My 4.9 is carb. one barrel. It does look like the grommet is pushed in. Maybe lost the sealing lip. I'll have to pull it back out to replace the line.
I'll look today, but I don't recall seeing that heater valve. I'll also look for the VECI label.
What I referred to as a tee is a one way valve? I should probably replace it along with the line. The other black line; at some point someone may have ran another line for some reason. Should I plug it?

 

Just remove it
Where does it go on the other end?
Make your truck look like the diagram and...the valves used to be a little hard to get from Ford
(at least I had a hard time getting what I was told was one of the last ones for my 95 4.9 F150)
Possibly the valve may be inside the cab, just pushed in there
and you just replace the cracked or broken vacuum lines and it will work
The 2nd line goes to the reservoir or can under the hood like the diagram
There is the heater valve outside on the case means I was wrong about the only things outside being the reservoir and valve

 

Looks like it's going into the grommet like the #1 line as Annaleigh mentioned. Here is the label on the hood of my van.

On another subject; front suspension. On a 2007 E 250, If I grab the drag link bar and tie rod ends, should I be able to move it back and forth easily?

 

You should start a new thread for the tie rod question.

Sixto
07 E350 5.4 178K miles

 

Not easily (when the tie rod ends are new you can hardly twist them back and forth at all)
It will clank real bad if the tie rod ends move around too much
There is a fix I will show you guys one of these days
(it involves removing and replacing the tie rod boots and adding a big thick rubber washer to each tie rod end under the boot)
This was originally a service bulletin for the F350 monobeam but it works for F and E250 too
Analeigh is right if you pull that grommet back out and the 2 lines look factory then you must have a heater control water valve on the case
A side note on those toe rods.. Ford had specific requirements for the sleeves position when doing an alignment and adjusting the toe
Did alignments for 20 years myself and I used to adjust the sleeves to where they would only twist about 15 degrees each
That shuts them up a ton without doing the bulletin which cost a couple hundred bucks

 

I mention it because I am looking at a 2007 E 250 that's for sale. I noticed I could twist the drag link bar easily back and forth, but I didn't hear any clank at all. On my '86 E 150, I can't twist it much at all, so I'm wandering if they need replaced,,, but- the 2007 was inspected in December. I would think they would have caught it if they were bad. I hate to replace them if not needed. I have replaced them 3-4 years ago on my '86. Not difficult but then a front end alinement is needed.
If the second line is for the heater control water valve, how would it act being broken? I do have plenty of heat when needed, only from the defrost right now.

 

Not sure (cant remember what the default position of the vacuum controlled heater valve is)
I think with vacuum not supplied to the valve it lets hot coolant flow to the heater core
And with vacuum applied it closes the valve like you would want for AC (no hot coolant flow to the inside the cab or HVAC case)
I believe they did this (put the valve in there) due to the proximity of the heater core to the AC evaporator (right next to each other) and they share the same incoming air
The van you look at.. Just know they eat up front end parts on a regular basis and plan on replacing the ball joints and tie rod ends once every other blue moon
Driving hard and the heavier diesel engines are the ones that wear out parts every 3/36 (premature)
I used to have to put ball joints and the like on BLM (Forest Service) trucks under warranty
A little sideways clank is not going to fail state inspection (the tie rod has to be visibly loose) .250" fails

 

Okay, thanks for the info- good to know. The van is in good shape and although it passed inspection in Dec. (there's only a few miles on it since) I don't like that it's so easy to twist. If I get it I think I'll replace tie rods, etc.
On the vacuum controlled heater valve; I took a pic of the heater hoses from engine to case. I don't see a heater valve Annaleigh showed fro Rock auto

 

raye321,
Yes, you have no vacuum operated shutoff valve in the picture that I can see
Upon further inspection of your photos, I see you have the one way valve hooked up to the round vacuum reservoir correctly and then going inside
That all looks good and you just need to verify if you have vacuum at the 2 ports at the back of the mode switch
Once you double check those vacuum lines going into the cab to the tee and the mode switch.. then if the defrost problems persist
Your check valve is most likely no good and is causing the defrost only condition

 

When you mention - mode switch- are you referring to the climate control switch in the cab?

