UPDATE.......

As I struggle to locate the heater hose due to multiple hoses and dual ac (and a confusing all data diagram) I have investigated other AC components based on the alldata.

Sooo.......I found yesterday that my AC compressor was not cycling within spec according to alldata. See they have a bunch of diagnostic graphs that tell you whether the compenents are operating properly. Mine is cuts on for 15 seconds and then is off for 15 secs. This is too short for 90 degree temps. It needs to cycle for longer in hot temps. Alldata says a AC Compressor switch could be bad or a clogged orifice.

Which brings to me the clogged orifice. WILL SOMEBODY PLEASE TELL ME WHETHER I HAVE AN ORIFICE TUBE OR AN EXPANSION VALVE and where this is located???????

Everything I have read about car AC's is that you cant have BOTH an expansion valve and orifice tube, you can only have one or the other. Alldata is confusing in this aspect.

Besides the blend door, what I really want to do is to install a new receiver drier ($70), and a new orifice tube ($15). Then recharge the system. These components can be replaced relatively easy.

 

More than likely you have an expansion valve since you have dual evaporators and one compressor. You're right in that on a 90 deg day your compressor should not cycle at all. If this is the case you could have a weak compressor clutch as well. Please note that to recharge the system you'll need a vacuum pump to evacuate the system. If you're itching to replace the OT (if you have one) and drier then be patient and figure out if you have a weak clutch or a bad A/C switch. Both are easy to diagnose. For the switch, a jumper can be used......if the compressor stops cycling then its not the switch. To check the clutch, use a feeler gauge to check the gap. Your new ALLDATA account should be able to give you the proper gap (the gap should be small). If not, try the following:

http://www.autoacforum.com/

You'll find everthing you ever wanted to know about Auto A/C. If I'm wrong about the expansion valve, the guys at the website above will know for sure.

 

lt- i know your frustrated with this but where your headed, there is a good chance your only going to be more frustrated going down that road. You need to absolutely rule out the things that I and others have given you in the way of suggestions. I can't fathom that you can't determine which is the incoming heater hose and yet your going to throw parts at it that it may not need , if so, will do you no good. Your getting the cart before the horse. And as far as comp. on 15 sec. and off the same , in spite of what the other poster said there are MANY if not most later air cond. systems that do continually cycle on and off as part of the way they're engineered. I believe it has to do with keeping the pressure relatively even behind the orifice tube (or expansion valve). I have done quite a bit of air work and charged air for many years but am not an air mechanic. I have all my own equipment and do my own and family and friends work but that doesn't make me an A/C spec. If you want success and an end to frustration, lt, your going to have to take a deep breath and step back and get some order to this thing or your pockets are going to be empty and your still not going to be cool. (By the way, in all frankness, things are changing so fast in automotive that you can throw out most of what you knew 10 years ago and a lot of what you knew 5 years ago). That is the reason I get current shop manuals on DVD. Good luck!

 

Bugman and Code,

I would personally like to thank you both for the help up to this point!

I definatelty agree that I need to rule out the blend door 100% before even thinking about doing anything else.

I will attempt again to clamp the heater hose tonite. Do I need to clamp both the heater inlet and outlet or just the inlet?

Last time I did it I waited a while with no change in heat.

How long would it take to start feeling ambient air?

 

If you can clamp both easily then clamp both to avoid confusion. The heat should be removed in less than a minute. I've made another post about your vehicle over in the website http://www.autoacforum.com/ to find out for certain as to whether you have an OT or expansion valve. I've also requested a diagram and/or a picture and whether or not the clutch gap is a common problem with '99 Explorers. Those guys are the experts and deal with a 1000 times more vehicles than a non-professional. That post can be viewed here:

http://www.autoacforum.com/messagevi...threadid=19713

 

lt-I believe the blend door actuator on you Exp. should be on top of the heater housing on the right side behind the glove box door. I THINK it should be a white kinda flat housing (electrically operated). You should be able to fold the glove box down pretty easy. It should have small cables or rubber snubbers that should be easy to remove so that it folds down (almost straight down) so that you don't have to take it off to have access to the actuator behind it. With the key on,change they heat control (temp) and listen and feel the actuator to see if it is working. If it is you then will have to see if you can determine if it is actually operating the blend door or if the door is broken. I don't think you should have to have it running since it is electric rather than vacuum. Play with it and see what you can find out.

 

Looks like your steering him in the right direction, Bugman.