Exterior temp off, Long warm up time.

Cruiseomatic

Defining Insanity
Joined
Sep 25, 2015
Posts
665
Reaction score
11
Location
Dark side of the Sun.
On my '04, The exterior temp sensor usually reads 4* higher than normal where as on my '15 wrecker, its spot on. Could this be the sensor and is it the same as the mid-90's panther cars?

And whether I'm at high idle engagement or low idle, It still takes this truck 10 minutes to warm up in 40-ish degree weather. And when it finally does, my heater lines feel hot but the air coming out isn't until about 5 minutes later. I also have a loud rushing sound behind the dash and in the cowl. Air flow isnt that strong either. Its acting like it has a blocked cab air filter which it doesn't have and a clogged heater core but both lines are hot.

Anyone have a troubleshooting chart I can go by for the hvac system? Coolant cap is still factory original. But, I'm not loosing any coolant. And if so, Not enough to really notice.
 

Willis Ponds

Registered User
Joined
Dec 20, 2016
Posts
5
Reaction score
0
Location
Lodge, SC
I had one of your problems on my 2005 f-250. The slow warm up. I ended up changing out the coolant thermostat and that fixed it. Apparently it was stuck open. The engine ran a lot better after that to because the temperature was regulated better.

As for your other problems I have had similar problems in other vehicles before. The rushing water sound could be due to a couple of things. One would be air in your core but usually that is indicative of a leak in the core or you having flushed the system recently. Usually air will work it's way out. The other possibility is the valve in the heater hose isn't opening all of the way. There is a valve under the hood on the passenger side that is operated by vacuum. You should see a small gray vacuum hose going to a black plastic cylinder mounted on top of one of the heater hoses. There is a valve on the hose attached to this black plastic vacuum solenoid. You can manually manipulate the valve to see if you can tell a difference in the water flow.

The low air flow is very likely a dirty A/C coil. On my 2005 the air runs through the A/C coil under the hood before it enters into the cab. There isn't a flap to divert the air so all air has to pass through the A/C coil before getting into the cab. (If someone with more technical knowledge knows this to be different please speak up but this is what I surmised from mine). Also, on all of the Super Duties I have owned (2000 Excursion through 2005 F-250) I have never found a cabin air filter or a place to even put on. On my 2005 the coil turned out to be very dirty. The way I cleaned it was a little unconventional but it worked. I removed the fan motor from the housing under the hood and went inside from that hole to clean it. Doing it any other way requires a lot more effort on disassembly. I used a bore scope camera with a light on it to look inside and watch what I was doing while cleaning it. The first step was to rig a flexible hose on a vacuum cleaner to vacuum as much of the crud as I could. That won't do much but it is a start. The second thing I did was use a garden pump sprayer with the proper mix of water and air conditioner coil cleaner. I attached a hose on the end of the pump sprayer instead of the typical rigid pipe. I could then maneuver the flexible hose inside of the coil housing to spray the coil. One thing I had to be careful of was the flap that lets fresh air into the cab. I put a towel over it inside of the housing so that any wayward water didn't go into the cab. When you start spraying, the drain in the housing should let the crud and water out. If the drain were to get blocked it would backup and go into the cab. Using the bore scope camera I was able to watch what I was doing with the flexible wash hose and kept at it until I got it pretty much all cleaned. Follow the directions on the coil cleaner which will tell you what concentration to use and how long to let it sit after spraying it on before washing it down. Most coil cleaners will tell you to spray it on and forget it, it will clean itself. I didn't do that. I washed it until the crud was gone.

If you want to be impressed with what you get out of it place a large pan inside and behind the passenger front tire. It will catch most of the run off and will show you just what you had blocking that coil. Hope this helps!
 

Willis Ponds

Registered User
Joined
Dec 20, 2016
Posts
5
Reaction score
0
Location
Lodge, SC
I forgot to mention, the external temp sensor on my '05 is also off and I mean WAY off sometimes. I'm sure that makes a difference to something in the computer but it doesn't control the water flow. The thermostat is all mechanical. I'm not sure but I suppose it could control the fan clutch as those are now electrically actuated instead of mechanically. You would be able to hear if the fan were running though in cold temperatures. If the fan is running that would be something you would need to fix though the water flow will make the most difference. After you start driving past 45mph the air coming from the front will far exceed what the fan could produce.
 

Cruiseomatic

Defining Insanity
Joined
Sep 25, 2015
Posts
665
Reaction score
11
Location
Dark side of the Sun.
Can't hear the fan but I can read the RPMs. The T-Stat is probably failed open as it is showing the signs and the cap does need to be replaced as it is OEM from '04. I'll see what the local shop wants to change the t-stat out today. To damn cold for me right now and I work nights. Thanks. I'll also check out the a/c coil. It is probably chocked full after 14 years and years of sitting.
 

Cruiseomatic

Defining Insanity
Joined
Sep 25, 2015
Posts
665
Reaction score
11
Location
Dark side of the Sun.
Believe I got the exterior temp sensor issue cleared. Pulled it off and it had dust caked in and around the pins with grease coming out of the bottom. Cleaned it some and it appears to read more accurately. I haven't screwed with the HVAC yet as its be 30* and WINDY AS HELL lately. Going tomorrow for a full synthetic oil change and t-stat replacement. Even if it isn't faulty, its 14 years old and has sat alot so it won't hurt to do it.
I wonder what a good additive would be to help clean some of the junk out of this engine since it has gone so long between changes with such low miles. Using Mobil syn with a Motorcraft filter. Might do the fuel filters as well. They're getting up in age as well.
 

Cruiseomatic

Defining Insanity
Joined
Sep 25, 2015
Posts
665
Reaction score
11
Location
Dark side of the Sun.
I like this stuff. http://www.hotshotsecret.com/shop/stiction-eliminator/
Remember, motorcraft only for filter cap also.

Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk

"ALWAYS!"
This truck has never had ANY kind of additive put in before I bought from my father. He thought it was all snake oil and he didn't need it.... Then again, He would talk of the days when a car that had 50K miles was worn totally out. I'll try the hot shot stuff and see what and how it does. Been noticing some performance issues lately and longer and longer crank times.
 

79jasper

Chickenhawk
Joined
Oct 13, 2012
Posts
17,367
Reaction score
1,930
Location
Collinsville, Oklahoma
Likely just stiction. Common in the 6.0.
Not necessarily anything to worry about. Try a additive or you can pull the injectors and clean the spool valves.
Another additive people like is RevX.

Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk
 

snicklas

6.0 and Loving It!!
Staff member
Joined
Aug 7, 2006
Posts
6,164
Reaction score
2,342
Location
Greenfield, Indiana
I use Chevron Delo 5w-40 Full Synthetic and have Rev-X in this oil change. The oil helped a lot, and the Rev-X cleared up the last little bit.
 

DaveBen

Supporting Member
Supporting Member
Joined
Sep 29, 2010
Posts
1,916
Reaction score
632
Location
Ukiah, Ca
I have been running 5 W40 for about 10 years and I love it. No surging when cold starting. Works great in our 108+ temperatures!
 

Cruiseomatic

Defining Insanity
Joined
Sep 25, 2015
Posts
665
Reaction score
11
Location
Dark side of the Sun.
Thanks for the oil suggestions. Slept my whole time off so nothing got done.... Go figure. Hoping to get it done tomorrow. Now, Even though it is 30* out, Console still says its 42* out! Talk about way off! Anyone have any troubleshooting ideas?
 
Top