Need a Part Number

Topic: Need a Part Number (Read 4552 times) previous topic - next topic

Need a Part Number

October 05, 2005, 11:31:13 AM

I'm hoping someone can help me out. My car has been at the mechanic for a week and a half for heater core and evaporator core replacement. The mechanic is done with the car except for one part. They are looking for a new liquid line. It is a metal line with a flared fitting on one end and a threaded fitting on the other end. Inside the pipe is a small cone-shaped piece that compresses the freon into a small copper tube and that friction is what causes the freon to get cold.

Anyway, no one has the right part. They have ordered two parts and they were both supposedly the correct part but neither one of them fits. Apparently my car has some '86 parts mixed with some '87 parts since it was built in November of '86.

My question is does anyone happen to have a reference to a part number for the liquid line? The Ford dealership here didn't even have a number for them. They are trying to check with Ford Obsolete and a few other parts houses but I wanted to ask on here too just in case someone happened to know.

Re: Need a Part Number

Reply #1 – October 05, 2005, 12:33:01 PM

are used lines still good after they have been removed from a car? i stripped the ac from mine but kept all the parts. the only prob is they had been sitting outside for awhile now...

Re: Need a Part Number

Reply #2 – October 05, 2005, 02:31:29 PM

Yeah that's the problem. They said they were hesitant to use a used line because that piece inside could be clogged. If it is then the system could blow out again and they would have to go back in there to replace the evaporator. They warranty their work for 12 months so they really want to make sure they get it right the first time since it is an 8 hour job.

Re: Need a Part Number

Reply #3 – October 05, 2005, 09:26:47 PM

yeah...makes sense. good luck with it.

kinda makes me wonder if i should have bothered to save any of that stuff anyway. i heard once its open to the air than its all compromised and is basically junk. i pulled the compressor and all the lines as well as the bottle thingie on the firewall/passenger side. the kicker is it worked fine when i pulled it.

Re: Need a Part Number

Reply #4 – October 06, 2005, 01:12:49 PM

So nobody has a part number or anymore info for me? I didn't hear from the mechanic yesterday and this Friday will be two weeks since I brought my car to them.

Re: Need a Part Number

Reply #5 – October 06, 2005, 05:37:47 PM

Well if anyone cares I heard back from the mechanic today. Apparently there are only 29 of these parts left in the entire country. The local Ford dealer found the part in an old book and called around to some of their sources and finally found one. They are having it shipped to them and hopefully it will be here tomorrow.

Re: Need a Part Number

Reply #6 – October 06, 2005, 07:02:15 PM

stuffs gettin rare for these things. i hope i can re use the stuff i have later i guess. glad it worked out for you Jim...

Re: Need a Part Number

Reply #7 – October 06, 2005, 07:10:17 PM

I put an aftermarket one in mine (along with an aftermarket suction line, condenser and accumulator), but I'm not at home so I can't dig out the receipt. Just because Ford doesn't have the part doesn't mean it ain't available.

BTW, it ain't friction that causes the refrigerant to get cold, but that restriction is very key. The compressor compresses a gas into a liquid, which gets very hot (just like air does when compressed). The liquid goes through the condenser, which removes the heat (like an intercooler). It then passes through the restriction that you mentioned, which is the actual dividing line in the system between the high and low pressure. As it passes through the restriction the pressure drops, so the liquid evapourates back into a gas (inside the evapourator). This phase change from liquid to gas is where your cold comes from - evapouration causes cooling, like sweat. After the evapourator the freon passes into the accumulator where any remaining liquid evapourates before going back into the compressor (any liquid entering the low side of the compressor could destroy it with hydraulic lock), where the process starts over again.

A plugged restriction will not likely cause an evapourator failure, since it actually would prevent pressurized freon from reaching the evapourator. If anything blew it would be the high pressure line, the condenser or the compressor.

Re: Need a Part Number

Reply #8 – October 06, 2005, 07:37:06 PM

I replaced mine (5.0L) with one ordered from Advance Auto. I know it was from Factory Air and the pic looks right (55602), although I can't find the darn receipt..
http://www.partsamerica.com/ProductDetail.aspx?mfrcode=FAA&mfrpartnumber=55602&parttype=666&ptset=A:

The other place that has been mentioned before for AC stuff is :

http://www.ackits.com/merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=AMA&Product_Code=61438MD

I later replaced the drier/accumulator and replaced it with a Factory Air 55612 from Parts America. It will allow R134, which was my plan.

