Big Blue's Transformation

[ArdWrknTrk]

Thanks, Bill. I'll check that out.

I had to change my resistor plug to the A/C style because I couldn't find the other.

But then I bought the E-350 blower relay harness from U-techcenter...

Are you letting the grantwins swing on that hoist?!?! 😳

I have 20% off at Horrid Fate and intend to get a 2 ton in the morning on my way to work.

You're chipping away at it, even with a full house! 👍

[Gary Lewis]

I had to change my resistor plug to the A/C style because I couldn't find the other.

But then I bought the E-350 blower relay harness from U-techcenter...

Are you letting the grantwins swing on that hoist?!?! 😳

I have 20% off at Horrid Fate and intend to get a 2 ton in the morning on my way to work.

You're chipping away at it, even with a full house! 👍

I forgot to tell y'all, the g'twins left for a couple of weeks. So I'm back at it.

But, no they didn't get to swing on that with the aluminum channel strapped to it. But they had a blast with the bosun's chair running themselves, their mother, father, and grandparents as high as it would go.

Blower relay? Kinda like mine?

As for the hoist, you'll love it. And I hope your engine stand likes it as well.

[ArdWrknTrk]

I forgot to tell y'all, the g'twins left for a couple of weeks. So I'm back at it.

But, no they didn't get to swing on that with the aluminum channel strapped to it. But they had a blast with the bosun's chair running themselves, their mother, father, and grandparents as high as it would go.

Blower relay? Kinda like mine?

As for the hoist, you'll love it. And I hope your engine stand likes it as well.

So, I take it the radiator cap in the Subie is a success?

Yeah, I couldn't figure where you had the time, but I suppose you do.

We'll see, but I have a torch and a FCMW and I have No Fear!

Gonna do some garage wiring and remodel in exchange for a bay.

IDK, mine is a Ford kit.

Can look up the P/N if you like.

Nice beefy harness, crimps and loom included.

 

[salans7]

So, I take it the radiator cap in the Subie is a success?

Yeah, I couldn't figure where you had the time, but I suppose you do.

We'll see, but I have a torch and a FCMW and I have No Fear!

Gonna do some garage wiring and remodel in exchange for a bay.

IDK, mine is a Ford kit.

Can look up the P/N if you like.

Nice beefy harness, crimps and loom included.

Gary, don't quote me on this as I've only experienced it on one truck, but if you pull the fresh air duct (or access panel) from the passenger side inside the cab, you should be able to see the other side of those hard to reach bolts you struggled with. Mine have nuts on the backside that you can remove, and that allows the bolts to come out with the HVAC box as if they were studs.

[85lebaront2]

Bill - Sorry. I only needed two, so decided it would be cheaper to do that than split 10. But, I have a question for you re insulating the HVAC plenum. Did you say yours is insulated? From the factory? Would it be advantageous to put some on this one?

Rob - When you are working alone you get creative.

Ok, got a bit done this afternoon after striking out this morning. Specifically, I put the radiator and condenser in place, but need to put the nuts in the radiator support to secure them. And I pulled the underhood HVAC plenum.

You'se guys that said "Yes, use the Bricknose plenum" were setting me up, I can tell. Removing those things is less fun than installing headers! There's one nut that you'd better use a sensitive 1/4" drive ratchet 'cause there's only room to move the handle about two clicks each time. And there's another that requires moving the fender liner out of the way to even find it, and good luck seeing it.

But, I got it out and have compared it to the Bricknose unit and the gasket will interchange, so apparently the Bricknose will fit a Bullnose. But, there will have to be some changes. In the pics below, the Bricknose is on the left and the Bullnose on the right, and you can see a few differences. First, the Bricknose has the wires coming out of the plenum where the Bullnose has the vacuum hoses. Unfortunately it looks like the hole for the wiring is larger than that on the Bullnose plenum, so I'll have to come up with a way to bush the hole down.

Another difference is the connection for the resistor pack. I'll show pics of the two resistor packs in a bit, but the connectors are quite different so I'll have to splice that connector in. Boy, let me tell you that connector won't fall off! I think they use them on the space shuttle.

The third difference is the opening for the blower motor. Note the different shapes of the openings.

Speaking of motors, here is a shot of the two, with the Bricknose on the left and the Bullnose on the right. The Bricknose is a bit larger at 3.218" OD while the Bullnose is 3.025". And, the mounting plate has a different profile, so they won't interchange. But the connectors are the same.

