Top 10 1996 Ford Thunderbird LX Questions & Answers

There are a couple of ways to approach this. I just did one of these for a friend. The A/C pump seized while running. The serpentine belt broke. Crazy things can happen to other components when this occurs. In this case the broken ends of the belt, I think, whipped back around on itself on the crankshaft pulley and one of the other pulleys in the belt circuit and devastation occurred. 1) It snapped the power steering pump bracket in two. 2) It took out the alternator. 3) And not to be left out, GOODBYE cool blowin air conditioning. Time to decide what to do. He had to order the power steering bracket from a dealer (junk yards were cleaned out). He decided to replace the power steering pump with a remanufactured unit and new hoses (parts houses are much cheaper than dealer parts folks). You'll need a pulley remover that you can usually borrow (with a deposit) from some parts houses. He HAD to buy the alternato ya gotta have juice. I have been using the name, "parts houses" . (Can we use specific company names in this forum MR./MS. Editors ? I Feel I need to for the sake of all of us that come here for correct information.) THE ANSWER : DO you want to drop the bucks into fixing your A/C ? NO ? It can be involved and costly depending on how good of a do it yourselfer you are. New pumps are spendy. Then, if you use the older refridgerant you'll need a conversion kit and blah blah blah. YOU have opted for a bypass pulley. COOL ! Errrr...not actually. It's coming out. The bolts that hold the A/C pump to its bracket come out from BEHIND the bottom of the unit. They are long and won't clear the intake manifold,at least not easily. Take the bracket bolts out from the front. Take the hose from the pump to the dryer apart (at the dryer). Do you want to preserve the system for future repair? If so, cover that connection on the dryer to protect it from the world. With a sharp blade, cut the other hose coming off the pump right behind the grill. Or, try to take the fitting apart at the evaporator. Cutting it is easier. Plug the cut off end if ya want. Future repair thing. Rotate the pump forward so you can either take the bolts out,or remove the pump and bracket as a unit, with the lengths of hose attatched to the pump. This gets all that hose you no longer need out of the engine compartment. NOW THE BYPASS PULLEY. He found a pulley from NAPA. IT DOES NOT WORK ! YOU DO NOT NEED IT ! Nothing against NAPA. I have bought good parts from them before. Maybe their supplier does not know. The pulley is supposed to drop into the A/C bracket in the concave recess that the pump once occupied. IT WASN'T EVEN CLOSE. Chevy released THREE versions: Poor Boy-no power steering,no A/C. MIDMan-power steering,no A/C. Rich Guy-power steering,with A/C. SO....... If you have power steering, the A/C pump removal just put you into Midman status. Stop at your local chevy dealer, ask them to print you a belt routing diagram from the computer parts book. It shows all three versions. Go to your local,,,,,,,"PARTS HOUSE", tell them info...year,make,engine size, REMEMBER.. IT NO LONGER HAS AIR CONDITIONING. YOU'LL GET A SHORTER BELT !! IF, they sold you the bypass pulley.....GET YOUR MONEY BACK !!! Use the diagram you got. The belt is routed a little different since you lost the A/C pump and the idler pulley with it's bracket(that you can keep for future repair or trade in for to be made into beer cans) Also remember that without a belt on, the tensioner pulley is swung over to the end of it,s range of motion. When you get the belt routed correctly you have to put a wrench on the bolt on the pulley and turn hard to compress the spring. (COUNTERCLOCKWISE) The bolt is left hand thread so it won't come loose while ya reef on it to get the belt swung onto the ALTERNATOR LAST.<<<<<<GOOD LUCK !!! ADDED NOTE: Would that bypass pulley work on say...an "88" or "89" or "90" ? > I DO NOT KNOW. DID CHEVY change the size of the pump bracket after 87 ? We will be letting the good folks at NAPA know what we ran into and how we fixed it. We also will ask for a refund on the wrong part for the job. IT DOES NOT FIT AN 87! WE DO KNOW THIS..... IF the belt had just broke in half and safely dropped away, then all those parts wouldn't have been needed and the cost of the fix is FOR A SHORTER BELT and a little sweat to remove the A/C pump and bracket. The A/C NEVER WORKED ANYWAY

1. Access the COMBINATION Turn Signal and Hazard INDICATOR FLASHER on the Left-Hand (drivers) side of the instrument panel in the fuse junction panel.
   

