or fuse box, just be aware that you will pull the dash back and pivot it on the passenger side and set it on the seat. Use the floor mat on the seat to prevent the dash from tearing up the fabric.
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hey heavymetal1!
I have the weekend off so I'm going to replace my plenum and temp actuator. Since you've done so many, anyhting else I should be aware of?
Full dash removal is not neccessary to get the plenum out?
Any other shortcuts?
Andrew
I have the weekend off so I'm going to replace my plenum and temp actuator. Since you've done so many, anyhting else I should be aware of?
Full dash removal is not neccessary to get the plenum out?
Any other shortcuts?
Andrew
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Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 11
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Hey , Rockledge,Thanks , but that was the first thing I looked at. I even went as far as cutting a peep-hole through the plastic so I could see it move. Thanks again for the reply !!!
ANY MORE SHORT CUTS WOULD BE GREAT , Heavymetal1.
ANY MORE SHORT CUTS WOULD BE GREAT , Heavymetal1.