emunder Posted July 16, 2019 Share Posted July 16, 2019 66gtk - Things were going pretty smoothly with Bob until the truck was going to be shipped. He told me about 2 weeks after I purchased it that they were getting ready to ship the truck & the AC compressor froze up so they were going to replace or rebuild it before it was shipped out. I figure well that's fine...at least it will be new! They kept delaying shipment so just for the hell of it I went online & found about 5 compressors in about 15 seconds, all under $200.00. At this point I questioned him & he did not have an answer. Just that his parts guy is good at sourcing parts & there must be a reason for it and they ended up sending it out to be rebuilt. At that point he put me in direct contact with his parts/repair guy. Needless to say I got the truck about a month and a few days from when I purchased it. When we were offloading it yesterday we noticed there was a weird toggle switch at the bottom of the dash on the driver's side. My girl asked me what it was for & I was like dunno...probably for some exterior lights that are no longer mounted who knows. Then we notice the AC is not working. I call him at this point and they tell me I have to flip that toggle switch for the AC to work LOL! So it was obviously rigged & not wired the way it should have been but it works I will say that. My only issue with the AC now is when I put it on high it hardly blows out of the vents. Thinking maybe an issue with the blower or maybe a clogged condenser coil? Bob had this truck advertised as though it was a low mileage original from an estate sale. After checking it over late yesterday that is definitely not the case and anyone that looks at it would know this easily. First of all the truck has been repainted. There is over spray in multiple locations which is a telltale sign. Motor has also been painted & detailed. Over spray around some of the surrounding vacuum lines. They (or someone) also undercoated the underneath so it is very hard to tell the condition but it does not appear that there is an issue with rust eating through anything so that's good. I guess I'm upset simply because the truck was advertised as a low mileage original and this is just not the case. The truck has obviously been repainted & there is no telling how many real miles are on the truck. The good: Body is straight & paint is in good shape. Doesn't appear to be any rust issues as far as I can tell except a little bit in the engine compartment on the fire wall where it was not painted & you can see the original paint. Truck runs strong w/ no miss fires & I don't think there are any vacuum leaks. There is nothing leaking from the bottom of the truck so no fluid drips. Clutch seems strong & shifts fine. I need to check the 4 wheel drive but I just got it late last night. AC & heat works. Interior is in good shape. Looks like I may need to paint the interior door panels but otherwise pretty clean. There is a dash cover & that is also in good shape. Looks like they put a seat cover on at some point but it is also in good shape, no tears, etc. Rubber flooring is in decent shape. All the lights/turn signals ect work. Gas guage works. Glass is all in great shape, no cracks. The bad: AC compressor is rigged with that toggle switch & there seems to be a lot of other wiring under the hood that has been messed with & non-original. But hey...it is a 33 year old truck so that is to be expected. At least it runs good & everything (mostly) works as it should. Tach is not working, I'll have to look into that. Again...the air is hardly coming out of the vents so this is an immediate thing that needs to be addressed since we are right in the middle of our Texas summer. Noticed it is wet under the passenger side flooring. Not sure yet where the leak is coming from...heater core possibly? The truck does not overheat. Took it for a drive yesterday so not sure where it is coming from...ideas would certainly be welcome. Truck pulls to the right pretty bad. Not too concerned with this since I am planning on changing out the ball joints & replacing the steering components. At that point I will get an alignment & go from there. Sorry so long winded on this post. All in all it is a decent truck, straight, good paint, & runs good so I am going to move on & just start addressing the issues. Guess my immediate concerns are getting the AC to blow harder, figuring out why & what it is leaking into the passenger floor pan, get the windows tinted so it's not so hot in the truck, & then start addressing the steering issues so it is aligned & not wearing out tires. At that point there should be no issues driving it around. I would like to look into some of these wiring issues and maybe getting the things fixed that are rigged up. There are also a bunch of electrical plugs that are not plugged into anything....dealer upgrades maybe that are not on the truck? Don't know & not sure how hard this is going to be to get taken care of...may try & find a local mechanic that works on the old ones. Wiring is not my forte'. I will get a bunch of pics taken & uploaded also so y'all can see the things I am talking about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1986F150Six Posted July 16, 2019 Share Posted July 16, 2019 Sounds like a neat and doable project. Come to Skiatook, OK in Sept. for the truck show and get lots of hands on advice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArdWrknTrk Posted July 16, 2019 Share Posted July 16, 2019 I saw they didn't even bother to remove the tailgate cables when they painted, in your intro post! 🙄 There can be a few reasons for water on the passenger side. AC condensate drain clogged. Cowl vents clogged. Cowl caulking perished. (Easiest to most difficult in order) The AC condenser is in front of the radiator. The evaporator is what gets cold. (in the cab) Post a picture of the black plastic plenum under the hood. We can tell if AC is factory or dealer. We can also get your controls to engage the compressor clutch. That's just shoddy work and an insult if you paid what I imagine. 