And here are the resistor packs, again with the Bricknose on the left and the Bullnose on the right. Not only will they not interchange due to them being of different shapes and sizes, but the connectors are completely different. So I'll be grafting that connector into the harness.

So, there are some differences, but they don't look like a big problem.

Forgot to answer the initial question, yes Darth's is insulated, apparently the later ones were, but the 1996 F150 and the 1995 F450 were wrapped in aluminum backed with some sort of insulation. Between that and the later style blend door, I can have cold air even after sitting on a hot day after driving with the AC on.

[Gary Lewis]

Forgot to answer the initial question, yes Darth's is insulated, apparently the later ones were, but the 1996 F150 and the 1995 F450 were wrapped in aluminum backed with some sort of insulation. Between that and the later style blend door, I can have cold air even after sitting on a hot day after driving with the AC on.

Jim - Forgot to tell y'all about the Subie. No, the radiator cap didn't fix it. She drove it to BA and back and the next morn the coolant level in the expansion tank and the radiator was exactly where it had been. But then she took it to Wichita, which is a 3 hour drive, and when she checked the coolant in the expansion tank and it was 2" higher. So I had her pull the cap and the radiator was down about a pint. She filled it up and drove it down here and we took it back to the guy that recently worked on it. He thinks it may be a water pump, but we shall see.

Shaun - You are right! I had that cover off as I'm going to put those vents on, and found the nut and got it off. Helped a bunch.

Bill - I'd like to add some insulation to the box while it is out. I wonder what would be best for that?

[Gary Lewis]

Jim - Forgot to tell y'all about the Subie. No, the radiator cap didn't fix it. She drove it to BA and back and the next morn the coolant level in the expansion tank and the radiator was exactly where it had been. But then she took it to Wichita, which is a 3 hour drive, and when she checked the coolant in the expansion tank and it was 2" higher. So I had her pull the cap and the radiator was down about a pint. She filled it up and drove it down here and we took it back to the guy that recently worked on it. He thinks it may be a water pump, but we shall see.

Shaun - You are right! I had that cover off as I'm going to put those vents on, and found the nut and got it off. Helped a bunch.

Bill - I'd like to add some insulation to the box while it is out. I wonder what would be best for that?

Note that there are two questions in the following, and to ensure you don't miss them I've put them in bold font.

Did work on the HVAC system today. First, the Bricknose plenum was gross due to rodents having lived in it at one time. So I put it in the dish washer. That got rid of the grossness, but it was still dirty, so I cleaned it by hand.

But, I can't figure out how to get the recirculate door out to replace the foam. Anyone know?

While it was in the washer I worked on the vacuum lines. Remember the Bullnose plenum has the vacuum source to the whole HVAC system as well as the line to the recirculate motor going through it while the Bricknose plenum has those vacuum lines as well as all of the electrical connections going through it. I'm going to graft the Bricknose electrical connections onto the Bullnose wiring, as explained in a bit, so I just need to run the vacuum lines through the hole. However, the hole in the Bricknose plenum is way too big for the Bullnose grommet.

So I pulled the vacuum lines and wiring out of the Bricknose grommet, starting with the vacuum lines as they were broken. Then I pulled one wire out of the in-cab connector and with the vacuum lines out had enough room to get that wire out. I put it back in the connector and then did the next one until they were all out of the grommet.

Then I cut the Bullnose grommet off the vacuum lines and routed them through the Bricknose grommet. And to secure them in there as well as seal the hole I filled the grommet with The Right Stuff. (It is from a can I've used previously and hasn't set up yet, so I sure hope it does.)

Along the way I cut my hands on several staples that are stuck in the plenum, so I know it had insulation on it as some of it is still under the staples. Here's a pic of the clean plenum with the grommet and vacuum lines as well as some insulation I'm thinking of using. It is 1/4" thick with an aluminum face and bubbles. I'm thinking of using 3M spray adhesive, but wonder if the heat will be too much for that insulation. Thoughts?

