Well after cutting up my hands and going through an ordeal almost as bad as doing the spark plugs for the first time I got the new suction and discharge lines in position on my 96 3.0.

The orifice tube was a little annoying traditional straight pliers yielded no results so I bought some 90 degree pliers and it came out first try. I then lubed the new valves o-rings with some refrigerant oil to make it slide more easily and to make sure it wouldn't bind while I was pushing. Checked to make sure the arrow was facing the condenser and pushed it into the pipe with my pinky until it bottomed out.

In order to replace the hoses though removing the compressor was necessary they recommended to remove steering hoses and some other bull. I just wrangled it out the right hand side of the sway bar. I routed the suction side first with the compressor removed and I wedged the discharge line that goes into the condensor into the fan shroud so I'd have clearance to reinstall the compressor then I moved the compressor back into position the pulled the hose out of the shroud and installed it. Having the discharge the A/C hose reside below the compressor was the issue there.

One thing I notice now is that there are no o-rings to attach the manifold to the compressor this compressor is the one piece rear manifold type with the discharge and suction lines as one unit upon removing the old hose I didn't see any o-rings either. Ford included all of the o-rings preinstalled but not there. Being Ford didn't include them and the old hose didn't have them.

Do you guys think this is a metal to metal seal?

What did you guys do when I came time to mount the manifold hoses?

This is a very important since I'm having the system charged today and I don't want it to all leak out.

 

Krank,
The orings are in the back of the compressor. Feel around the holes in the back of the compressor and you should feel them.........just make sure the area is clean, and that the orings stick out a little bit over the edge of the compressor metal so that a seal is made when the manfold is installed. If they are kindof flat get an assortment of orings from AZone. I think they were like 4.95 or something like that. Again, moisten with oil......

 

Thanks cook I'll feel for them.

 

Krankshaft:

The manifold is attached to the compressor with one single bolt. Once you take that bolt off and remove the manifold, there are two O-rings, same size, on the back of the compressor. Replace those. I found that it's far easier to take the old ones to an A/C shop and ask them for a set. The guy charged me $1 for both. Autozone and Kragen suck when it comes to little parts like these.

Also, make sure the new O-rings are the green looking type. The black buna-n or nitrile types are not compatible with R-134a.

 

Krankshaft, let's see your photos!


M

 

I got about 30 of the orings in various sizes (including the size for the manifold to compressor connection) in plastic bag for around 5 bucks. Came in real handy for replacement at every opened connection.

 

I went to Napa and they had a box of green o-rings and they were able to match up the compressor o-rings. The old ones looked ok but I wasn't going to risk a leak because I cheaped out on 59 cents.

I also replaced the 2 O-rings on the liquid line when I replaced the orifice tube. The suction and discharge came with o-rings so it was just a matter of lubing them with refrigerant oil and installaing them.

As promised here are some pics of the old line and also the high-side and low-side valves they would be rather difficult to remove while the hose is connected to the compressor. The systen will definately need to be evacuated to remove the valves if they are suspect. To remove them simply loosen them with a wrench and they will deteach from the manifold.

The Suction/Discharge Line:
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a391/krankshaft/acsuctiondischargehose.jpg
As you can see from this pic the filter is badly rusted there was also lots of refrigerant oil accumulated on it the UV pen sealed the deal.

The high-side valve:
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a391/krankshaft/highsidevalve.jpg

The low-side valve:
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a391/krankshaft/lowsidevalve.jpg

The rear of the manifold:
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a391/krankshaft/manifoldback.jpg

The front of the manifold:
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a391/krankshaft/manifoldfront.jpg

A look at the A/C quick disconnect fitting:
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a391/krankshaft/quickdisconnect.jpg

If you look closely you can see the garter spring that retains the female hose if you ever remove any of these fittings and are not replacing the hose install new o-rings and lube them with refrigerant oil before joining the fittings so the o-rings don't bind. Push until you hear a click that indicates that the garter spring has snapped over the female ring.

I must say getting that compressor out is right up there which removing the drivers side spark plug . I was able to do it without removing the sway bar or any power steering lines. You 4.0 people got it easier with the compressor mounted topside.

Well I'm off to get it recharged lets hope there aren't any leaks .

 

Compressor removal was a piece of cake on my 3.0. Removed the air filter box and the fan and fan shroud. Disconnected line at the evaporator and at the accumulator, removed the bottom two bolts from underneath and the top two through the top. Move the compressor slightly forward and then turn 90 degrees counterclockwise and pull up. Comes right out.

 

Ah remove the air box and fan shroud doh well I'll remember that one . I did remove the bolts the way you did the 2 top from hood the two bottom from under.

One thing thats annoying is the clutch cable instead of a push button to remove it you need to pry the clip up with a screwdriver and hope you don't end up like I did tucking the cable away and spending 20 minutes looking for it later .

 

Well I have a story so I go to an R&S Auto Shop who was originally going to do the charging and the A/C guy is out for the day so I take the Aero to Jiffy Lube what a mistake.

I go back to watch the guy whos supposed to recharge the system and he puts the high side tube on the suction line from the accumulator immediately I tell him where the line is and he installs it properly.

Ok now what A/C technician or at best A/C refiller doesn't know that ANY line stemming from the accumulator can't be the high side. He went on the assumption of "Well it fits".

So now lets get to the juicy stuff that is not the fault of Jiffy Lube but Ford the system gets filled the A/C works and he disconnects the high side and whish all of the refrigerant comes pouring out Ford didn't include a valve stem on the high side port of the hose. Did anyone else have this problem or know of this? It struck me by suprise I never checked because I left the hose caps on the ends during installation to prevent contaminents from entering and I never would have thought that they would cheap out on a valve stem.

All of the other fittings have valves accept this one. So to make a long story short I removed the valve from the old line and put it on the new one and will give it another go tomorrow . Well I guess the moral of the story is always check your hoses for valve stems and don't have idiots charge your system .

 

All of the fittings on my system have Schrader valves. That is the low pressure side on the accumulator, the valve under the pressure switch on the accumulator and the high pressure fitting near the condenser.

 

Yeah I know the high side port on the pasenger side near the condensor didn't have the valve core. The low side valves had their cores. He tried to put his high side on the suction line leaving the accumulator which goes to the compressor the port is the same size as the high side but its not the high side.

It really got me when the guy said "It's just an ordianary tire valve" at that moment I was in shock about their knowledge of the A/C system. Yeah sure your tire valves can withstand pressures up to 500 PSI no problem .

I don't know if it was a mistake but I would be wary if anyone else buys a new hose from Ford check it before installing it. An ordinary tire valve remover will work for removal and installation be aware you will need the screwdriver type remover and not the cheapy T type removers since they won't reach far enough.

 

Well, so much for Ford quality. That valve should have been there. Somebody screwed up during manufacturing.

 

Ford has went the way of GM....no actual aftermarket parts manuf. div any more.....all sold off and contracted out....the Motorcraft name is just a front.....
almost just in time and almost right

 

Well the A/C is running great again I took it to a knowledgeable garage they evacuated and charged the system. Now I have to find out why I am getting a rattling from the front passengers wheel when I hit bumps but thats for another thread. I need a break .

Thanks you guys for all your help especially with the compressor O-rings which I overlooked.