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This is my first post, so please feel free to give any advise or constructive criticism. Please bear with me. OK, so this is my first Ford pickup truck I have even owned, so I am learning as I go but even as frustrating as it may be I still very much enjoy working on my truck. I am mechanically inclined and always wanted a pickup truck so approximately 6 months ago I purchased a 1995 Ford F250XLT LB 5.8L (VIN: H) 103,000 miles, with a whole host of issies, but in the end decided to purchase it anyway. I am using it back and forth to work but ultimately it will be a recreational vehicle, mainly because of the gas mileage. OK sorry for the long intro here is my current issue I am working on. So I have noticed ever since it got hot enough for me to use the AC, only hot air blew out no matter what the setting it was on. I proceeded with the normal steps, attempted to charge the AC only to come to find out that it was full. Then, check for refrigerant leaks didn't find any and the pressure in the system never varied regardless of me constantly turning it on and off. I checked all the vacuum lines and repaired one, that was attached which I believe to be an actuator, up near the firewall in the passenger side corner. After the vacuum line repair, it was tested and worked fine. Most of the information I googled led me to believe that my blend door may have been broken or malfunctioning and I was going to have to remove the dash to address that. I removed as many parts as I can without removing the actual last piece of the dashboard. The temperature control **** uses a cable with two gears behind the switch and when I twist that the gears turn the cable moves and open and closes the blend door ( also lubricated the cable and gears). After removing the cover over the heater core I was able to partly expose the blend door and was able to monitor and stick my hand behind it and actually feel that it was opening and closing and was not loose nor did it appear to be cracked. It also had very little movement when I tried to see if that infamous plastic end piece was broken, it's not. As far as I could tell there is another blend door slightly to the left but in front of the blend door when viewing from the cab side that opened and closed just fine when I adjusted the ***** on the temperature control switch. So, all the doors appear to open and close fine, the cables that are attached also seem to be working. The vacuum seemed to hold pressure and as far as I could tell I found two actuators ( I believe that's what they're called) One near the firewall and the passenger side and one under the dash more on the passenger side both worked fine. Now watching a ton of videos searching through forums I couldn't find anything that was particular to my situation. Either videos were telling me to bypass the heater core and set it up in such a way that you can turn it on and off for when you needed the AC or the heat, or a video cutting out a piece of the duct to give access to replace the blend door. Both of those situations didn't seem to fit my issue. So I ended up using a pair of needle nose vise grip pliers and clamped one of the heater hoses ( the hose favoring the driver side connecting to the top of the manifold) To my understanding the heater hose favoring the driver side uses the heat coming from the engine that connect's to the top of the manifold. The other hose favoring the passenger side, connect's to the water pump. So after I put the clamp on the hose connecting to the manifold, my AC worked great. So great in fact I would often have to turn it down after driving 15-20 minutes in outside temps of near a 100, because it became so cold. i am aware this is a temporary fix for the current hot temperatures. But I do not know what exactly could be wrong. So far the only conclusion that I have reached seems to be an electrical component that is connected to the top of the manifold and involves the heater hose that I have clamped. I'm going to provide a picture in which I placed a red dot on the part that I'm discussing and I would like to know two things. One, what the name of this part is, (coolant temperature sensor?) and second if this part is in fact involved in the issue I am having. I appreciate anyone taking the time to read this short story and possibly shed some light on what may be the cause. I am open to any suggestions and look forward to reading the answers. Thank you.
If you are getting HOT air from the vents (meaning actually heated and not just outside temp, which would also could be called "hot" in the summer) then your blend door is not closing and that is all there is to that. There is no electrical component that controls hot water going into the heater core. There is no control of that at all. Many cars have heater valves to close off the hot water to the heater core when not in use, but our trucks do not. That is why you saw Youtube videos telling you to put in a heater valve to make your cold air colder. You closed off that hot water using the vise grips and got what I believe you to say is cold air inside, so that tells me your blend door is not closing in the cold position.