And now for the wiring. There are three sets of connections involved in the HVAC system:The motor connection, which is the same from Bullnose to Bricknose; The A/C pressure switch connection, which is also the same from Bullnose to Bricknose; The resistor pack connections, which are different. As explained yesterday, the Bricknose uses a completely different connector than the Bullnose. But it still has four wires for the same functions, although the wire colors differ a bit. Here they are:

Gnd High M2 M1

Bullnose: Black O/Bk LB/O R/O

Bricknose: Black O/Bk Y/R LG/W

EDIT: THE ABOVE IS WRONG BECAUSE THE 1996 EVTM IS WRONG! The following is correct, with the M1 and M2 wires swapped:

Gnd High M2 M1

Bullnose: Black O/Bk LB/O R/O

Bricknose: Black O/Bk LG/W Y/R

So tomorrow I'll graft the Bricknose connector onto the Bullnose wiring. Then I'll be ready to put the insulation on - assuming y'all think it'll work. And after that I can reinstall the plenum, add the evaporator, motor, etc. But not all of that will get done tomorrow.

[85lebaront2]

Note that there are two questions in the following, and to ensure you don't miss them I've put them in bold font.

Did work on the HVAC system today. First, the Bricknose plenum was gross due to rodents having lived in it at one time. So I put it in the dish washer. That got rid of the grossness, but it was still dirty, so I cleaned it by hand.

But, I can't figure out how to get the recirculate door out to replace the foam. Anyone know?

While it was in the washer I worked on the vacuum lines. Remember the Bullnose plenum has the vacuum source to the whole HVAC system as well as the line to the recirculate motor going through it while the Bricknose plenum has those vacuum lines as well as all of the electrical connections going through it. I'm going to graft the Bricknose electrical connections onto the Bullnose wiring, as explained in a bit, so I just need to run the vacuum lines through the hole. However, the hole in the Bricknose plenum is way too big for the Bullnose grommet.

So I pulled the vacuum lines and wiring out of the Bricknose grommet, starting with the vacuum lines as they were broken. Then I pulled one wire out of the in-cab connector and with the vacuum lines out had enough room to get that wire out. I put it back in the connector and then did the next one until they were all out of the grommet.

Then I cut the Bullnose grommet off the vacuum lines and routed them through the Bricknose grommet. And to secure them in there as well as seal the hole I filled the grommet with The Right Stuff. (It is from a can I've used previously and hasn't set up yet, so I sure hope it does.)

Along the way I cut my hands on several staples that are stuck in the plenum, so I know it had insulation on it as some of it is still under the staples. Here's a pic of the clean plenum with the grommet and vacuum lines as well as some insulation I'm thinking of using. It is 1/4" thick with an aluminum face and bubbles. I'm thinking of using 3M spray adhesive, but wonder if the heat will be too much for that insulation. Thoughts?

And now for the wiring. There are three sets of connections involved in the HVAC system:The motor connection, which is the same from Bullnose to Bricknose; The A/C pressure switch connection, which is also the same from Bullnose to Bricknose; The resistor pack connections, which are different. As explained yesterday, the Bricknose uses a completely different connector than the Bullnose. But it still has four wires for the same functions, although the wire colors differ a bit. Here they are:

Gnd High M2 M1

Bullnose: Black O/Bk LB/O R/O

Bricknose: Black O/Bk Y/R LG/W

EDIT: THE ABOVE IS WRONG BECAUSE THE 1996 EVTM IS WRONG! The following is correct, with the M1 and M2 wires swapped:

Gnd High M2 M1

Bullnose: Black O/Bk LB/O R/O

Bricknose: Black O/Bk LG/W Y/R

So tomorrow I'll graft the Bricknose connector onto the Bullnose wiring. Then I'll be ready to put the insulation on - assuming y'all think it'll work. And after that I can reinstall the plenum, add the evaporator, motor, etc. But not all of that will get done tomorrow.

Gary, mine is only insulated on the inner side of the evaporator casing, the side that gets the engine heat. It goes under the bottom and over the top and is held onto plastic studs with large push nuts.

[Gary Lewis]

Gary, mine is only insulated on the inner side of the evaporator casing, the side that gets the engine heat. It goes under the bottom and over the top and is held onto plastic studs with large push nuts.

This thing had insulation on the front as well as the the side you are talking about. You can see two of the staples with a bit of insulation under them here. So I'll pull the staples and coat as much of the plenum as I can with this insulation. The aluminum facing and bubble insulation should help a bunch compared to that black plastic.

And, by the way, the vacuum reservoir doesn't leak.

[Gary Lewis]

This thing had insulation on the front as well as the the side you are talking about. You can see two of the staples with a bit of insulation under them here. So I'll pull the staples and coat as much of the plenum as I can with this insulation. The aluminum facing and bubble insulation should help a bunch compared to that black plastic.

And, by the way, the vacuum reservoir doesn't leak.

Wait! By "inner side" you didn't mean inside the casing. Right? But, ........