5.4L cold engine temp
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New User
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5.4L cold engine temp
2001 f250 5.4L v8. Engine temp seems really low. The gauge is reading barely above the cold in normal range. The heater is only blowing out 75 degree air at the warmest. It gets to its normal temperature with in 15 minutes even when its real cold out. I live in Minnesota and its been a really cold winter so having hot heat would be nice. I just bought this truck at the beginning of the winter. Anyone know whats going on?
Senior User
Joined: May 2012
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From: Derby, ks
sounds to me like a bad T stat.. low coolant level... or finally time to flush the cooling system.. might be clogged by the heater core.. just throwing my ideas out there.. I would kill at of them at one time.. easy fixes..
Fleet Mechanic
Joined: Mar 2013
Posts: 1,729
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From: New Jersey
+3 with the T stat and or coolant levels. Probably a good idea to change the coolant while doing the T stat only if you do not know or remember doing it last. I had a similar problem with another Explorer that I owned a few year back. It lost heat in the winter. Sure enough the T stat went bad and the truck was about 5 years old. When I bought the ride, it was 3 years old with 70K. I doubt the place I bought it did anything past changing the oil. Did a t stat, flush and refill, it was good to go for the rest of the winter.
Good Luck!
Good Luck!
Laughing Gas
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 964
Likes: 105
The coolant in some of 5 here trucks is different.
My v10 has the gold , and you can not mix any other color coolant .
The deal tank is opaque , and you will be able to generally tell what color it is supposed to be .
My v10 has the gold , and you can not mix any other color coolant .
The deal tank is opaque , and you will be able to generally tell what color it is supposed to be .
Cargo Master
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 3,450
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From: Forest lake minnesota
And one last tip is only use a motorcraft stat as the autoparts store stats have been known to not work properly in these motors..
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Alright I'll check the coolant today. Im pretty sure its at the normal level i havent smelt it though. Is it cheaper to flush the system myself or bring it to a shop and have them do it? How many gallons of coolant would i need to flush it myself?
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From: Isanti, MN
There's no reason not to change out your thermostat as well. It is a 20 minute job if you take your time. Here's my thread on how to do it, there are lots of pics.
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...nt-how-to.html
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I had to bring it to a shop to get it flushed since it's been a really cold winter here in Minnesota. It was only $80 not too bad. Saved me my valuable time. i havent gone and picked it up yet so i dont know if it changed anything, if it didnt do anything regarding my engine temp i will replace the thermostat and hopefully that works. Thanks for all the information.
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I replaced the thermostat and now i have hot heat. Which is the good news. But after i got all done i have a misfire now. Im thinking that one of the COPs got wet or somw coolant got down on the plug. Whats the best way to dry it off? It has gotten a lot better but it still misfires at idle and slow acceleration. And doesn't seem to be getting better anymore.
Elder User
Joined: Sep 2012
Posts: 776
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From: Philly, PA USA
what kind of misfire do you have? Could be short to ground, which in that case you can see the sparking to the block especially at night in a dark area. If that's the issue, replace the boot -cost less than $4.
The other type of misfire is COP intermittently is not firing. You could have pending misfires codes that can help track down the failing COP. Then either bench test by "ohming" but know test is not always 100% since there's no load. Or try cleaning off with MAP sensor cleaner and let evaporate dry. Or simply replace it if questionable -Motorcraft only.
With spark plugs still in their place (don't remove)....Blowing air is the best way to dry out plug holes but few ppl have access to air. Use a tip adapter on a bike pump or portable tire compressor. Or still in a bind, rag with a screw driver to wipe whatever you can spraying brake clean lightly and carefully (try NOT to get all over or spray on electrical components) to facilitate grease or coolant removal and it naturally evaporates quite quickly
WD40 i wouldn't use -it would saturate the hole which is exactly what you don't want.
The other type of misfire is COP intermittently is not firing. You could have pending misfires codes that can help track down the failing COP. Then either bench test by "ohming" but know test is not always 100% since there's no load. Or try cleaning off with MAP sensor cleaner and let evaporate dry. Or simply replace it if questionable -Motorcraft only.
With spark plugs still in their place (don't remove)....Blowing air is the best way to dry out plug holes but few ppl have access to air. Use a tip adapter on a bike pump or portable tire compressor. Or still in a bind, rag with a screw driver to wipe whatever you can spraying brake clean lightly and carefully (try NOT to get all over or spray on electrical components) to facilitate grease or coolant removal and it naturally evaporates quite quickly
WD40 i wouldn't use -it would saturate the hole which is exactly what you don't want.
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Well last night I took the problem coil off and it and the spark plug was dry so i just sprayed a little wd40 in it and put it back together. No difference. Drove for about 15 minutes and it was running perfectly fine til I got home. Hopefully this is fixed now. I will know today if its better or not.