Forrest

Hey everybody,

I just got a 94 F150 as a 2nd vehicle to haul stuff around. Overall it is in really good shape, minus a dented up passenger door. But there are a couple issues that I'm looking into.

1) The climate control always blows hot air regardless of the temperature setting. In searching around for this problem the likeliest candidate appears to be a stuck blend door or bad blend door actuator. I've seen a lot of posts detailing what a pain it is on 96 and newer because you have to take out the whole dash. Is it that bad on a 94 too? Anybody have any experience making that fix on a 94?

2) The wipers seem to get stuck on. All speeds including the intermittent seem to work, but when I turn them off they keep going. If you turn off the engine right when they hit the bottom they won't restart when you turn it back on. It reminds me of a similar problem I had with an old BMW, which turned out to be a wiper relay. Could this be somthing similar?

3) As long as I'm asking questions, any opinions on the best service manual for this truck? I'm seeing a lot of people complaining that the Chilton's manuals aren't as good as they used to be. Is the Ford factory one pretty good? Others?

Thanks in advance for any help,

Forrest

Mr. Orange

Well, since Chilton got bought by Haynes, some people think that they are bad. I have one for my truck for general information purposes, and I don't really see too many issues about them, though the ford manual would have more detailed information because it's more specific. I would say that the wipers DO sound like the relay would be the issue. As for the climate control, you have to pull a portion of the dash apart, but it's not a very dificult thing to do. When you pull the pamel out, you'll see that the blower controls are electrical, and the temp control is vacuum controlled. I'd start by making sure none of those lines are broken, dry-rotted, and that they are all tight, then I'd move to the blend door, and other more in depth parts. Also, if it's got a busted AC system, then that could be the issue, not the climate control. If you're going to end up buying any AC parts, 1. get the related parts for a warranty 2. ask the parts store if they can order the parts from Global AC, if the parts guy's familliar with outside parts sources, then he'll know who they are. The parts from Global are MUCH less than the store's normal prices, and they are NEW parts, and not remanufactured. For my 4.9 I can get a compressor, accumulator, orifice tube, and seals for under $200.

Forrest

Hey Mr. Orange,

Thanks for the quick response! I'll look into the vacuum lines on the heat issue. Also, thanks for the tip on Global AC too, if it comes down to replacing AC stuff I'll definitely have to check them out.

Man I love forums... where were these things when I was 16 and had REALLY crappy cars that always needed something fixed?

Forrest

Mr. Orange

You're welcome! I'm going to get mine from Global when I rebuild mine. I also know that depending on the compressor you have, it can be a $200 compressor. There's 2 that go on that truck, one that has lines off the top towards the rear of the compressor, or one with the lines coming out the back. The one with lines out the back is the more expensive one. Sadly, mine is the one with them out the back. My price for the whole thing from Global is around $130, but I work at a parts store, so I pay the price the store pays. I would expect around a 10% mark-up on that price, but it's still under $200, and you get everything except lines, evaporator, and condenser. If you want any other thoughts on AC, just ask.

Just call me Sean

iTrader: (1)

I like the Haynes manuals, that's all I buy. Don't care for the Chiltons much.

Mr. Orange

I have a Haynes for mine, and I have looked through the Chiltons that we carry at work. The are owned by the same people, though the information is not in the same places in each of the two books. Other than that, there's not much difference anymore.

Just call me Sean

iTrader: (1)

Chiltons never had wiring diagrams, but had vacuum hose diagrams. Haynes had wiring diagrams but no vacuum hose diagrams. I haven't bought or looked at a Chiltons in a while so I don't know if that's still true.