I need part #1W1Z19980A for my 1998 lincoln town car but the dealers are the only ones who sell it. What can I use in its place? It's a control unit for my ac.

That part number returned 'no results' from Ford/Lincoln, AutoZone, O'Reilly's Amazon, Ebay or generic. Can you check it please? And your VIN will help

That part is EATC (electronic air temperature control) List price is $816.08. Tasca parts is $563.10 plus shipping. Sometimes these controls can be repaired if it is an internal o'ring problem. Salvage yard units may have similar problems. Google EATC repair.

http://www.tascaparts.com/lincoln/town-car/1w1z19980aa/1998- year/base-trim/4-6l-v8-gas-engine/hvac-cat/controls-scat/? part_name=dash-control-unit

That is not an engineering number, but it is in fact a correct current part number. 1W1Z-19980-AA except that it needs AA as the suffix. (I am a former Ford / Lincoln / Mercury parts guy)

I was just going to ask you guys how you came up with that. When I looked for it I came up with one looks like this

I have a similar unit in my Marauder. They are very expensive and cause problems when the o'rings become hard and brittle.

Hey Bob, I just read your thing in your garage about answering questions. So well put, my compliments. Some people expect us to solve every problem from behind a keyboard 3000 miles away, and just don't get it. My crystal ball is in the shop.

Fordnut, Thanks! I dropped my crystal ball years ago and it shattered into a million pieces.