1989 Ford Crown Victoria, 4dr, 302, AC, PS, PB, Loaded, Well Kept.

Yesterday, all was well.... this morning, moving the climate control thru the slot to change the air flow did nothing. The air flows out thru the defrost area only regardless of the control levers position.

The blower functions... On, Off, High, Low, etc...
The AC compressor engages but is low on Freon at the present time.

From what I've read so far (search), this is most likely due to a vacuum leak with the defrost route being the default? All I've done so far is raise the hood to check the compressor.... Where to start? (Joe)

 

Where have you been hiding?
Still have the van or did you trade for a Crown vic?


Back to the "New Car", yes you're right when vacuum gets lost it defaults to defrost.
If you take your time and start to get familiar with where all the vacuum lines run there may still be a vacuum diagram under the hood for reference.
Usually vacuum comes off the intake manifold then branches off to various components the first usually is the vacuum reservoir which on many Fords looked like a tomato juice can mounted on an inside fender well. Then the lines went to varoius parts. Look for a small plastic like tubing ,usually black, that went into the firewall on the passenger side engine compartment. Those lines were affected by engine heat and were susceptible to cracking. Knowing the little I know about you and how you like to get into repairing automotive problems, you should be able to correct this in short order. Good to hear from you again, stay well and let us know how you make out with this, thanks hanky.

 

Hi Hanky.... I haven't been hiding, it's just that everything mechanically has been going great up to a day or so ago when I encountered this problem. I was looking you up on the site and saw that your present location was viewing my latest entry. Nice to know that you remember me, thank you very much. When I encountered this problem, my first thought was "Time to contact Hanky!"... and there you were.

My 2nd vehicle... It wasn't a van, it was a 1988 F150, and it's still going strong but it does need a paint job. Myself?... I'll be 86 the 6th of next month but still feel like I'm 38. I did encounter bladder/prostate cancer late in 2015, operation and removal of those in Feb of 2016 (cancer free)... still feel like 38 and bounced back. No rocking chairs in this area. The 89 crown Vic was my wife's car... can't seem to part with it. I"ll send a pic soon.

Okay, I"m off to see what I can find in the vacuum line department and will get back to you. (Joe)

 

Update..... The engine had been running so it was very hot under that hood so I didn't get to do much yet. However the tomato can vacuum container is about half the size on this Crown Victoria as what's on my F150, however it does have just one small black vacuum hose running to it. With the engine running at a idle, there is vacuum in that hose but very little. No other hoses are in that area. I can't see where that black hose leads to.

looking further, I found a small vacuum manifold so to speak centered with the engine, with said manifold being about 3 or 4 inches lower than the top of the engine's upper intake manifold.

Looking closely and shoving my hand down there, I could feel something hard and sharp edged. Using a small but strong beamed flashlight, I could see what appears to be a "Green" vacuum hose that is completely separated from itself approximately 4" from that vacuum manifold... the other broke away portion of the hose a couple inches away and leading to and through the firewall. It appears to have snapped in two where it makes a 90 degree bend to enter the firewall.

Apparently I need to remove the engine's upper intake manifold to get at that area properly... to get at the other portion under the dash = ???

Would this broken green hose be the cause of my problem? (Joe)

 

Any broken hose/tubing is a problem and good that you found it .This might be a little demanding for you to handle the acrobatic positions to reach in there, but if it is cool enough things go a lot easier.

Now that you know the size and location, you might be able to pick up a section of that same diameter line with a couple of rubber vacuum line connectors and splice in the new section. Most auto supply stores usually carry those items. No need to replace the entire line unless you feel it is too brittle to hold up. Even if that is the case , you might wait until sometime in January when it is a bit cooler, what do you think?

 

Funny you should mention splicing in Hanky. That occurred to me a few hours ago, and having been a marine mechanic (Evinrude/Johnson) for over 30 years, I just happened to have rubber tubing used for fuel recirculating purposes. The O.D. being 1/4"... the I.D. being extremely small, approx 1/16", perhaps slightly less.

If you think that I.D. is too small, let me know and I'll try NAPA.

I don't mind the heat as far as weather goes... I'm used to that Central Florida heat... it's laying over the engine heat that's a little too much.

