2003 E250 w/5.4 2-valve motor, factory air conditioning, 263K miles. After running at freeway speeds (65 MPH) getting a bit of coolant being pushed out of the degas bottle, normal driving without A/C coolant stays in the bottle. Will be installing a new Ford radiator cap, the degas bottle and t-stat will be replaced as the bottle has a small split that shoots a tiny stream out; coolant is fresh this past April. Photos:





Coolant temps as measured via a scanner through the DLC port shows 195F, stem thermometer placed in bottle shows just at 205 with A/C on, cap off and idling in the driveway. A/C leaving air temps at the vents is no higher than 45F when pressures have stabilized; heat through the vents is just about 100F.

Radiator might be partially clogged or water pump on its way out so if those need replaced that's fine---this is my money maker vehicle. Awaiting delivery of new Motorcraft YB3016 fan clutch assembly but before that's installed is there a sure-fire absolute proof-postive test I can perform to make sure it does need replaced?

This isn't about cost rather its about down time of the vehicle. please let me know if/what additional info is needed.

Also what wrench size is the fan clutch nut? I'm reading 30mm, 32mm or possibly 36mm---very confusing.

Thanks so much in advance!

 

Pretty sure it was a 36mm on mine ( its a 02' f150)
also it was right hand threads.....not like the older rangers and broncos that were LH threads

 

Thanks---that narrows the search down just a bit!

As I mention I've seen 30, 32 and 36 cited---one clever fellow on YouTube used a pipe wrench, properly adjusted though to not leave teeth marks. I myself prefer the correct sized wrench.

 

I used a monkey wrench, metric adjustable (Cresent), it worked great! I think its a 18 inch one.

 

That's probably the way I'll go too, use a pipe wrench properly adjusted to contact three sides of the nut. Once off I'll measure the nut and get the proper wrench, will report back what I find.

Thanks GS!

 

Any time! Glad to help!

 

Okay so this is all done---replaced the fan clutch, t'stat, coolant reservoir bottle and radiator cap too---went a lot easier than I imagined. Used the pipe wrench carefully adjusted, with the help of the pulley holding tool (Gear Wrench 3900) a single not-too-hard whack and the old clutch nut spun free. Honestly the hardest part was removing the fan shroud in one piece---I wanted the extra room and visibility that provides.

The proper wrench size would be 36mm, here's photos of the fan clutch nut measured with a digital caliper:




I do notice the new fan clutch really improves air flow over the radiator, if the noise alone is any indication.

So thanks for looking in, glad to ask any questions.

 

 

I believe they all sound like that when it is cold as I have had 5 of the 5.4L engines and they were all like that, which would be opposite intuition for me. I would have guessed the clutch would pretty much release until the engine warmed up, but evidently that is not the case.

None of the A/C units in the 5.4L vehicles have ever had super cold A/C. The one I have currently has the best so far.

 

This past summer I noticed that my E150's ac wasn't quite as cold as before.
Refrigerant charge was correct, though.
It had the original fan clutch, so I replaced it with the correct one from rockauto.

Before I installed it, I modified the temperature-sensing spring on the front of the clutch, to engage at a slightly lower air temperature than stock.
Did this by filing away some of the aluminum that holds the end of the spring in place.
Filed off about .050" , let the spring tip rest against the new surface, using some epoxy to hold the spring tip there.
This moves the spring position very slightly toward "engage".

And it does engage.
Just that tiny amount of change makes the clutch begin to engage sooner, and it gets to full engagement sooner.
It increased the engagement at idle, too ... a noticeable amount.

The downside is that during city driving in hot weather, with ac on, when the air temperature over the fan clutch is REALLY high ...
the fan roar is very noticeable, and at times the clutch stays engaged what seems like too long.

But so far it's been worth it.
The ac is a beast now .... and I feel pretty sure that underhood temperatures are a lot lower

 

My project has been finished for some time now---changed the radiator, installed new Motorcraft fan clutch, new t'stat so I'm fine.

If your A/C has the correct charge and its still not cooling very well could be the compressor is worn---you don't list your year, chassis or mileage so tough to say much more. