distribution box cover

T

Torque

1st Gear Poster
Joined
Oct 9, 2023
Messages
40
Location
Texas
Vehicle Details
'96 Bird 4.6
Country flag
Here's yet another POS plastic piece that shattered when I contacted it. Damn near everything in my engine bay has embrittlement to the point where it cracks if you look at it wrong.
This particular cover cracked a minor amount on top when my elbow bumped into it while working on the recent front end suspension rebuild (upper arm bolts). I went out yesterday and was trying out a new crowfoot flare wrench to see whether I could get my 1/2" torque wrench to work with the 3/8" crowfoot using a U-joint on that particular upper arm nut, and while holding the torque wrench head with my hand, my hand and the wrench contacted the side of the distro box cover and it literally exploded into about 10 pieces! 😲

Unlike the mega fuse cover I replaced with NOS years ago, this distro box cover doesn't have a Ford part number on it. Does anyone know the part number for this piece? I found a used cover on eBay, but they want $56.79! Being used, it's probably brittle by now, too. Hard pass on highway robbery. I'll use a lid from a regular rectangular plastic box on it, if I can find one about the right size, before I pay that kind of money for this little shit piece of plastic.

Anyway, I want to see whether I can find it NOS like I did the mega fuse cover, if it was sold as a separate stealership part and not only as a complete box assembly. If the latter, then I guess I'm SOL, unless a lucky boneyard find happens or I can find an alternate box top.
 
Many Fords shared similar parts. Do you have a picture? I might have one.
 
Where these cars spent most of their time makes a big difference under the hood. My cougar is originally from the North East and still under 100k miles, the plastics under the hood are still in great shape and not brittle. I used to own a 96 Tbird that spent most of it's life in Florida. All the plastics under the hood were already broken or in the process of cracking apart.
It's got to be the extra heat from being down South. Higher mileage also has a big part of it.
Interestingly enough, car battery manufactures distribute different grades of batteries depending on the region. Batteries sent to southern areas, are built tougher because the extreme heat wears them out faster.
 
I tried to cross-reference it off of a picture but I didn't find a match. Strange that it doesn't have a molded part number. Most of the ones I come across have the latch broken off at the very least. I think I have one good undamaged one holed away for my project.

The one pictured here is on the harness that I'm modding (just for a picture reference for what OP is looking for).
20240102_130817.jpg
20240102_130732.jpg
 
My car is originally from AZ/CA and the hinge on that was broken when I got it. I got a good used one from the junkyard. I might have another one that I picked up.
 
I don't have one that size, sorry. I thought maybe a 1st gen explorer cover would fit, but looks like it is too wide.
003-jpg.156415
 
Thanks guys. Until I get my hands on a replacement, I thought of something ghetto that might work for the time being. A while back, I had ordered some large silicone rubber sheets off Amazon for a non-vehicular project. I should be able to cut a piece and secure it over the box with wire ties, cloth harness tape, etc. Will have to remember to keep my elbows away from it while working in the bay.
 
Well, I went and did it, broke the bottom half. I was working around the UCA bolt and I was unlucky enough (or stupidly not paying attention, take yer pick) to touch the box with a wrench and and now chunks of the bottom half are broken off. Looks like I'll have to build a new box out of scrap ABS and Jerry-rig an attachment to the vehicle or buy a whole used box. Or, keep driving it like it is and pray water doesn't get splashed up under there eventually (it will here in Always Rains USA). Even if no water, oily dust and dirt might. FML
 
UCA requires an 18mm ratcheting wrench. It will fit down the gap. Leave the flags on the inside alone; they help going back in.
 
Torque said:
Well, I went and did it, broke the bottom half. I was working around the UCA bolt and I was unlucky enough (or stupidly not paying attention, take yer pick) to touch the box with a wrench and and now chunks of the bottom half are broken off. Looks like I'll have to build a new box out of scrap ABS and Jerry-rig an attachment to the vehicle or buy a whole used box. Or, keep driving it like it is and pray water doesn't get splashed up under there eventually (it will here in Always Rains USA). Even if no water, oily dust and dirt might. FML
Click to expand...
Wow... you really are in a predicament. That is rather scary to be exposing that kind of current in the engine. One spark, a little gas or fumes. You could wrap it in a plastic bag and tape it up to keep water out and exposure to the engine at bay. Something like a Hefty bag. Or just cut a heavy duty plastic to go around the panel and tape it up to keep moisture out.

This is the first I have heard of Ford automotive plastic disintegrate like that. Though on VGG, he was taking off the rear tail light assembly of his 85 Buick and the bulb socket hole in the tail light was literally, falling away in what would best be described as dust.
 
Perhaps you can find someone local with a 3D printer that can make the needed parts from scratch.. however may not be a cheap fix.
 
