Ford E350 AC/Heater vent malfunction and fix!

Don't know if anyone still actually even uses this forum but if so this may be helpful:

About to embark on a 4 month summer trip in our PC I discovered that air from the heater or A/C would only come out of the defroster vents of our 2007 (E350).  Going online I discovered this is pretty common problem on the E350 as one of the rubber hoses in the vacuum system that actuates the vents rots and fails. Unfortunately Ford, in their wisdom, buried this $2 part under the A/C hoses etc. deep in the engine compartment and it requires more than 10 hours of labor by a professional to replace it (described as a "$3000 job"! ). Luckily on YouTube I found some shade tree mechanics who figured out a way to bypass the failure and get the vents back working as they should. It took about one hour and less than $30 in parts to fix the problem. 

Here's a link to a video showing how to do the bypass job: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WG7oWsL2oWk 

Awesome post!  I am glad you did it yourself, done extremely cheaply, and in good time.

Thanks for sharing that.

I don't know why, but PC forum members have gone silent.  I myself, check daily for activity.  With more and more PCs being built, chatter here should increase, not decrease.

Does anyone know if the E450 have the same problem? I have a 2016.

Does anyone know if the E450 have the same problem? I have a 2016.

From what I see on the internet both the E350 and E450 share this issue and the fix is the same. My guess is that the newer the rig the less likely the problem as the rubber hose line that causes the problem rots slowly over time.

Ford could have avoided this issue simply by using hard plastic line for this connection as they do for the rest of the vacuum connections. Some have cynically commented that Ford engineered this on purpose so that after a few years it would fail and instead of spending $$$$$ for repairs folks would get rid of their old van and buy a new one.

I have a strange noise that is hard to hear that comes and goes while driving from 55 to 65 mph. I’ve tried different things to see if I could manipulate. I think it’s a vacuum leak. I changed the heater/air conditioning settings or the cruise control. Cannot seem to control it. My engine runs fine. I’ve not had it to a shop to see what they think.

I had to do this twice to my E450 (2008 chassis under my 2010 PC).  "Twice?" you ask?


I bought a check valve at Autozone that failed within 6 months.  Not considering that this could be the problem, at my next oil change I mentioned to my mechanic what I did and that the problem returned within 6 months,,,, I feared the worst and thought I had a bad hose or vacuum motor.   Turns out the new check valve failed.


My mechanic put in another one and it has worked for 5 years without a problem.  This solution helps, but it's not a perfect long term fix for getting the Ford to stay in recirculate mode when parked.  After about 4 or 5 days vacuum is lost and the fresh air vent opens. It's most noticeable when parked with a head wind in cold winter.


I really want to find a way to lock the Ford in recirculate mode. I would think Ford should offer this in their RV cut away chassis.  I suggested this improvement to a contact I have at Ford (Lincoln side of the house) but it never materialized.


Larry

As fate would have it, my brother with a 1998 E350-V10 motorhome, texted me yesterday saying that his HVAC got stuck on defrost.  Just like flei, he did an internet search and concluded what flei did.  Being on an extended trip, he stopped in a repair shop who made a quick repair, replacing the section(s) of vacuum hose that was accessible which solved his problem.  It cost him $75.  My brother wonders if the "splice" will be long lasting, hoping to at least finish out their trip without a repeat.