rear arc sensor-ladder thang!

[BIGHVM]

Here is a tester for you all, My arc compressor works only if I stand on the rear bumper- I took a look under the car and noticed the rear arc sensor is fixed to the axle and the body as I expected............but there is a third point its fixed to, what I can only discribe as a small ladder thing that is fixed to the bottom of the sensor with a swivel joint.........now, the sensor wont move with this ladder thing , but when I disconect the ladder it works fine!
whats this ladder thing, is it sposed to be there, seems like its stopping the height sensor from working.

The haynes does not mention much about the arc sensors and has no diagram of the rear one to allow me to form a conclusion.

could some one have a look for me please and see if yours is the same?

On my old 98 xlt I dont recall seeing this ladder thing on the sensor, I looked cause I took it apart and greased the ball swivels!


Thanks
you all!!!!

 

[kennyh]

The ladder thing provides the pivot point!

One end of the arm is connected to the axle, the other end to the "Ladder thing" and the sensor is attached toward the ladder end to read the distance between the axle and the body. If the ladder thing was not there, then the sensor would not read the correct distance.

If your ARC does not activate with the "ladder" connected, then the sensor thinks it doesn't need to.

And if it only works when you stand on the rear bumper - that sounds about right - it should only activate when the back sinks due to a heavy load.

It sounds to me if everything is working as it should do.

Cheers
Kenny

 

[blueka]

H,

can you do me a favour and put some pics up of the sensor, cos I need to check mine, after 10 mins my rear end goes off and the light comes on..

I've no idea what I'm looking for

Cheers

Si

 

[CDW6212R]

Keep that assembly well clean and lubricated, it costs over $175 new from Ford. Here is a picture of mine after installing some new parts. I adjusted my rear ride height by lengthening the frame mounting holes etc. Regards,

 

[kennyh]

And here's a annotated pic of mine. Note I've had to tie the ends of the sensor and the ladder onto the arm as they had worked loose due to corrosion.

Like my rust!!

 

[rich uk]

kenny better get some hammerite in ready for the summer!

 

[blueka]

Thanks for posting pictures guys.. I've just crawled under mine and both the ladder thing and the sensor weren't attached to the bar..

I popped them back on and secured them with some plastic cable ties and as soon as I started the car up.. the suspension lifted back up.. so I'm happy.

I'll have to do now is to replace both oxy sensors and the driver's side wheel arch liner and I'm done

Si

 

[kennyh]

Yep! It's pretty rusty.

I was thinking of using Waxoyl - would that do the trick??

Cheers
Kenny

 

[rich uk]

best stuff i ever used was zinc paint but im guessing your right m8 its softer for stone chips ect does it kill the rust tho?

 

[CDW6212R]

Keep those height sensor ball joints lubricated. I used white lithium grease, but any good thick type would be better than nothing.

FYI, Eastwood makes the best rust products. I suggest their liquid rust remover as a general rust killer. It does not coat or seal over rust, but it is the best at getting to rust in seams and places you can't touch(scrub). They have other very good stuff for sealing or converting or covering rust. Start with the liquid remover first though, it is very easy to use and a great first step, plus being the cheapest of those products.

Their Rust Encapsulator is great for the initial layer over converted rust or light surface rust. I used those two for my minor rust issues on my 93 before undercoat sprayed on my body bottom side. Good luck,

 

[rich uk]

nice job wow speachless !

 

[BIGHVM]

Thanks you all, I will have a look again and check it all moves freely and stuff, by the way cdw6121r, thats one clean bottom!

 

[CDW6212R]

Thank you for the kind words, that is the result of welding a 93 rear clip to a 99 front clip. Regards,

 

[blueka]

what are front and rear clips?

Si

 

[CDW6212R]

The whole body, typically when a front portion is cut off it is called the front clip. I rebuilt a 99 wreck by using most of my old 93 rear body, from the windshield back. In the picture above the weld line can be seen going from one side to the other. It's near the back of the transmission tunnel, under the front seats. This link is to a thread I made for my rebuild, the 99 front clip is in the foreground of post #4.
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=146519&highlight=99+front+clip+1st+gen

 

[blueka]

cool... well it looks cool..

I'm lucky that I've got a complete spare car, in the same colour and everything!

Si