It works! Thanks Matt! At least on my 1995 and I suppose all Gen 2's, this is a "near factory" install. The Gen I HVAC inlet looks to have a different shape.
Donor for the cabin air filter holder is any 1995 to 1997 Lincoln Continental. Remove passenger cowl/cover and pop out the cabin air filter. At the "sharp ends" of the ovals where the filter holder meets the HVAC unit (covered by screen) you will see two clips extending downwards. There are screwdriver slots between the edge of the oval and the clip, possibly obscured by a white soft glue/sealer. Insert a straightedge screwdriver on each side to release both clips. Grasp and pull/wiggle free the filter holder.
One my Gen 2, I could get the passenger side cowl cover off by removing the two screws at the center that hold the drivers side cover on. This avoided removing the wipers. There are three other screws to remove, one is behind the fender with the door open. Could have used a second pair of hands as I did crack the cover at the sharp radius where it transitions downward behind the fender.
You do not need to do any sawing inside the cowl as suggested in the Lincoln Continental link above. I carefully snipped out the screen on the SHO inlet, which allowed me to see the mounting area and grasp and wiggle free the Taurus inlet (no clips, just sealer/goo).
The Lincoln filter holder does need to be notched to clear the one inboard attachment point for the cowl cover. Unlike the Lincoln instructions above I did not remove the whole inboard upper corner - it is important to retain as much of this top portion as possible to deflect water/ice sliding down the windshield. By measuring and marking carefully with the Lincoln filter holder half way in, I cut a notch (hacksaw and razor knife) only in the attachment area, and only extending to the first radius of the new housing upper. The top outboard corner of the cover looks like it needs to be loped off, but careful measurement showed that the Gen 2 cover would fit right around it, as Ford designed it
.
Unlike the Continental install, there is one thing to watch out for. At the edge of the grille portion of the Taurus cowl cover there is a rib stiffener sticking down that interferes with the new housing. Resist the urge to cut the whole thing off, as it does reinforce the cover. A half inch notch rearward, and up to the cowl cover, as well as a one inch notch, extending forward (and up to the cover), is all that is needed. The rib will stick down partially into one of the filter pleats but that is ok.
The fresh air grille can let water onto the edge of the filter housing. To combat this I covered the two outboard rows of holes on the backside with heavy duty HVAC aluminum tape. I then painted in each black square on the top side with black silicone RTV. Did not come out perfect but gets the job done right - no water path to the filter housing.
A word about cabin air filters. Per Rockauto there are a half dozen different brands, including Motorcraft FP16 and ATP FA2. I wanted a premium filter figuring this would only get changed every couple of years given the hassle of removing the cover. Found out ATP is an OEM supplier, and makes two different grades of filters for the 95-97 Continental ap. The FA2 is the deluxe version, five layers with the center layer being activated carbon to take some fumes out of the air, so that is what I went with (got a couple on closeout, and there is a rebate running right now).
Enjoy a feature that only comes on some, not all, new cars. At full HVAC fan speed it does not seem like the filter is causing any sort of excessive pressure drop, and no more pollen sneezes!
zak
I can host them on my photobucket account if you want.
