Make it Easy on Yourself
Steve, 64-66 Tech Editor
After a nice cold winter, won’t that
A/C feel good next summer? What do you mean it does not work? All you
have to do is read the shop manual, and with a few days, and most of the
interior removed—including the dash, you are ready to get to that little
piece of equipment known as the expansion valve. I think the shop manual
starts with suggesting removal of the backseat as your first step.
Already in a panic, you take it to your trusted mechanic, and he sees
enough money here to take that cruise his wife has been asking about. I
would rather take my wife on that cruise, and she is nodding her head in
agreement. So lets make this easy and have A/C in the T-Bird and the
cruise.
I have done the following
procedure many times in the past twenty years, and not once have I
encountered a problem. Just take your time, walk away for thirty minutes
when the “going gets tough”, and then come back to it. First, have a
place where the car can remain if you need to leave it until you can get
back to it. The driver’s door has to be able to open all the way for
ease. Disconnect the battery. The A/C system has to be empty of its
freon charge, so if you do not have this ability, you will have to have
this step done at a reputable A/C shop. For ease, I remove the driver’s
seat, but if you are smaller and more agile than this 200 lb. 50 year old,
you can leave it in place. Throw a blanket on the carpet and step plate
to protect them and your back while you are lying there. Remove the
console side cover and trim. Remove the small piece of under dash trim
under the headlight switch. These pieces of trim are the ones under the
dash on the driver’s side. Put a block behind the wheels to keep the car
from rolling, as you will need the steering column in the straight-ahead
position. Using a droplight—one of those smaller ones, look up under the
dash, and to the right of the gas pedal and linkage. You will see a four
or five inch square unit attached to the side of the A/C case. It will
have wires attached, a vacuum hose, and a coiled silver tube attached.
This is you’re A/C thermostatic system that controls the temp of the A/C
and thus the operation of the compressor. On each of the four corners are
small nuts attaching this unit to the case. Remove the four nuts,
carefully move this assembly out of the way. DO NOT break the silver
tube. It will bend, and you can manipulate it, but do not kink it. This
whole unit will kind of stay where you put it due to this tube. Now if
you look up past this unit to where the A/C case meets the firewall you
will see a black tarry like substance that is wrapped around the expansion
valve. It is sometimes messy, but you have to remove this insulating tape
by working it off your fingers. It will come off, exposing the expansion
valve, and the fittings that need to be taken loose. You will notice that
the line coming out of the A/C case is copper, and copper can break.
Using open-end wrenches, loosen the fitting from the expansion valve to
the A/C case line. This will not take much to loosen, and you can then
spin it off with your fingers. The same has to be done connecting the
expansion valve to the hose coming out of the firewall. Both sets of
these fittings can be seen and gotten to in this method. The expansion
valve is now held in place be a capillary tube that is attached with a
small clamp to the A/C line. Usually, the little screw holding this clamp
on is aimed straight up because it was put on with this whole assembly
sitting out on an assembly table. Use small open end wrench, and loosen,
but do not remove this screw. Loosen until you can slip the little bulb
end of the tube out of the clamp. Remove the expansion valve!!
Put the hew expansion valve in
place, reattach the lines, put the bulb end back in the clamp, and tighten
it down. This bulb end has to make good contact with the line as the
original did. This is a must. Wrap the assembly with new A/C insulating
tape as originally done. Reconnect all other items as removed, and you
are done.
I have done this job many times,
and can usually have it done in about 2-3 hours. You should take your
time, be careful not to break any lines or tubing, and walk away for a
while if you are tense. I learned how to do this because I did not want
to pull the dash, and I could not afford to have it done. You can do it
to if you have any mechanical ability. Complete the repair with a new/
rebuilt drier assembly, and new compressor if needed.
Type of freon is another issue that
warrants an article by itself. I use the R-12 drop in replacement, and am
very happy. This is personal preference, due to ease of just putting it
in!
Now you can rest for the winter, and look forward to
that cruise you just saved money for. What? You have no heat in the
car? That is another article yet to be written.
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