Rear AC not cold

[WeatherManVan]

Originally Posted by JWA

QUOTE=carringb;277991]That looks like factory air. The rear air only has an orifice tube, rather than an expansion valve. It is connected to the rear evaporator. It can plug up from debris. In my case, sloppy body shop didn't cap the lines while they were open, and it plugged with bondo and primer dust. It can also plug with debris if the compressor went out. It's only a $10 part or so, but does require doing a full evac and recharge. This is pretty much the only place where you could have a restriction. The rear factory a/c simply tees off the front.

That is indeed factory A/C---are there any rear headliner function controls on this van? They would be in the headliner between the front seats and the second row bench or bucket seats.

My 2005 E350 EB had a TXV, the FOT only on the front evaporator only. I believe on the factory A/C systems those are pretty much required to adequately cool the rear area. That could have failed and blocking refrigerant flow. Sadly its installed on the evaporator inside the rear heater & A/C housing. According to my Ford parts guy the TXV is part of the evaporator and not sold separately through them.
Dealer cost to me on the complete evaporator w/TXV would be $263.89, part number 6C2Z-19860-B.
They do seem to be available in aftermarket sources though.

Here's a Ford drawing showing a 2006 E-Series with factory air:


That drawing is captioned at the top as used on a 2006 E-Series with factory rear A/C.
The exact drawing for the OP's particular van can be found using the VIN and perhaps contacting a local Ford dealer.

Dealer cost to me on the complete evaporator w/TXV would be $263.89, part number 6C2Z-19860-B.
The TXV by itself do seem to be available in aftermarket sources though. Four Seasons brand through almost any parts retailer.






HTH[/QUOTE]

Phenomenal post! Thank you sooooo much.

[JWA]

Originally Posted by WeatherManVan

Phenomenal post! Thank you sooooo much.

Aww shucks WMV---just a lil bit "spectacular" would have sufficed!

[arctictraveller]

Originally Posted by WeatherManVan

I’ve not been able to find a single picture on the internet of this valve installed.

Well, if CarringB says there is an orifice tube rather than an expansion valve, I believe him. But, I based my guess on my 2001 service manual that showed an expansion valve used with the Auxiliary climate controls. Perhaps this changed with different years. If there was an expansion valve, it should be easy to spot once you have exposed the evap core. It would look just like the photo I posted, and will have a very small capillary tube with a bulb on the end attached to the evaporator.

Edit, I didn't see the JWA's post before I posted this, so I suppose it's still possible there is a TXV, I'd say its time to tear into the enclosure and see whats there.

[carringb]

Definitely possible that swapped them at some point. I guess I should have said, MY van (2000) has a rear orifice tube rather than expansion valve....

[Czar308]

Do we even know if the rear refrigeratant lines are hooked up? When I was van shopping, I recall reading a few van ad descriptions with the rear A/C being capped off because of a leak, especially if they come from the midwest. They are expose to road debris and corrosion damage. When I found my leak in the almost 10ft long low pressure line and saw how expensive it was to replace, I considered it myself. (Not even sure if you can still get them from Ford.) Got lucky and finally source one in a salvage yard from a California van.

[carringb]

^Good point... above the rear tires is a common failure point in the rear A/C lines.

[JWA]

^^That is a good point and IF they are capped WHERE they're blocked off becomes very important to the life of the compressor.

I've read if the rear lines are capped off towards the end of their run oil pooling at the caps can occur and starve the compressor of oil. I bought a set of those "caps" which would have been impossible to install if following the recommended spot. (These were purchased from AutoCoolingSolutions, an example of their products here: https://www.autocoolingsolutions.com...-block-off-kit They're nicely made but as I say nearly impossible to install as recommended.

WeatherManVan time to post some photos of the lines as they lead into the rear evaporator please. IF they're still connected then we're looking at the TVX and possibly the evaporator itself.

[WeatherManVan]

Lines are intact and in good shape. I just got finished running some 0 gauge wire for my aux batteries under there.

I’m breaking down and taking it to a shop this week. I’ll ask them to either let me get some pics of it open, or take some themselves. I started to tear into it, but these freaking Asian tiger mosquitos won.

[REDOVAL]

I just replaced all of the air conditioning components in my van with front and rear factory units. Mine has a rear TXV and swapping it with a new one did the trick for making the rear ac blow as cold as the front. Since the unit was taken all apart I also changed the heater core and evaporator as they are not expensive units.

Scott

[JWA]

Originally Posted by REDOVAL

I just replaced all of the air conditioning components in my van with front and rear factory units. Mine has a rear TXV and swapping it with a new one did the trick for making the rear ac blow as cold as the front. Since the unit was taken all apart I also changed the heater core and evaporator as they are not expensive units.

Scott

In the rear only or both front and rear units?

Like a fool I gave my rear evaporator to the shop doing my initial evac and recharge after I'd eliminated the rear circuit. I do fear they simply scrapped it along with 50 other A/C system parts they had laying around.

I did keep the OEM heater core and OMG is that thing small, quite a bit smaller than the front core in fact. Considering the length hot coolant has to flow from the engine to the rear heater and back again I was surprised to see 110* leaving air temps at the exhaust vents when up to full operating temperatures.