a/c hose replacement

paulr · Post by **paulr** » Wed Aug 15, 2018 3:10 pm

RAVEN wrote: ↑Wed Aug 15, 2018 3:03 pm Let me rephrase that; I HAVE SEEN THIS DONE. They seal up the hole, and the outer Valance panel hides the patch. A little black paint down in the cavity hides the work.

Yeah! Then the joke's on them when their blend door vacuum motor fails and they have to replace it. What? Cut another hole in the dash? hahahaha

jtschug · Post by **jtschug** » Thu Aug 16, 2018 12:46 pm

Fortunately these cars don't have a blend door.

paulr · Post by **paulr** » Thu Aug 16, 2018 4:57 pm

jtschug wrote: ↑Thu Aug 16, 2018 12:46 pm Fortunately these cars don't have a blend door.

Well, ex-cuuuuuuse me.

:) I think of the unlabled stop between heat and defrost as a blend door. Call it misused shorthand.

Re: Woes...

Post by jtschug » Thu Aug 16, 2018 12:32 pm

If I knew how to upload pictures I could send you a snap shot.

So, this is not the first time you've mentioned this. Explore the attachments tab at the bottom of the post page. If you've got a file on your computer where you keep your digital photos, that tab makes it pretty easy...compared to the old way we had to do things. Good luck. (click to enlarge)

jstrull66 · Post by **jstrull66** » Sun Aug 19, 2018 1:06 pm

paulr wrote: ↑Tue Aug 14, 2018 9:52 pm This pic shows you your liquid line, low pressure hose, and expansion valve, none of which can be seen because right now they are all smothered in a black cork tape, which has to be removed first, and replaced afterwards. Just to give you a look at what's up there. Good luck.
IMG_3289.jpg

Paulr,
I am about to tackle my 66 Towne Landau A/C system, the fan works, Compressor kicks on but no cool air, so I will have it recharged and hopefully it will work.
My other situation is that the fan blows on the floor and not thru the dash vents, so it looks like I have to get to the blue VAc line to open up the door to direct air thru the dash, to see if it is attached to the diaphragm on top of the box, can I do this without having to take out the complete dash??
and in your picture , What is the diaphragm for, shown in your picture below the high and low pressure lines.
and can I see all this from under the dash, hopefully covered in cork tape.

Any and all information will be greatly appreciated, before I dig into this beast.
Thank you,
John T.

jstrull66 · Post by **jstrull66** » Sun Aug 19, 2018 1:25 pm

paulr wrote: ↑Tue Aug 14, 2018 9:52 pm This pic shows you your liquid line, low pressure hose, and expansion valve, none of which can be seen because right now they are all smothered in a black cork tape, which has to be removed first, and replaced afterwards. Just to give you a look at what's up there. Good luck.
IMG_3289.jpg

Paulr,
In your photo what is the diaphragm for , below the low and high press hoses, I understand the diaphragm for the blue line is on top of the box.

my AC blows air down on the floor and not out the dash vent, so I need to get to the blue Vac line and see if it is connected in order to open the dash door, and where is the color wheel with the VAC lines plug into, can I get to it without pulling the dash apart.
About to go into attack mode but a little Leary and all help and info is appreciated.
Thank you,
John T.

paulr · Post by **paulr** » Sun Aug 19, 2018 2:34 pm

John,

See if I understand you.

The vac motor (diaphragm) under the two AC lines with the green line is for the drivers heater door. The blue vac motor you're looking for won't be on top of the plenum (box), though is is the right motor to operate the AC central register door. It is mounted on the right side of the register door. Photo:

paulr · Post by **paulr** » Sun Aug 19, 2018 2:41 pm

FYI, the vac motor on top of the plenum is for the defroster door; it is red.

Unfortunately, it's going to be very hard to get access to all you need without taking off the dash. You can try taking off the trim fascias and the chrome register and see how far that goes. Be aware, that will include the whole console, radio, levers, buttons, steering pieces, etc. There are brake support and steering (slide-away) assembly brackets that are just unavoidable.

There's another issue you might have. You may need to see if your control head needs cleaning internally. It's the dash unit that distributes vacuum to all the different stations. Keep us posted.

jstrull66 · Post by **jstrull66** » Mon Aug 20, 2018 11:49 am

Paulr,

Thank you for your reply, it really helps and is appreciated.

So now I know where the blue VAC diaphragm unit is located, Where is the Control Head, behind the console??

A little leary on tackling this process, will take it slow.

and Great Pictures really help.

Once again , Thank you
John T.

Terry64HT · Post by **Terry64HT** » Mon Aug 20, 2018 12:43 pm

You can get to the vacuum control head without removing the dash, but there are quite a few parts to come off. First the radio knobs and cover plate, then the lever knobs on the AC/heater controls and the rear vent lever, then the console cover and window switches (if you have power windows). The wiring has color coded connectors, but the wires are very short. The vacuum lines for the rear vents can be pulled off if you raise the console cover a little bit. Make sure you mark them as to top and bottom on the switch. You can then take the sides of the console off by removing the chrome trim hold the top of the carpet on each side.
The AC/heater control can then be pulled out enough by removing the face screws. I bought about 30 feet of the vacuum hose and began to replace one at a time. I'd paint the end of the new hose with the proper color and cut an inch or so off the old one so I was to good rubber. I attached the old and new together with an inline barb connector and then slowly pulled and fed to drag the new line into place. Sometimes I went from the vacuum motor to the control and sometimes the other way depending on the layout. A few of the lines had retainers on them, but most didn't.
When the new line was in place, I'd cut the other end to length and paint the end the proper color.
Not hard to do, not expensive, but very time consuming.
Sorry for the long post, but I hope this helps.
Terry
64HT

paulr · Post by **paulr** » Mon Aug 20, 2018 12:58 pm

jstrull66 wrote: ↑Mon Aug 20, 2018 11:49 am Where is the Control Head, behind the console??

This is it. The pictures I sent you in the PM show details of the distribution valve (color wheel) taken apart for cleaning. Terry's got a good idea for how to restore vacuum lines by splicing in new ends where they grip the color wheel. This is where a lot of air leakage takes place. I chose to replace the entire length of hoses which I did with the whole dash apart.

I'd give Terry's plan a go. Hook up the system and test for vacuum operation. Then check back. Then you don't have to break open the control head if you don't have to.

paulr · Post by **paulr** » Mon Aug 20, 2018 1:03 pm

Screwed up my photos in the last post:

jstrull66
Posts: 66
Joined: Wed Jan 25, 2017 1:39 pm
Contact: Contact jstrull66

Re: a/c hose replacement

Post by jstrull66 » Mon Aug 20, 2018 7:49 am

A little leary on tackling this process, will take it slow.

John T.

You can do it. Just dive in.

Terry64HT · Post by **Terry64HT** » Mon Aug 20, 2018 1:59 pm

Paul, I may have been a bit unclear in my description of the hose replacement. I cut an inch or two off the old hose because the rubber at the ends is often brittle and won't grip well enough to the barbed connector. If the two hoses (old and new) become undone during the pulling replacement, then it gets tough to route the new hose. I suppose if you find that the majority of the hose is still pliable, then just replacing a few inches at the end might work. I think I also wrapped the joint/connector with tape as a further precaution.
Terry
64HT

jstrull66 · Post by **jstrull66** » Mon Aug 20, 2018 4:55 pm

Paulr and Terry,

Thank you for your reply, these pictures have been a great help with getting this process started, I owe you guys, great help.