The blend door shaft breaking affects 97-03 trucks and not ours AFAIK. You should turn your temp control from about midway to full cold quickly, and you should hear a thump if the blend door is closing. If not, remove the glove box and pull your cable out and see if you can make the door slam by hand.
My advise to all new posters here that say they want to work on their own truck is to do yourself a favor and go out to eBay and get a set of factory service manuals for your truck, including the EVTM. You will get a lot more out of this forum and ask better questions if you first go read how all this stuff works and what components your truck does and does not have.
I am not sure but I think the blend door shuts more when the A/C is on MAX than Normal creating the difference in the two. If the door does in fact shut completely, the hot water passing that area is going to produce heat. This is why they have the heater control valves. Here is my set up and it works only when the A/C is set to MAX. T off the white vac line to the valve and cut the hot water hose and install. Very simple and my temp drops about 4-5 degrees more than without it.
I am not sure but I think the blend door shuts more when the A/C is on MAX than Normal creating the difference in the two.
No. It does not close more when on MAX AC. The difference is that on MAX the fresh air door closes not allowing outside air to enter the cab.
OP, You may have already discovered that to see if the blend door is working all you had to do was remove the glove box door. You can disconnect the cable from the door and manually move the door back and forth.
I am not sure but I think the blend door shuts more when the A/C is on MAX than Normal creating the difference in the two. If the door does in fact shut completely, the hot water passing that area is going to produce heat. This is why they have the heater control valves. Here is my set up and it works only when the A/C is set to MAX. T off the white vac line to the valve and cut the hot water hose and install. Very simple and my temp drops about 4-5 degrees more than without it.
That is a very clean mod! Can you provide part numbers, or at least what vehicle the valve is from?
I got it at O'REILLY. I am not with my maintenance log to see if I have the part number. I will check it tomorrow and post one way or the other for you.
Jan88 I appreciate the information, and indeed you are correct. Even though I saw the blend door actually move it appears it is not shutting all the way. And again I appreciate the advice but I am not going to purchase manuals and learn how the entire truck operates, this was never my intention. I am not interested in removing major engine component's, I'll leave that to the professionals, this truck is for play. I simply enjoy working on my truck, even on the things that make me want to drive it off a cliff. I still do enjoy it, and it allows me to get away from the craziness going on right now in healthcare. I'm a healthcare professional and like to try and figure things out, maybe I am wrong but I thought this forum was for people like me to get some advice about things I didn't understand. But i do sincerely appreciate your speedy response and like I said you were correct. I truly would rather not use a dremel to cut a hole through the duct, and saving that for the last resort. I started today removing my dashboard and am learning valuable lessons along the way. I will do my best to update this thread with some possible picture and plan to replace the blend door once the dash is off, along with making some minor repairs while certain things are exposed. Things like my speedometer bounces around between 55-65 mph, replacing the key cylinder (did that today, pretty cool). I want to thank everyone who has responded to my post. I look forward to posting more and who know maybe on occasion I can provide some advice to others. Have a great day.
If you are getting HOT air from the vents (meaning actually heated and not just outside temp, which would also could be called "hot" in the summer) then your blend door is not closing and that is all there is to that. There is no electrical component that controls hot water going into the heater core. There is no control of that at all. Many cars have heater valves to close off the hot water to the heater core when not in use, but our trucks do not. That is why you saw Youtube videos telling you to put in a heater valve to make your cold air colder. You closed off that hot water using the vise grips and got what I believe you to say is cold air inside, so that tells me your blend door is not closing in the cold position.
The blend door shaft breaking affects 97-03 trucks and not ours AFAIK. You should turn your temp control from about midway to full cold quickly, and you should hear a thump if the blend door is closing. If not, remove the glove box and pull your cable out and see if you can make the door slam by hand.
My advise to all new posters here that say they want to work on their own truck is to do yourself a favor and go out to eBay and get a set of factory service manuals for your truck, including the EVTM. You will get a lot more out of this forum and ask better questions if you first go read how all this stuff works and what components your truck does and does not have.
diesel dave website is a good free source for FSM for at least 96 and 97 truck and bronco, not sure on other years
maybe I am wrong but I thought this forum was for people like me to get some advice about things I didn't understand.
