A half days work if you are familiar with them... take plenty of pictures, and measure each of the screws that come out. the steering column trim has three different lengths, and you can NOT put the short one in here the long one goes, and the long one will go throughthe top plastic where the short one goes, and it has to go together like a clamshell first.
Again thanks for some great tips Steve. 1/2 a day for someone who has done it before is pretty crazy. Now I think I need to get another torque screw set, last I looked mine was missing one and would probably be the one needed the most. Its somewhere but I really should get another set. This is my first ever Ford in my 58 years, why do they build them liken this??
Assembly speed. A lot of modern cars are built this way. Components are built as complete assemblies, likely in Mexico, to minimize US labor costs. Wait until it needs a heater core... Patrick
Oh come on; something as simple as the heater core??? That is a piece of cake. Disconnect battery, drain coolant, remove hoses from heater core. Drop ALL of the front dash trim, drop the steering column, remove everything in the dash, remove the dash, jack the cat up so you can access the two bolts that hold the heater assembly from the passenger side wheel well, remove the duct work from the passenger side, take the heater assembly apart, remove and replace the heater core. Reverse for assembly Here's a quick tutorial: Be glad you don't have the electronic control HVAC system. That is another can of worms in itself... Hopefully you never have any wiring issues. Entire car front to back is just about continuous, battery to tail lights.
That is INSANE They had to want the dealers busy and taking in money but I can't any dealer wanting to do that job?? The easiest part was when he said to put the front seats all the way back... I also noticed that the hood barely opens enough to fit your fingers in to unlatch it which mine is the exact same way. He mentions the springs are worn. At least my hood stays up and hasn't fallen on my head yet.. I guess I am lucky not having the electronic HVAC but as much simpler as it is I can't really get the heat to flow out of the dash vents no matter what position the heat is set for. It should be on the mixed setting but still not much flow. Just seeing and knowing this puts a PIT in my stomach!