 

I composed a reply yesterday and evidently forgot to post it because it isn't here!

Not all vehicles have heater valve. I have seen RA show parts for my van that do not apply. So just because they list a part doesn't make it so.. I posted a link so that you would get an idea of what one looks like if you do in fact need or have one. I have scanned through all of my manuals and the diagrams for the 86 4.9 that i have do not show one BUT the diagrams for the heater/ac case does. I would also say guess that just because the grommet at the firewall has 2 ports doesn't necessarily mean they are both used. It could just be that is the grommet ford has been using for years. So at this point I do not know if you are supposed to have one or not.

There is a reason to install one. I was told by an old automotive HVAC tech to install one so my AC would be cooler. He said with the hot coolant flowing through the HVAC case, it does create heat that the AC has to remove. He said to TEE off of the vacuum line going to the outside fresh air recirculating door and run the line to the heater valve. The only time the fresh air/recirculation door is closed is when the AC control (Climate Control Switch?) is set to MAX AC. That would close the heater valve and stop the flow of hot coolant through the heater core when you have the AC on. You would have to make sure that your heater valve is a normally open valve and closes with vacuum.

Someone has added a heater core flush fitting on the heater line and as to the metal H fitting, I have no idea why that is there. Does the center of that fitting look like a round pipe that connects the 2 lines like perhaps a bypass? It is not shown in any of my diagrams. I do know from looking at my manuals that the hose that supplies hot water to the heater core is the one coming off of the water pump. That is not true for all engines though according to my manuals.


As to your vacuum diagram decal. GREAT! that is how your van was set up when it came from the factory..
Here is a page with definitions of the acronyms for a 81 ford.
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/7...-acronyms.html

Just a note that on your vacuum diagram it shows a V-CBV. Carburetor Bowl Vent valve.. And it will probably look something like this one in the link.. In the link his CBV is electrically operated. I am not sure about yours because the diagram appears to show a vacuum line from the bottom of the valve. But it also does look similar to the CPRV (canister purge valve).
Also the diagram shows the purge valve right by the PCV valve but that is just on the diagram.. It could be located closer to the canister. i believe one line is still connected so that should give you an idea of where it goes..

Be sure to use vacuum rated lines or they may eventually collapse on you..

 

Yes behind the control head where you move the lever to select floor, panel vent and defrost mix etc.
It switches modes from defrost to panel etc.

 

I'm wandering if that may be my problem with my A/C not being cold enough. I have posted on that last summer. I'll need to pull the control switch and check the lines and go from there.
I put the heater core flush fitting in when I first bought the van. I was having trouble with temperature climbing. The H fitting was there when I bought the van. It looks like maybe 1/2" pipe and home made. I don't know why it's there.
Thanks guys for all the input. It's been a great help.

 

I completely rebuilt my AC system with all new parts and all but 2 were Morotcraft or Ford replacement parts. i went back with R12 because that is what the system was engineered for. i ask questions in the HVAC forums and at several AC shops. They all told me pretty much the same.. The front AC only will not cool a full size van. Using the same compressor but with a front and rear unit will! The front evaporator can only remove so much heat. My vent temps struggled to stay around 55F on a hot day with full sun on the van. When i would start the engine cold of the morning, th event temps would go down to 45F before the engine started heating up. That is when the heater valve would come into play to stop the hot coolant from circulating though the heater core and HVAC case.. I checked and the front ambient air temps were around 70F while the rear would be closer to 95F. So my opinion is is simply that the front only AC was not designed to cool the whole van. That is a pretty big baking box back there behind the seats! Our vans have basically the same size compressors and evaporators as the F series trucks with a much smaller space to cool!

 

You better thank god its carb, my 89 is injected, someone felt it necessary to start removing parts, smog, cat, god knows what else, I have the check engine light, I've been looking at the vacuum lines, a leak can cause poor running conditions, boy there are a lot of them too, the plastic lines that crack, leaking only when the engine is warm. I want to get my ac working, need a compressor, will have to locate the clutch wire, its been cut, people go straight for the cutters, rather than unplugging anything!