North American Turbocoupe Organization



I killed my AC
Mr. T Offline
Junior Member
#1
hey everyone. today i was mounting an AC/DC inverter under the dash on the passenger side of the car. i screwed a home-made strap into the hump to the left of the blower motor and i must have hit an AC line somewhere that plastic box. There was a big hissing noise and i was left with no pressure in the lines. is this going to be super hard to fix? my worse fear is that i'll have to tear everything apart like i've seen done when a heater core goes bad. is that what its going to take for me to get AC again?
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Joe F Offline
Posting Freak
#2
Ahhh....

If you indeed drilled/put a screw through the AC evaporator (which lives in the same box as the heater), then unless you are really creative, you'll be taking apart the dash to remove the heater box so you can install a new evaporator. If you wind up doing that, I suggest you go ahead and put in a new heater core too while your at it (ONLY a Ford heater core; aftermarket units tend to go out real quick from what I've read).

Also, depending on how long your AC system is exposed to outside air and moisture (because of the hole) you probably should replace the accumulator too.

Sorry for the bad news.

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Joe F.

My 87 TC & mod list with sources
JR's Place - My '87 Turbocoupe
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Jeff K Offline
Administrator
#3
Joe is right. The spot you drilled is exactly where the evaporator is. While there are shortcuts for heater core replacement, like going in thru the firewall, Pulling the dash back a ways and cutting thetop of the heater box, etc., there is no way I know of to replace the evaporator without complete removal of the heater / evaporator box.

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Jeff Korn

88 Turbo Coupe: Intake and exhaust mods, T3 turbo at 21 psi, forced air intercooler, water injection, bypass valve, Ranger roller cam, subframes, etc., etc.. // 86 Tbird 5.0 (original owner): intake, exhaust, valvetrain mods, 100 HP nitrous, ignition, gears, suspension, etc., etc.... // 91 Escort: Bone stock winter car // 02 Taurus Vulcan(wifes car)
Jeff Korn

88 Turbo Coupe: Intake and exhaust mods, T3 turbo at 24 psi, forced air IC, water injection, BPV, Ranger cam, subframes, etc., etc.
86 Tbird 5.0 (original owner): intake, exhaust, valvetrain mods, 100 HP N2O, ignition, gears, suspension, etc., etc.
11 Crown Vic Interceptor
14 Toyota Camry (wifes car)
95 Taurus GL Vulcan winter beater
67 Honda 450 Super Sport - completely customized
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imjamesw Offline
Senior Member
#4
http://www.coolcats.net/tech/troubleshoo...ndex.html/

I did this replacement myself. The only thing that Eric forgot, and maybe the TCs are different in this area than the Cougars, is one 3/8 or 11/32 bolt above the steering column after you drop the column. Remember to take off your AC lines you are going to need the spring tool from the parts store. Mine came in a 4 pack for ten bucks at autozone. I don't know how the heck these things work... I think that they are coated with voodoo or something, but they are the only things that do the job. You'll know what I am talking about when you take the AC line off. Anyways, good luck. It's not that bad of a job. Remember, if you have extra bolts at the end, that means you did it right! [Image: smile.gif]

James

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88 Medium Red Turbo Coupe. 172K. Stock. Horrible A4LD. 5k miles since 2006. She will be a part of my family as long as I am.
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Mr. T Offline
Junior Member
#5
NOOO! As a matter of fact i just did one of those at work today on a cherokee. my biggest worry is that i'll crack the dash really badly. well thanks you guys. wish me luck!
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Joe F Offline
Posting Freak
#6
Also - I may have missed it in Eric's instructions, but the bolts that hold the accumulator also hold the heater/AC box to the firewall.

HTH.

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Joe F.

My 87 TC & mod list with sources
JR's Place - My '87 Turbocoupe
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