Grog6 said:
UCA requires an 18mm ratcheting wrench. It will fit down the gap. Leave the flags on the inside alone; they help going back in.
Click to expand...

I had been using a crescent wrench on the nut as the hold down and torquing the bolt with my torque wrench (new bolts come with new UCAs, so no mo flags). I got a new set of crowfoot adapters and was trying to see whether I could torque it down from the engine bay side. It's doable, but at a cost if you aren't careful, like I wasn't.
 
Swamprat said:
Perhaps you can find someone local with a 3D printer that can make the needed parts from scratch.. however may not be a cheap fix.
Click to expand...
Been looking for an excuse to buy a printer, so this may be a good one.
 
White Lincoln said:
This is the first I have heard of Ford automotive plastic disintegrate like that. Though on VGG, he was taking off the rear tail light assembly of his 85 Buick and the bulb socket hole in the tail light was literally, falling away in what would best be described as dust.
Click to expand...

All of the plastic in my engine bay has embrittlement. My harness connectors practically crack if you just look at them wrong. I've had a few where lock tabs snapped right off during removal the moment I touched them, and I wasn't being rough. I managed to secure some of them with the appropriate size zip tie where the lock bar goes. The locking tab/finger or whatever you want to call them on one side of one of my ignition coil connectors is still missing, but I haven't had any probs with it coming loose so far.

As for lamp assemblies, both brake lights on mine were burnt to a crisp inside. The bulbs melted themselves into the red lens, then shattered, so I had to extract bits of glass off the plastic lens with long pliers. Actually, small bits of glass are still embedded in the lens, as I couldn't get at them well enough to scrape them off completely.
The third brake light bulbs cooked the plastic housing, melting large holes in it and the bulb sockets are loose and barely stay in the housing. Those bulbs also frosted over the red lens and bubbled it out some, so it looks bad from the outside. I was planning on fixing that assembly with a fluorescent tube diffuser sheet (you know, the kind with pyramids on one side) and some bright LED bulbs I bought that fit in the OEM sockets. I was planning on covering the melted holes with aluminum tape to reflect the light back into the housing. I never got around to that project and have too many other things to do, so it may never get done at this rate.

Ford under engineered the plastic assemblies for the types of bulbs they used, and for engine bay connectors. But then, they didn't intend on people driving their cars for decades. Planned obsolesence, designed for failure.
 
car-part.com is finding them for sale at yards around the country.

Like I was saying earlier in this thread. If you look for a replacement, find one from the North and it will not be as brittle. The one in my Thunderbird from Florida was falling apart. I don't think it had a lid left when I sold the car for scrap value.
My Cougar which is from NJ the plastic is all in good shape and not brittle
 
Torque said:
All of the plastic in my engine bay has embrittlement. My harness connectors practically crack if you just look at them wrong. I've had a few where lock tabs snapped right off during removal the moment I touched them, and I wasn't being rough. I managed to secure some of them with the appropriate size zip tie where the lock bar goes. The locking tab/finger or whatever you want to call them on one side of one of my ignition coil connectors is still missing, but I haven't had any probs with it coming loose so far.

As for lamp assemblies, both brake lights on mine were burnt to a crisp inside. The bulbs melted themselves into the red lens, then shattered, so I had to extract bits of glass off the plastic lens with long pliers. Actually, small bits of glass are still embedded in the lens, as I couldn't get at them well enough to scrape them off completely.
The third brake light bulbs cooked the plastic housing, melting large holes in it and the bulb sockets are loose and barely stay in the housing. Those bulbs also frosted over the red lens and bubbled it out some, so it looks bad from the outside. I was planning on fixing that assembly with a fluorescent tube diffuser sheet (you know, the kind with pyramids on one side) and some bright LED bulbs I bought that fit in the OEM sockets. I was planning on covering the melted holes with aluminum tape to reflect the light back into the housing. I never got around to that project and have too many other things to do, so it may never get done at this rate.

Ford under engineered the plastic assemblies for the types of bulbs they used, and for engine bay connectors. But then, they didn't intend on people driving their cars for decades. Planned obsolesence, designed for failure.
Click to expand...
The connectors can be replaced, they sell most of those. Keep an eye out on RockAuto for close outs on those.

I wonder if the person that had the car before used the wrong bulb, a hotter one and why the plastic melted. My idiot brake light, light socket opening were melted and I found the same with most used cars at the yard. Lots of sitting in traffic I guess. I found a descent idiot light and replaced it. LED's would help in this situation. They don't get as hot.

My connectors broke in my engine bay, but mostly the slide over tabs broke off, to me that was just age and heat. I learned to use a push pin plyers to pop off the connectors to keep them from braking.

Ford's idea of making money is planned obsolescence.
 
There is a '97 T-Bird at one of the local yards. I'm sure the bottom enclosure is in fine shape. The lid might be good too. I didn't look that closely at it when I was there last.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Back
Top