replacing master cylinder, 2007 E450
Hey, kids. I am attempting to replace the master cylinder on my E450. I let it run dry so I figured I take it out and bleed it. Then I figured, hey, as long as it's out, why not put a brand-new one...
Forum Discussion
The issue with the Taurus matches your description with the Mustang. I should get my service manual out on the E-series and see if Ford did the same there.
For people who are totally lost on what we are talking about, I will describe it as simple as I can, what it took to replace the heater core in my 1987 Taurus.
The heater core and the a/c evaporator are mounted side by side inside a common housing. The housing is bolted to the fire wall with the two tubes from each protruding through the firewall. The housing is huge as it also houses the blower fan. The only way to get to that huge housing is to remove the dash board. But to remove the dash board, you have to first remove the steering column. To remove the steering column, you first have to remove the ignition switch. To work with enough room, I removed the front seats. It went on and on and on.
When all those things are out of the way and you finally see the huge heater core housing bolted to the fire wall, there is a lid on the top to open it to get to the heater core. But you have to unbolt the housing from the firewall to remove the lid because the firewall has an over-hang into the area, I recall for the windshield wipers and such, which forces you to completely remove it instead of working with it in place. Doing that forces the mechanic to disconnect the a/c lines as well, getting involved with Freon reclamation and all that.
After I was all done, I was so ticked off that I wrote a technical letter to Ford over the entire experience, offering an easier alternative approach for repair sake that could be easily be implemented as a running change on the production line. I also had words to say about the layout under the hood. Everything was in the worst possible location with power steering a/c, and even transmission plumbing all over the place, completely avoidable if designed smarter.
I concluded in my letter stating something like "If I laid out circuit boards the way the Taurus was laid out, I would be an unemployment statistic."
A couple weeks to a month later I actually got a call from Ford, a technical person who went through each of my points made. I was shocked to get such a call with such detailed questions. Maybe people at Ford were complaining within and wanted to make their point that even their customers noticed the hodge podge they created.
For people who are totally lost on what we are talking about, I will describe it as simple as I can, what it took to replace the heater core in my 1987 Taurus.
The heater core and the a/c evaporator are mounted side by side inside a common housing. The housing is bolted to the fire wall with the two tubes from each protruding through the firewall. The housing is huge as it also houses the blower fan. The only way to get to that huge housing is to remove the dash board. But to remove the dash board, you have to first remove the steering column. To remove the steering column, you first have to remove the ignition switch. To work with enough room, I removed the front seats. It went on and on and on.
When all those things are out of the way and you finally see the huge heater core housing bolted to the fire wall, there is a lid on the top to open it to get to the heater core. But you have to unbolt the housing from the firewall to remove the lid because the firewall has an over-hang into the area, I recall for the windshield wipers and such, which forces you to completely remove it instead of working with it in place. Doing that forces the mechanic to disconnect the a/c lines as well, getting involved with Freon reclamation and all that.
After I was all done, I was so ticked off that I wrote a technical letter to Ford over the entire experience, offering an easier alternative approach for repair sake that could be easily be implemented as a running change on the production line. I also had words to say about the layout under the hood. Everything was in the worst possible location with power steering a/c, and even transmission plumbing all over the place, completely avoidable if designed smarter.
I concluded in my letter stating something like "If I laid out circuit boards the way the Taurus was laid out, I would be an unemployment statistic."
A couple weeks to a month later I actually got a call from Ford, a technical person who went through each of my points made. I was shocked to get such a call with such detailed questions. Maybe people at Ford were complaining within and wanted to make their point that even their customers noticed the hodge podge they created.
