Just got my ac system redone. My compressor had a broken seal so I went and got a new compressor, accumulator, red orifice tube, and oil and r134a freon. My vry reliable mechanic took the job and did it all to spec. Flushed evaporator, condensor, and the lines out very good with ac flush. Put everything back together and vacuumed the system for 45 minutes. Filled the system back with the appropriate freon. And coldest it got was 40 degrees with it being 80 outside at idle. Felt pretty good then, but now ive noticed that my trucks running hotter than usual. Whengoing above 30 or so its a bit cooler, but once im coasting in my neighborhood it really heats up, between M and L, and ac blows warm! Ac itself is doing great, holding freon, and accumulator is very cold and sweating up a storm. When on highway it cools very well. Im sure my truck running hotter than usual is what is keeping from performing much better. Water pump less than 2 years old, thermostat less than 6th months old, coolant is topped off with no air in system.

Does this sound like fan clutch? Or maybe restricted radiator? Ive always had a broken fan shroud that I know doesnt beling to my truck, holes for mounting dont line up, its held by wire. Its never given me a problem before now though. My fan clutch stops immediately after turning off engine, not sure if thats normal or not.

Thanks in advance.

 

The fan clutch sounds like a good possibility and a proper fitting shroud is also important,fan clutches even when disengaged or falty will move some air but you can tell when it is not enough when your engine heats up at lower speeds and in stop and go traffic,highway speeds will often provide enough air flow even if the fan clutch is bad.

 

Thanks Terry S, I was hoping it was my fan clutch. Fairly simple and cheap job to do. And yeah my fan shroud is missing a bigs chunk from the very bottom, the blade doesnt hit it cuz I have each end tied down. If I order the right one, what holds it in place?

 

If your shroud mounts like mine it uses these clips that attach to the radiator frame and have a threaded insert that is used to screw the shroud to it with small hex head screws.also I recommend sticking with the motorcraft brand of fan clutch,I'v tried other brands and they just don't work as well as the motorcraft brand.

 

How long was the old A/C system out of commission? With the A/C on you are putting more heat in front of the radiator. If you have not used the A/C in awhile you may not have noticed the difference. Now with that extra heat and a fugg'ed up shroud your cooling system is struggling to keep up.

Never under estimate the effectiveness of a fan shroud or the gaskets/air deflectors Ford built into the front end of these trucks. And as you mentioned the fan clutch. Right now I would be more concerned about the shroud.

The factory shroud is attached with two screws on the top. The bottom fits into a groove at the bottom of the radiator in two spots.

 

So the radiator itself has to have clips? Or the shroud has the clips? And would the threaded insert be on the radiator or the fan shroud? just want to know before i purchase a fan shroud. And yes motocraft was going to be my first choice either way.

 

It wasnt out of commission at all, i thought that it was in good working order til my mechanic told me it was "cycling" too much due to a leak that was very visible on my intake hoses. And plus it was cooler then, than now. Theres more humidity in the air now then there was when i thought the AC was in good working order. What he found weird was that there was a blue orifice tube in the system when he took it apart, which in my opinion was blowing a bit colder when it has a blue one in.

Yeah im about to order a fan shroud, but am just concerned i wont be able to mount it because i dont know how it screws in. Theres no threaded anything on the radiator.

Would an over charged system be giving me these symptoms? And would all the lines that need to be cold be ice cold and sweating up a storm if it was over charged?

 

The bottom of the radiator has the goove/clips built in the It's the top of the radiator that has the mounting holes. The clips can be found at a good hardware store. When I acquired my '92 F350 2 .5 years ago the shroud was missing. I installed one using some 1/4" hardware and washers. The throttle body coolant line runs across the top of the radiator. It has some brackets welded onto it, I used those as part of the mounting system with a nut that has a built-in star washer on it. Used a 1/4" bolt that goes clear through those brackets, the radiator tabs and the shroud.

 

And did you notice maybe better cooling was the the actual fan shroud was installed? And im going to take your idea and apply it to what I need to have done. In my opinion the fan shroud missing a big chunk at the bottom is not letting enough air come up, and is just passing it threw the bottom of the truck and just accumulating there. But that is just a thought.

 

Yes I did notice the temperature gauge ran a little cooler.

One of the more knowledgeable members over on FullSizeBronco.com runs his own shop. There was a thread he was involved with sometime ago on this very subject. He is the one who advocates the fan shroud as well as gaskets/deflectors being in place. His A/C experience has proven those little pieces are key to having a cooling system and A/C that performs up to standards.

His screen name is itsacrazyasian of all things. The guy knows his stuff. It may not turn out to be your root cause but I have learned over the years to not ignore the obvious. Start with the simple things first.

 

Well im certainly going to take your advice and see if it helps. And just to be sure, what gaskets and deflectors are you talking about?

 

Gasket between grille and upper radiator support:


Deflector behind front grille:



For reference some views of how I mounted my fan shroud:



and

 

What is that piece of pipe running in front of where you mount the shroud? It connects to a coolant line, but for what?

 

That is the throttle body coolant line. Actually it is used to heat the throttle body to prevent icing in colder climates. I'm sure someone else has another theory on it's operation.

 

I just looked at my gaskets, and the ones above the grille are there. but the ones behind the grille are not there. did those come standard in the f150? Or is that just for your f350?