Old Blue - 1984 XL Flareside

I got those fittings off, I invested in a rubber mallet and boy did it help.  

Some of you may have seen my questions about the water elbow that screws into the manifold, in this thread:

http://forum.garysgaragemahal.com/intake-manifold-heater-hose-junction-part-tp40348.html

Just an update on that... I "built" my own part by going to Lowes.  It's a bit more hacky than I'd like, but since the real part is no longer findable, it should work.  I wanted to go stainless steel using the parts that Cory had suggested.  I bought the parts actually, but a test fit revealed that the elbow on the top of the street tee was just too tall, it hit the steel fuel line that runs above the elbow, and it just didn't work.

So, I went with a normal tee fitting for a lower profile, and as long as everything is oriented parallel to the engine itself, there is clearance.  (If it's not pointed straight front to back, it will hit the distributor and/or valve cover)

For others with the same issue, here are some pics of the assembly.  I'll update this thread with results after it is installed and hopefully soon I can start the engine again and verify it doesn't leak.   I just put it together on my desk to show it - it doesn't have thread sealant etc yet, and that's on purpose.  I'll put some on everything when I install for real...







Here's the old part (butchered a bit, I sawed off the hose barb so I didn't have to take off my distributor.

Well done! That looks like it will work just fine.

I think that's going to work nicely.  

I understand about the "hacky" look, but sometimes you just gotta do what works.  On my oil cooler lines I used galvanized 45's and wish I'd painted them black as they do tend to shine a bit when you look down there.  But they won't rust.  

Thanks for showing us how it's done!   

We can all learn from this

Thanks guys, hoping to install tomorrow.  

In the other thread, there was a bit of banter about PTFE tape vs Permatex.  

I bought a bottle of Loctite PST 592, will that get it done?  

That should work fine.  

I'm the Loctite shill here.
I drive by Henkel every day.

Definitely resistant to glycol antifreeze at engine temperature.
The applications guide says to use in petroleum refineries.
You can't imagine the heat and pressures involved there.

Got it installed today, no issues!

Looks perfect, Chris.  Well done!  

Thanks Gary!  I'd like to declare victory at this point, but we all know there are more layers of the onion to peel away.

I'm working on getting the radiator support out - it has lots of surface rust and I'm going to be painting it so the front of the truck looks like (well, its more about ME knowing its nice than anyone else!)

I have most of the bolts out, except for the two that come through bushings from the frame.  I read on another thread to NOT take the bolts out, but rather just take the nuts off that sit on top of the bottom end of the radiator support.

My question is - how are you guys getting to these nuts to torque them off?  Are you using a deep socket with a super long extension or something?  I can't see how to get a tool on there to get them loose and off - oh yeah, some PB Blaster is marinating on them right now too....

I do use a really long impact wobble extension to get to them
Work them off and go back on if you feel too much binding.
You don't want to snap that bolt!

One thing I notice in the photos above is that the old one is gray and the new one black.

Don't confuse sensors with senders.
Sensors have a threshold, more like a switch, while senders vary resistance continuously.

I don't know that is your case, but it is something to be mindful of.
I wish Ford had used an entirely different NPT size so these couldn't be confused.
But I've seen it a lot over at FTE.

Thanks for the tip, Jim.  How can I verify?  I couldn't find an engineering/part number on the old sensor/(sender?)  The sensor is 3/8 NPT while the other fittings are 1/2".  I had to put a reducer in for the sensor to plug into the tee.

This is a CA truck so I have all sorts of extra goodies and sometimes its hard for me to find them in the parts catalog, etc.

I do my best to look, but I know there is an army of Ford librarians that may be able to help as well. :)

OK, I lied.  I found it.  It was covered in grime.

The number on the sensor is:  E4AF-12A648-AA

It comes up on Google but I gotta run, will fill everyone in later

Yes, I can see the bushing you used.
Ford could have eliminated all confusion by using two different sizes.

If you look in the EVTM I think you'll see that one has a white/red wire and the other is red/white.
I'm going to check now....

The wires coming into the connector are green/black

So that is the sensor.
Black with a white trace, and light green with a yellow trace.

My bad....
It is R/W for water temp and W/R for oil pressure.

Hey, I appreciate the double check!  Nothing worse than finding out you ordered the wrong thing!  

I had already replaced the sender for the coolant temp (for the gauge) about a year ago, but I should have thought this through one more time just to make sure apples were still apples.

I think what I installed is correct, I'm sure the ECU will let me know if that's not the case.

At any rate you've done a great job working around 'unavailable'  parts, and hopefully whatever leak or problem you had with your old one.  

460's with A.I.R. pumps have a similar predicament, with a heater core return line that fixes to the passenger side head and snakes down behind the pump bracket.
I think I found the last one in the country when I swapped engines in 2008.

Paid it forward when I 'desmogged' my truck and bought the L&L alternator bracket instead.

ckuske wrote

That looks great man, as good as anything factory in appearance.

Thanks, I appreciate it.  You got me on the right track, so thanks for your help!

OK, update and a couple questions.  I got the radiator support out - it was more difficult than I would have liked as a J-Clip broke from the plastic wheel well to radiator support while I was trying to get all the screws out, so the screw was just spinning (I marinated everything first in PB Blaster, but still happened)

So, my first question is does anyone have a preferred source for these clips?

And, I'm looking at getting a new A/C condenser.  On Rock Auto, there are three available:

GPD 3605C
OSC 3605
APDI/PRO 7013605

When I Google these, people complain about having to modify the radiator support to get it to fit.  Any feedback from you folks on this?

Pic with support removed - looks like I can clean/scrub more now.