1. Remove turn signal flasher/hazard indicator flasher by pulling indicator flasher straight out.
   

1. To install, align the terminals of the flasher and press into place.
   

How about a picture--

Ok, try this.
Put the key in the ignition, and turn forward
all the way just before cranking. Then within
5 seconds, press and hold in the valet/overide
button, found under the dash area in most cases,
until the installed LED (the blinking light)
in your dash area comes on solid.
(Your valet switch might be the toggle (on/off) type.
in this case, key on, flip switch in oposite direction,
key off.)

This should be valet. This overides
the starter kill relay in the alarm harness,
and returns the car back to disarmed mode.

The only thing that will work now on your system,
is the keyless entry if installed.

Just Repeat these steps to rearm your system.

Carefully pull front door trim panel finish panel away from front door trim panel.
Disconnect wires from front door lock switches, outside rear view mirror controls and window regulator control switches, if equipped. Remove front door trim panel finish panel.
Remove front door trim panel retaining screw through front door trim panel finish panel opening.
Remove interior lamp lens cover.
Remove screw through interior lamp opening.
Slide front door trim panel upward to disengage hooks.
Rotate top of front door trim panel away from front door and lift bottom hooks from front door.
Disconnect window regulator jumper wire
Remove front door trim panel.

Head bolts are torque to yeild so you MUST use new bolts.
Tighten cylinder head retaining bolts in numerical sequence in three steps as follows:

1. 20 Nm (15 lb-ft).

1. 40 Nm (30 lb-ft).

1. 50 Nm (37 lb-ft)

Loosen retaining bolts one at a time two to three revolutions and retighten as follows:

Long bolts:

• Tighten to 40-50 Nm (30-37 lb-ft).
• Rotate an additional 175-185 degrees.
• Go to next bolt in sequence.

Short Bolts:

• Tighten to 20-30 Nm (15-22 lb-ft).
• Rotate an additional 175-185 degrees.
• Go to next bolt in sequence.

Here is a pic of the sequence
http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh43/chuck943/Headboltsequence38L.gif

P1443 = A problem with the EVAP purge flow system
Continuous Memory Diagnostic Trouble Code (DTC) P1443 indicates an incorrect Evaporative System Purge Control Valve flow.

Possible causes:
-- Obstructed, open or cracked hoses between EVAP canister purge valve and intake manifold.
-- Damaged EVAP canister purge valve.
-- Damaged PF sensor.

Hope help with this.

Here is a system overview. The low side port is #5 in the picture. Hopw it helps ya.. Cobra


Item Part Number Description 1 19972 A/C Compressor to Condenser Discharge Line 2 19E762 A/C Charge Port Valve(High Side) 3 19D594 A/C Pressure Cut-Off Switch 4 19D742 Evaporator to Compressor Suction Line 5 19E762 A/C Charge Port Valve(Low Side) 6 19E561 A/C Cycling Switch 7 19860 A/C Evaporator Core 8 19C836 Suction Accumulator/Drier 9 19835 Condenser to Evaporator Tube 10 19D734 A/C Manifold and Tube 11 19703 A/C Compressor 12 19712 A/C Condenser Core

Disconnect the battery & any fuel lines you can and the same with electrical connectors first of all. Drain the tankwith a siphon pump if 3 gallons or more of fuel is present. It gets heavy to replace back in and dangerous too.. Have the tank supported now & remove the bolts from the tanks mounting straps. Drop the tank down about 6 inches and check for other connection that need to be removed
RFemove the center retainer to remove the fuel pump with the sending unit
I would replace both items since it is an older car and also replace the filter sock to the pump too
Reverse this procedure to install

trouble shoot P1443 99 ford explorer 4 liter 6 . failed evap pressure sensor. blocked hose between purge valve &fip sensor. evap purge valve stuck closed. where are these sensors and whats the fix?

Removal

1. Remove the glove compartment liner to gain access to the heater blower motor and blower motor wheel assembly mounting screws.
   

1. Use a small screwdriver to remove clip retaining hydraulic damper strut.
   

1. Remove four screws and remove the heater blower motor assembly and blower motor wheel assembly from the heater blower motor housing.
   

Installation

1. Using a new seal, position the heater blower motor and blower motor wheel assembly to the heater blower motor housing with the flat side of the flange near the heater blower motor switch resistor (18591). Install the four retaining screws.
   

1. Tape the heater blower motor power lead to the air inlet duct to keep the wire away from the blower outlet during installation.
   

1. Install the heater blower motor and blower motor wheel assembly in the vehicle.
   

1. Install the glove compartment liner.