Keith, thanks for the encouragement along the way.

After talking to my trusted mechanic and an FTE member in the know about A/C systems, I am going to leave well enough alone. It is working as intended, and I think I am just being picky with the temperature getting down to ~58 degrees because it is very humid here in GA, especially after all the rain we have gotten. The A/C has to work harder when there is a lot of humidity in the air, so I think instead of spending $200-$400 on getting 10 more degrees out of the system, I am going to use that money to help make good memories with the family.

Making memories with your loved ones and your friends is far more valuable to me than getting 10 degrees lower out of the A/C system. Besides, when rolling down the road with the camper in tow, I prefer to have the windows down anyway.

I am glad you enjoyed the video. Stay tuned, another one coming up soon!

 

Well said!

Funny about the windows. Even when the A/C was cooperating, we would alternate between windows down and A/C.

Something about fresh air blowing everyone's hair about wildly that says "camping"

I will likely clean my evaporator coils when I replace the compressor. I hope to do it shortly, but probably wait a week or so until I get some other things taken care of at home.

I am anxious to see what a "fresh" A/C system will do.

If the compressor wasn't giving me troubles, I'd probably just stick with what I have, too.

Happy and safe travels to all- the 'windows uppers' and the 'windows downers'

 

I'm jealous!

it really sucks being a window_downer with a family full of window_uppers. The only time we get to do this is when I drive alone. And I'm blasting Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin

 

Showing our age again... I used to listen to Pink Floyd non-stop, but have since transitioned to songs like these.



But I do agree, running through the mountains with the windows down and playing your favorite songs of yesterday... well that is a great day to be alive.

 

I am totally on board with the family time. Finishing up a 2 week vacation. Well maybe not quite a relaxing vacation.
week 1 group of 45 college young adults at the Calif Delta with 3 other boats for a week. (Boat running from 0630-1800 with a hour break.

week 2 group of 75 high school youth at Ventura beach. group of 14 "deans" watching over the camp 24/7 for a week.

I need a vacation......😎😎

Keith

 

Don't you have a "window lock" on the driver's door? Bend those miscreants to your will!



Waylon? Okay, we can be friends

 

Wow! That is AWESOME!!!

Giving your time to others is a truly wonderful way to spend it

 

Great vid, but they sell evaporator coil cleaner it would work better than simple green it's called Nubrite. It foams up and the foam pushes the dirt out from between the fins. Great vid looks like a project this weekend. Anther part of the ac system that is over looked for cleaning is the condenser in the front behind the grill. I take mine off before the summer to clean it and get all the road grime out so the system can dump heat more efficiently

 

You are absolutely correct sir, and I thought I had some in the garage from when I cleaned my camper A/C coils, but I apparently lost it or used it all. At the point of disassembly I made the command decision to press on instead of letting the maintenance run out another hour. I live in the country and am not close to anywhere that sells coil cleaner.

If I had planned ahead properly, I would have double checked that I had foaming coil cleaner on site.

 

Good news!

We took the truck down to central Florida this past weekend to purchase a new to us 5th wheel. Well, it was quite hot and humid down there and even more so because we were not used to all of the blacktop and concrete. The A/C in the truck had its first opportunity to shine this weekend and did very well. It was much colder than it was last year and we actually turned it down a bit to second fan speed.

In addition to the evaporator coil being cleaned, I installed the Ranger/Excursion vacuum valve to stop coolant flow to the heater core. I believe this had a big effect on how the A/C is performing. Even though I had the Diesel Site MAX A/C valve installed prior to the Ranger valve, the Diesel Site one never worked right from the day I installed it.

Diesel Site insisted that the vacuum pump was weak, but I insisted this was not the problem because the hubs lock and unlock fine and the vent selector works fine. I tried to work with them a couple of times, but was getting no where. I ended up taking the Diesel Site valve out and hit it with a 3 lbs hammer while it was sitting in shame on my work bench in the garage.

Anyway, the Ranger/Excursion valve and a clean evaporator coil is a huge improvement in cooling efficiency.

 

Did you get a video of that? That would have been awesome in slo mo 120 frames per second. And would have been a great introduction to a how to video on installing the Ranger valve. The guys who came up with the Ranger valve idea were old F-D.com folks, from around 1999. Jack (TooManyToys), whose video style I referred you to a few years ago when you asked for ideas, and whose narrative and editing style you have very deftly incorporated and in fact improved with quicker pace and drawing numbers and arrows right on the screen, may have been one of those guys who came up with the Ranger valve. Either that, or the Taurus switch for the mirror defroster.

Really great video Sous, enhanced even more with your candor about how you were disappointed with the quantified results, even though it is clear that the service was worth doing and would yield benefits. But by not tooting your horn or exaggerating the benefit you measured, you added even more credibility to your voice (metaphorical voice), which will help your videos stand the test of time, and become reliable references for others for years to come.

 

I did not get a video of it. The disappointment I had toward the device that I bought from Diesel Site was pretty high and I just wanted it out of my life at a high rate of speed. Looking back now though it would have made a funny intro...

Thanks for the compliment on the video. I hope it helps people for a long time to come.

 

Reviving this old thread because I feel it needs an update.

Please see the link below for the latest cooling performance I have seen from the AC system.

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...l#post19402558

 

Amazing video work. Thanks

 

Your welcome! I hope this simple and free maintenance task keeps you just a bit cooler.