1993, f-150, 2 wheel drive, auto trans, 5.8 Liter (i think, biggest that year)

my heater core started leaking last summer and so rerouted the hoses to bypass the heater core. in october i decided it was about time to replace it and so i ordered one. before i dove into it, i decided i would look up the procedure on the web so that i would know any tricks and also the step by step procedure. there in big letters the first thing i saw was a warning if i had air conditioning (i do) that the system might have to be evacuated and etc.....how can i tell if i have to do this? a mechanic told me that would be 6 c notes just for that if it needed to be done. when i do drive the truck i make sure to have a towel handy and drive with the window down to make sure the window doesn't fog up. luckily its not my only rig and i only use if i need hauling capacity, but would be nice to get fixed.
can anyone tell me how to tell, or tell me yes or no?
thanks for any info---bob

 

I just did my 92 4x4 with a/c and it was a snap. But I have the 5.0L. I wouldnt think the stuff inside the cab would be any different than with the 5.8L but I dont know for sure.

You pull the glove box, remove 2 screws from a control box and un-plug it, un-hook the cable from the trap door on the a/c duct and remove 7 screws. Thats it.

 

Shouldn't have to mess with any of the A/C stuff. Straightforward, as Gold Stripe describes. Usually takes me more time to round tools up and put them away than it takes to do the actual job.

Recommend to get a good core, not the cheapest. Found during my extreme penny-pinching days that the cheap core I got had some of the core blanked off, resulting in less heating and longer defrosting times.

 

thanks folks,. i'll dive into it once it is a bit warmer, and sounds easier than the web made it seem....no need to haul anything right now, and later this week into the mid 40's, so i can wait