If you think my small I.D. hose is okay to use, I'll try splicing that on. I have quite a bit of it left in my remaining stock, the piece of it in front of me is about 8" long.... a couple long nose pliers... I might just get lucky. (Joe)

 

Joe, the decision is up to you. My thoughts of using rubber hose is a little foggy, because if the plastic deteriorated from the heat the rubber hose may not have much chance to survive . You are most likely familiar with "synflex tubing". They use it for oil, fuel and air lines and it will take heat better than plastic or rubber. NAPA usually carries it because trucks use it a lot and it does the job.
If the rubber hose does the job for you and of course the "price is right", go for it !

 

Hanky... Did I say I was used to the heat in central Florida? WHEW!! Anyhow After I got my daily monotonous chores done today which includes gathering up six cats to feed, the litter box thing, whatever... plus getting tied up on the computer, eBay, outboard repair forums (giving advice)... I sat here looking at the small hose and also a 8" portion of outboard speedometer hose.

By removing the main vacuum hose from its steel tube at the top of and right in back of the upper intake manifold, I found there was just enough room between the manifold and the firewall for one hand. I managed to get the short piece off of the small nylon/plastic vacuum manifold intact with the rubber retaining sleeve that the small vacuum hose is attached to. Upon closer inspection, I found that it is "Black" and not green as I suspected earlier.

The short piece of vacuum hose was too large for the rubber recirculating hose I.D.... BUT it fit quite snugly into the outboard speedometer rubber hose, having to coat it with WD-40 to force it all the way in the speedometer hose... and that was at the workbench where I could really get hold of it. I tried to pull it back out as a test... No Way, it's really hooked in there!

Now, with that 8" of hose dangling, I thought better of cutting it down and decided to simply get that other end of the broken vacuum line in the speedometer hose as far as possible, and loop it.... Long nose pliers holding the broken end that leads into the firewall... bloody, ripped, sorta purple left hand grabbing the end of the speedometer hose and pushing/twisting like mad. Even with WD-40 squirted on that broken section of vacuum hose... about 5/8' of a inch was all I could muster... BUT... it was impossible to pull it back out!

My thoughts were that this will be a test to see if this area is the problem... and should this patch job fail at some point, I'll know where to look and will do the job right at that future point in time.

So now... main vacuum hose is reconnected... time for the moment of truth! Turn the key, engine starts, slide the AC control from OFF to MAX....... YAY!!

I'm amazed that such a small I.D. line could have such control over a multi choice lever. The original hose lasted 29 years... If this speedometer hose lasts 5 years, that'll suit me.

Evinrude & Johnson outboard parts... still a bunch of parts (about 20 or 30,000 worth) left in my remaining stock... pretty much sold out of water pumps, power-packs, points, condensers, rectifiers BUT still a lot of hard to find items laying on my shelves. My eBay seller name is Joe_OMC32 which will reveal everything (seller search) I'm offering at any given minute (it varies from day to day). Keep in mind that I retired in 1991... some items supersede and are usable for a few years into the future, BUT for the most part, 1991 is about it. Should you or a close friend need anything I might have, it's yours for whatever shipping may be. reevesj32@aol.com

 

Thank You, you made my day!
A while back, I was fortunate to attend OMC/Johnson school where I used to reside.
At that time I was somewhat surprised to learn that the motors were the same except OMC Evinrude was blue and Johnson was like silver.
Glad you are active on the outboard forums. There are as you know, lots of folks out there that need assistance and I think it's great that you share your knowledge and experience.

On another note, I had some zinc anodes that I tried to affix to the chassis of a Ford F350 I once owned hoping it would slow down a salt corrosion rust problem and the anodes stayed perfect, but the truck insisted on rusting anyway.

Have a great day !

 

Yeah, those zink anodes are strictly for electrolysis types of corrosion.... docked at a marina for the season, and having a rig a hundred yards away with an electrical problem. The rig with the electrical problem will result in a electrical flow of current through the water towards the fault that'll pull the aluminum right off the lower unit of that boat docked a hundred yards away UNLESS zink anodes are incorporated. But Hey... nothing to lose Hanky... well worth a shot on that F350.