need some, cough,ford help
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 262
Likes: 0
From: kingsport,tn,usa
need some, cough,ford help
guys, i know i should be shot for asking this question, but i need some help with my dads 1983 mercury zephyr. its his beater car, and my insurance car, so it dont really matter, but it has a new heater core in it, but theres no hot air coming out of the vents, i say new, but i cant back that up, was told it has one, looks relatively new, but i cant figure out why or even how to get the thing out without taking the dash out. the a/c condenser is in the heater core box, and it is split in half horizontally, screws in back but no way to get to them, any ideas on how to get this thing out, besides :smash: ??
thanks guys, and forgive me :D
thanks guys, and forgive me :D
Le Mans Master
Joined: Apr 1999
Posts: 6,134
Likes: 46
From: Raleigh North Carolina
Re: need some, cough,ford help (KrAzYSnIpEr)
Can't address the Merc directly, but Ford has a habit of mounting the heater box in the passenger compartment such that you have to remove tons of stuff to get to the box, and only the two tubes protrude into the engine compartment through the firewall. Regardless, heater cores usually leak coolant when they are bad... they don't plug up unless you dump a lot of "stop-leak" into the system. If no heat is coming out, I would suspect another cause... like a loose vaccum hose, or a faulty control before I yanked the heater core, especially since it is supposed to be a new unit.
Ford (& thus Merc) likes to use nuts with captive washers to retain the box, and it can be retained from either side of the firewall. The box itself usually has studs in it. But as I said... I cannot address your Merc directly.
Another favorite Ford practice is to use special molded hoses... these vary a lot based upon options, and many are obsolete. I have had to contact Ford Obsolete parts vendors to find some of this stuff. It's a real PITA, and the box is nearly impossible to re-install without new molded hoses... so be forewarned.
Ford (& thus Merc) likes to use nuts with captive washers to retain the box, and it can be retained from either side of the firewall. The box itself usually has studs in it. But as I said... I cannot address your Merc directly.
Another favorite Ford practice is to use special molded hoses... these vary a lot based upon options, and many are obsolete. I have had to contact Ford Obsolete parts vendors to find some of this stuff. It's a real PITA, and the box is nearly impossible to re-install without new molded hoses... so be forewarned.
Instructor
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 125
Likes: 0
From: St. Petersburg FL
Re: need some, cough,ford help (KrAzYSnIpEr)
I would check the vacum hoses that go to the trap doors under the dash. I would also check the heater hoses that go to the core in the engine compartment. There's usually a valve in the heater hose that shuts the coolant off when the heater is off and is either controlled by vacum or the older ones have a cable(not sure when they changed to all vacum). There is usually a main vacum line that comes from the firewall and goes to the intake for the A/C system. Hope this helps! , Brian. :flag
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 262
Likes: 0
From: kingsport,tn,usa
Re: need some, cough,ford help (nunus79)
haha, thanks guys, all this makes sense, i been fooling with it, theres nothing to not give it heat, unless there is no water going to the heater core. theres only 1 trap door that could make it have no heat and its cable operated, so i dunno, i wanna put it at the bottom of a deep lake somewhere.
im going to check that door and make sure, and check and make sure theres no vacuum operated water cutoff somewhere.
thanks again guys
im going to check that door and make sure, and check and make sure theres no vacuum operated water cutoff somewhere.
thanks again guys
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 9,622
Likes: 16
From: absecon nj
Re: need some, cough,ford help (KrAzYSnIpEr)
yes heater core has to be removed in side pass. side...also start it up and let it get warm..check both sides of heater core hoses are both same temp.?if ones real hot and the other cool clogged heater core..also check the level is it low...also make sure the cable is opening the door for cool air or hot air..
Heel & Toe
Joined: Jan 2000
Posts: 17
Likes: 0
From: Winston-Salem, NC
Re: need some, cough,ford help (KrAzYSnIpEr)
You can get to the hoses that attach to the heater core from under the hood, I would check them first. In the mustang, the dash has to come out to replace the heater core, I am assuming that the zephyr is the same since it is on the fox chassis also. I have done this on a couple of mustangs and each time I swore I would never do it again!
Corvette Stories
The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts
5 Best & 5 Worst Corvette Daily Drivers
Joe Kucinski
The Headlights of Every Corvette Generation Explained
Joe Kucinski
5 Best & 5 Most Overrated Corvette Track Packages of All Time!
Joe Kucinski
Every 2027 Corvette Engine Explained
Joe Kucinski
Designer Imagines A Corvette That Looks More Like a Corvette Than the Corvette
Verdad Gallardo
10 Ugly Corvettes That We Still Kinda Love
Joe Kucinski
Top 10 Most Expensive Corvettes Ever Sold on Bring A Trailer
Brett Foote
10 Things Every Corvette Owner Needs (2026 Edition)
Michael S. Palmer