🤯 There are some diagnostics plugs left empty, and because this truck shares a harness with other models (efi too!) there will be some dead ends. Lastly (if I remember it all!) It's not uncommon for leaves and junk to make it into the ductwork causing not only low flow but catching fire on the blower resistor. Unscrew the hex screws holding the blower motor in and then reach inside the plenum and feel around (endoscope camera if you have one) You'll likely find the problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArdWrknTrk Posted July 16, 2019 Share Posted July 16, 2019 I saw they didn't even bother to remove the tailgate cables when they painted, in your intro post! 🙄 There can be a few reasons for water on the passenger side. AC condensate drain clogged. Cowl vents clogged. Cowl caulking perished. (Easiest to most difficult in order) The AC condenser is in front of the radiator. The evaporator is what gets cold. (in the cab) Post a picture of the black plastic plenum under the hood. We can tell if AC is factory or dealer. We can also get your controls to engage the compressor clutch. That's just shoddy work and an insult if you paid what I imagine. 🤯 There are some diagnostics plugs left empty, and because this truck shares a harness with other models (efi too!) there will be some dead ends. Lastly (if I remember it all!) It's not uncommon for leaves and junk to make it into the ductwork causing not only low flow but catching fire on the blower resistor. Unscrew the hex screws holding the blower motor in and then reach inside the plenum and feel around (endoscope camera if you have one) You'll likely find the problem. Oh! I mentioned the cowl seal in your intro post. (this keeps water out of the engine bay and out of the air cleaner on V8 trucks) Gary has a write-up about how to do this. I've been using garage door seal for decades. It works and looks good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emunder Posted July 16, 2019 Author Share Posted July 16, 2019 Oh! I mentioned the cowl seal in your intro post. (this keeps water out of the engine bay and out of the air cleaner on V8 trucks) Gary has a write-up about how to do this. I've been using garage door seal for decades. It works and looks good. Thanks guys I really appreciate it! I will get some detailed pics taken & uploaded after work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rembrant Posted July 16, 2019 Share Posted July 16, 2019 Thanks guys I really appreciate it! I will get some detailed pics taken & uploaded after work. We love pictures! It's a great looking truck. You'll get the bugs worked out of it, that's no big deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emunder Posted July 16, 2019 Author Share Posted July 16, 2019 Thanks guys I really appreciate it! I will get some detailed pics taken & uploaded after work. We love pictures! It's a great looking truck. You'll get the bugs worked out of it, that's no big deal. Ok here you go! Quite a few. Let me know if you guys want some close up's of anything in particular. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kramttocs Posted July 16, 2019 Share Posted July 16, 2019 Ok here you go! Quite a few. Let me know if you guys want some close up's of anything in particular. Good photos! Looks like dealer a/c although most of those I thought either replaced the center control with an a/c unit or they had an insert with two dials that went in the cubby to the right of the steering wheel. Others will know more though. Edit: nevermind, somehow I completely missed that the center control is a dealer A/C unit I'd take a good look at the firewall near the wiper motor and to the right of the brake booster. It looks like there may be some signs of the cowl caulk failure mentioned already in the thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rembrant Posted July 16, 2019 Share Posted July 16, 2019 Ok here you go! Quite a few. Let me know if you guys want some close up's of anything in particular. Hey Emunder, One of the experts on here will have to confirm, but I'm guessing what you have is a dealer installed AC system? There is a certification label on the door frame on the driver's side of the cab, very close to where the door striker is. Is it still in good condition and readable? This will tell us all of the basic build details of the truck...if you haven't figured it all out yet. PS: Something else you might want to read up on when you get bored is the cab reinforcement brace for the clutch master cylinder. There was a recall on this back in the old days since the hydraulic masters caused a crack on the firewall. It's certainly nothing to panic about, but if you're keeping the truck it's something worth looking into. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kramttocs Posted July 16, 2019 Share Posted July 16, 2019 Hey Emunder, One of the experts on here will have to confirm, but I'm guessing what you have is a dealer installed AC system? There is a certification label on the door frame on the driver's side of the cab, very close to where the door striker is. Is it still in good condition and readable? This will tell us all of the basic build details of the truck...if you haven't figured it all out yet. PS: Something else you might want to read up on when you get bored is the cab reinforcement brace for the clutch master cylinder. There was a recall on this back in the old days since the hydraulic masters caused a crack on the firewall. It's certainly nothing to panic about, but if you're keeping the truck it's something worth looking into. Speaking of those reinforcements, I've seen a few of the small ones in the JY so worth a look there first but you can get the big one from Bronco GY: https://shop.broncograveyard.com/83-91-Ford-Bronco-Ford-Truck-Firewall-Clutch-Repair-Bracket/productinfo/34010/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts