Evening all,

Not a big fan of AC as it puts me to sleep. But I did for the heck of it try it out the other day just to see if it still works. Plenty of air, but all warm. The compressor comes on and off and on and off. Took it to the shop and it took 2 lbs and I think 7 oz. Basically empty almost. Probably hasn't been serviced since 01'

I am the 2nd owner and it now has 91K on the odometer. Heres the issue. I now have great cold air and both "MAX AIR" and "NORM AIR" work. The thing is and I never noticed if the heat is the same, but going down the road with the fan 1 or 2 or 3 clicks on, it doesn't matter, I will get awesome air out of the vents for say 30 sec to a minute, then it just disappears. It totally stops. Then you can feel it start again, comes on full blast cold like it should for another minute or two, then fades away again. It does it on max or norm air. It doesn't matter. It is annoying as heck.

I saw something on youtube about a vacuum accumulator that is known to fail under the passenger dash up under the fender well. Any truth to this or known remedies?

The van is awesome other than this.

Thanks

Sid

 

Regardless you not being a fan of A/C here's about all you need to diagnose and fix your symptoms: https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...-controls.html

Best of luck!

 

Very common problem in vans and you're correct it could be (likely is) vacuum related. Those check valves do fail over time.

The vacuum reservoir and associated check valve are time, money effort to get at and you can do a reroute -- installing reservoir below battery box, check valve near reservoir, and new "plumbing" (vacuum lines) up to the dash (glove box area)--- either routed around the cowling, out to the exterior, under fender, then back inside through factory door electrical routes / behind passenger kick panel.....................

You can use any reservoir (even generics) provided it has the right vac line hookups, any check valve (ensure correct orientation) and plastic/vinyl vacuum lines.............

About a $20-$40 fix if you source generic parts --- keep the generic reservoir close to Ford's original size............or go with Ford/Motorcraft --best quality.

 

WOW! Thank you guys.

I did last year reroute the main vacuum from the manifold to the solenoids up on the dashboard. I was only getting air out of the defroster. Now all locations work correctly. I just need to get his fluctuating air under control. I need to study this link more that you sent JWA. Thanks JWA and F350.

Hey F350, I see NC in your location. Where at if still?

Thanks and stay safe.

Sid

 

I made a vacuum can out of a piece of 2 inch pvc and zip tied it behind the plastic facia on the passenger side. Then brought the vacuum in from the engine through a vacuum check valve. That stopped the air from going to defrost every time we pulled a long grade or accelerated real hard.