I replaced all the O rings with the green ones. My plan was to fill it myself, I bought a vacuum pump and stuff, but the system wouldn't hold a vacuum, and it wasn't obvious to me where the leak was. I ended up taking it to the shop, and they found I forgot an O ring on the pressure switch on the drier.

Then they ended up putting in R12 anyway. The pricing here for R134 has gone up, my shop guy said some new regulations kicked in on R134.... Or he wanted to get rid of the R12 he had on me. :disappoin .... But it is working quite well.

I guess you will be getting an R12 refill?

Re: Need a Part Number

Reply #9 – October 07, 2005, 01:06:12 PM

Yes R12. I had it converted to R134a last year by a different mechanic. The guys I took it to this time are really good though. You know how you can tell by a mechanic's shop how thorough they are going to be? They have a really good reputation. They recommended putting the whole system back to R12. I said, "You're the mechanic. Do what you know is better." So that's the direction they're going with it. They said that, in older AC systems, R12 just works better. It blows colder and the system runs more efficiently using what it was meant to use. Makes sense to me.

Need a Part Number

Reply #10 – October 27, 2005, 03:06:07 PM

My car is finally done! After an extensive search for the liquid line, they were unable to find one that fit. So they put the old one back in. They monitored the pressure in the system while letting it run and did not see any abnormal readings. So it is quite possible that the old line is undamaged and works fine.

The damage?

Ford Evaporator Core: $147.76
Ford Temp Hose (with attached accumulator): $145.00
Ford Heater Core: $31.23
Hose Clamps: $1.60
Antifreeze: $3.15
R12 Refridgerant: $140.00

Labor for replacement of heater core, evaporator core, and accumulator tank and hose assembly as well as evac and recharge of system: $659.20

TOTAL with tax: $1,173.43

I bought the car in October of '02. I paid $1,400 for it then. Looks like I'm keeping it for a while.

Need a Part Number

Reply #11 – October 27, 2005, 03:48:53 PM

Quote from: Thunder Chicken

I put an aftermarket one in mine (along with an aftermarket suction line, condenser and accumulator), but I'm not at home so I can't dig out the receipt. Just because Ford doesn't have the part doesn't mean it ain't available.

Yeah, unless you have a Ford fetish or want OEM parts to make the car show-quality...buy aftermarket A/C components.

Quote from: Thunder Chicken

BTW, it ain't friction that causes the refrigerant to get cold, but that restriction is very key. The compressor compresses a gas into a liquid, which gets very hot (just like air does when compressed). The liquid goes through the condenser, which removes the heat (like an intercooler). It then passes through the restriction that you mentioned, which is the actual dividing line in the system between the high and low pressure. As it passes through the restriction the pressure drops, so the liquid evapourates back into a gas (inside the evapourator). This phase change from liquid to gas is where your cold comes from - evapouration causes cooling, like sweat. After the evapourator the freon passes into the accumulator where any remaining liquid evapourates before going back into the compressor (any liquid entering the low side of the compressor could destroy it with hydraulic lock), where the process starts over again.

Close...

The refrigerant enters the compressor as a cool gas...and is compressed into a hot gas. This hot gas then passes through the condenser (ideally a constant pressure process) and is condensed into a liquid. The warm liquid then enters the orifice tube (buttstuffyzed as a "throttle valve" with constant enthalpy before/after the valve), and undergoes a pressure drop. The outlet is a cold liquid/gas that goes into the evaporator (ideally a constant pressure process). The liquid/gas mix is then partially or totally evaporated and goes to the accumulator/drier. The accumulator/drier is a holding tank for liquid refrigerant. It also has a filter and desiccant to keep the compressor from grenading. The outlet of the accumulator is above the liquid level...so cool gas leaves it and enters the compressor. The cycle is complete, the birds sing, your gas mileage is reduced.

Quote from: bondocougar

The pricing here for R134 has gone up, my shop guy said some new regulations kicked in on R134.... Or he wanted to get rid of the R12 he had on me.