Of course it is, but we all have lives too and trucks of our own to fix, it helps a lot if we do not have to explain things that are easily found out in the manuals. Just my opinion.
like to try and figure things out
Agree, and you can do a better job figuring things out if you have the Ford book to help you. Then you come here for the inside dope on what the manual does not explain, or the things that do not make sense to you. At least that how I think it should work.
Not everyone on the internet is an expert, either, and it's easy to get some advise that is either wrong or does not make sense. That's why, I believe, you should have BOTH resources at your service to get the most out of each.
You DID get help for your question, and right soon, so please don't take my advise as some kind of admonishment. I'm just trying to tell you the best way, IMO, to get the most out of this resource.
You DID get help for your question, and right soon, so please don't take my advise as some kind of admonishment. I'm just trying to tell you the best way, IMO, to get the most out of this resource.[/QUOTE]
No not at all, and I am sincerely appreciative. And again you're correct in getting materials to help better understand what going on. I have decided to remove the dashboard, I can feel that the blend door is not closing all the way due to the fact that I can push it further then the cable can. I have a 4 day 12 hour shift straight starting on Thursday and will not have transportation if I am unable to complete in one day. So, I will resume it on Monday. I still am having a hard time coming accross materials that show how to replace with the dashboard off. If anyone has a link i would appreciate it. There is a junkyard not to far from me that I love called "PULL APART". I am hopeful to find a similar model to inspect and see what there's looks like. On occasion I get lucky and may even find the actual door itself. I will let you know how things are progressing. Have a good day. PS Next time I would purchase a Ford F150 instead, so much more information out there compared to the F250.
PS Next time I would purchase a Ford F150 instead, so much more information out there compared to the F250.
99% of what's true for an F150, is true for an F250 or 350, for most of the life of the F-Series, until the F150/Super Duty split. The engine control systems, HVAC, transmission control, body panels, and interiors are identical, regardless of the weight class of the truck.
Last edited by SFaulken; Aug 18, 2021 at 11:03 AM.
Reason: Formatted weird on first post.
I have decided to remove the dashboard, I can feel that the blend door is not closing all the way due to the fact that I can push it further then the cable can…….I still am having a hard time coming accross materials that show how to replace with the dashboard off. If anyone has a link i would appreciate it. There is a junkyard not to far from me that I love called "PULL APART". I am hopeful to find a similar model to inspect and see what there's looks like. On occasion I get lucky and may even find the actual door itself. I will let you know how things are progressing. Have a good day. PS Next time I would purchase a Ford F150 instead, so much more information out there compared to the F250.
Did you try adjusting the cable first? Does the dial turn completely to full hot and full cold or does the door stop the dial too soon when going to hot? I haven’t had to replace a door to evaporator but I assume you have to remove and then disassemble the heater box. There are some differences between the models such as axles and engine choices that were limited depending on the model but the interior and HVAC parts were all the same for that body style.
My advise to all new posters here that say they want to work on their own truck is to do yourself a favor and go out to eBay and get a set of factory service manuals for your truck, including the EVTM. You will get a lot more out of this forum and ask better questions if you first go read how all this stuff works and what components your truck does and does not have.[/QUOTE]
I am going to take your advise and invest in a factory service manual. Would you be kind enough or anyone for that matter to make a few recommendations on where or from whom I can purchase these from? I did search it myself ofcourse, but there seems to be an unlimited amount of publishers. I am finding it difficult to locate a complete set, many have several bad reviews as well as media pdf versions in which some files that are under suspicion of being a bootleg copies due to the fact you cannot search through material. Which in my opinion is a major key factor, no one should have to scroll through hundreds of pages to locate a specific issue. I am ok with downloadable version, mainly because I'm inpatient but will wait for it if I have to. Thank you for any help.
I appreciate the advice and I took it, bought these last night. I found that the majority of people on Ford forums are happy they had the manual and saved them time and monry on repairs.
