Heater core job!

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Falcon_LS

Falcon_LS

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Oct 3, 2008
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This wasn't a job I was willing to undertake, so I dropped my Grand Marquis at the Ford/Lincoln dealer on Sunday. Parts that were replaced:

- Heater Core
- AC Blend Door Actuator (Manual A/C)
- Heater Hose Restrictor
- ’03-’12 Air Vent Duct Damper (to house a double DIN headunit)

Also decided this was a good opportunity to replace the fixed pedals with new power adjustable ones. So the extras were:

- Accelerator Pedal (without memory)
- Brake Pedal
- Pedal Adjustment Switch with Dash Bezel
- Cruise Deactivation Switch

Here's the trim piece that took me 7 weeks to find, and delayed the installation:

251975_10151906685055355_1641045834_n.jpg


Ford discontinued the part, none of the 74 Ford and Lincoln dealerships I emailed in the US had it, the local dealer didn't have it either. Number 57 was my lucky number, as the 57th GMQ I looked at in the junkyard had it!

Funny thing is, when I checked on my car yesterday, it had a Light Camel (caramelish color) trim piece installed, which was exactly the same as my '07 Grand Marquis. Told the Service Manager, who told me that was the part I supplied. No, it's not!

How did it get resolved? Well, I knew the part number off by heart, and asked the Workshop Manager to check. All H3LL broke loose at the dealership when they realized what happened - a Master Tech brought in a new part to test the switch, put my old part in the new part's box and it went back to the part's department. The new part was then left in the trunk. Thankfully, the part I supplied is now back on the car.
smile.gif


Here's the dash off the vehicle:

543024_10151926546185355_144613117_n.jpg


At this point, the AC control actuator and new air duct got installed.

523569_10151926548300355_2138295187_n.jpg


Brand new power adjustable pedals installed. Everything comes with a 2 year/25,000 mile warranty, and $451 for parts/$356 for labor was quite reasonable.

I'm picking her up on Saturday or Sunday, as there's a slight issue...the blower resistor is overheating and the blower only works on high. The Ford tech is going to look at it on Saturday morning (no charge as it was working when I brought the car in), and I hope it'll be a quick job. If not, I'll have to wait until Sunday (Friday's part of the weekend here, our weeks start on a Sunday).
 
Wait is your ride manual air or ATC? The controller being stuck on high is real common on the ATC rides, there is an updated 19E624 with a pigtail for that concern.
 
Got to hand it to the guys who work on a mess like that and get it all back together looking like new and fully functional!
 
Originally Posted By: Garak
When I did my mid-sized LTD heater core, the interior looked just as bare bones. It was not a pleasant experience.


I hate working on interiors. Would much rather be under the car or under the hood.
 
Originally Posted By: bdcardinal
Wait is your ride manual air or ATC? The controller being stuck on high is real common on the ATC rides, there is an updated 19E624 with a pigtail for that concern.


I've got manual AC controls.
smile.gif


Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Got to hand it to the guys who work on a mess like that and get it all back together looking like new and fully functional!


Definitely!
thumbsup2.gif


Originally Posted By: Garak
When I did my mid-sized LTD heater core, the interior looked just as bare bones. It was not a pleasant experience.


Can imagine. It really did look like a PITA as the tech was working on it.
 
Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Got to hand it to the guys who work on a mess like that and get it all back together looking like new and fully functional!


For a while modern dashes were one of my favourite things. They look all gnarly and weird and scary, so nobody ever complains about the time involved. On reassembly everything just kinda jumps back into place (or tries to so long as you let it) and problems are rare. Nothing is heavy and there are only so many things that are slimy or drippy. If you have decent lighting and mirrors, it's pretty easy to see when you need to squeeze the squeezies, poke the pokies, and pick the pickies. The important thing is to remember that bashing, smashing, and prying just make things more difficult. Well, sometimes a little prying is okay. But it certainly isn't rocket surgery.

Guys who build engines and trannys, somehow managing to inspect and measure everything when there's no time to do that to anything... those guys impress me.
 
Yeah, the panther dash comes apart pretty easily. Pretty straight forward. I have not pull it apart that far, but Ive had most of the dash panels off at one time or another.
 
Originally Posted By: SLCraig
I hate working on interiors. Would much rather be under the car or under the hood.


I was a broke kid when my heater core let loose in my LTD. The part was cheap. My dad was a mechanic, and he didn't even want to give me advice on it, much less help me. He told me I was on my own. I didn't recognize that for the bad omen it was.

Ford quoted around $450 for the labour, which was high at the time and I couldn't afford that. This was pre-internet days, so off to the library to check the manuals. Oh boy. The six hour flat rate was a bit optimistic, at least for someone who never did it before.

Well, I dove in, having little alternative. At least I got everything cleaned out, eliminated a bunch of rattles and squeaks, and found the clock connections for the factory clock my dad had given me.

A number of years later, the F-150's core gave up the ghost. I asked my dad for a hand again. This time, he said, "You don't need any help." He told me to grab sockets and a screwdriver and take a look. He said it shouldn't take more than 15 minutes. He was right. It was under the hood where it belongs.
wink.gif
 
Originally Posted By: lexus114
Is that thing ever going to be the same??


8 hour heater core changes are a fact of life with many 1990s+ Fords (and probably many vehicles). The good thing is that it has been done often enough that some people are pros with it and can put it back together right. Given Falcon's attention to detail with this car, I'm guessing he won't put up with a rattling dash and the dealer probably knew that.
 
Car's now back, all sorted. We did have a couple of issues to sort out, namely the auto lamps were not working and there was no power going to the Gentex auto dim rearview mirror.

Turns out one of the pins were not connected to the auto lamp switch, and one of the wires (that's hot when the A/T is in reverse) was torn off, which explains why the mirror wasn't functioning.

Took the car back yesterday, and it was delivered this afternoon all sorted.
 
Originally Posted By: Colt45ws
Thats a human designed and built dash. There is a way to take it apart and put it back together correctly. Its not alien technology.
crackmeup2.gif
 
You like that huh?
I told my friend that same line once in a conversation about transmissions. I mentioned if mine blew I would pull it apart and fix it. He was flabbergasted. Like its mysterious alien tech and takes someone with several doctorates in engineering to unravel its secrets.
This is also why I sometimes call an automatic an automagic.
 
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