No new regulations have "kicked in" on R134a. You can still buy it over-the-counter.

Quote from: shame302

i heard once its open to the air than its all compromised and is basically junk. i pulled the compressor and all the lines as well as the bottle thingie on the firewall/passenger side.

The only line that is compromised by exposure to the atmosphere is the suction line (the one with the bottle thingee). The desiccant in the accumulator (the bottle) will absorb all of the moisture it can while disconnected...so when you hook it back up, it is useless. So, when moisture gets into your A/C system, it turns into acid instead of being absorbed by the desiccant.

Quote from: jkirchman

My car is finally done! After an extensive search for the liquid line, they were unable to find one that fit. So they put the old one back in. They monitored the pressure in the system while letting it run and did not see any abnormal readings. So it is quite possible that the old line is undamaged and works fine.

If they were really worried about a clogged orifice tube, they could have put a liquid line repair kit in, or built a new line from scratch (or bought an aftermarket line).

Why did you want only a Motorcraft liquid line?

Need a Part Number

Reply #12 – October 27, 2005, 07:57:16 PM

Quote from: jkirchman

My car is finally done!

Man, that WAS a long time!

Yes, AC work is pricey, but if they did a good job, hopefully it will last many years. My first attempt of doing AC work myself didn't work. The resultant trip to the shop was painful to the wallet and ego ::flame:

I installed the following myself:
Aftermarket Temp Hose (with attached accumulator): $107
Aftermarket Liquid Line: $36
New green O rings: <$2

I pulled vacuum, couldn't get vacuum to stay, and took it to the shop. They trouble shooted it and found a missing O ring on the pressure switch. Stupid me. The costs were:

R12 Refridgerant: $224.88 (2.5x$89.95)
Partial Charge/Leak Test: $50
Locate & replace missing O ring: $78

Doing car work myself I have a new appreciation for labor costs when someone else does the work. All that work of replacement of heater core (I hope mine holds up!) , evaporator core, and accumulator tank and hose assembly that you had done, the price you paid seems on par to me from what I've experienced in my area. I mean figure $60/hr min and all that work would have taken me more than 10 hours to do.

Quote from: JeremyB

No new regulations have "kicked in" on R134a. You can still buy it over-the-counter.

I figured as much, it isn't very expensive on the shelf. My repair guy sure has something against filling with R134, even after I replaced components with R134 compatible stuff. Everytime I talk to him, I get an earfull about how much smaller R134 molecules are. He must have had some bad experieces with customers returning with leaks.

Need a Part Number

Reply #13 – October 28, 2005, 12:04:18 PM

Quote

If they were really worried about a clogged orifice tube, they could have ... bought an aftermarket line.

Oh you have no idea. My car was built in November of 1986. It has a liquid line that is different from EVERY aftermarket liquid line that is listed as fitting my car. The only thing we can figure out is that, since my car was built relatively late in the year, they used a totally different liquid line, perhaps only a few of them were used or perhaps it's from a different vehicle? There was absolutely no aftermarket or even Motorcraft liquid line that anyone could find that was the same as the one in my car. The girl (yes, girl) at the mechanic shop told me that she would give me the part number for the line in my car so that if I ever did find one then the old one can be replaced.

In any case, I drove the car to work this morning and I had a working heater with no fogged windows. Which to me is worth every penny I spent.

Oh, speaking of the differences between R12 and R134a, I was told an interesting fact yesterday. On average, cars with AC systems that use R134a tend to fail every five years. R12 systems are pr0ne to failure, on average, every 10 to 12 years. R12 systems that have been converted to R134a are pr0ne to failure about every 4 or 5 years. Also, at least here in NC, R12 is readily available to any mechanic that has a license to buy it.

Need a Part Number

Reply #14 – October 28, 2005, 12:17:05 PM

Quote from: jkirchman

In any case, I drove the car to work this morning and I had a working heater with no fogged windows. Which to me is worth every penny I spent.

And that's all that really counts.

Guess I got lucky on mine... Back in '02 when I reinst the A/C, bought a new(aftermarket) acculimator and liquid line, hit it with the R12 and its been fine. I did repl the compressor clutch(used) in '03, as the original was badly worn when I installed it.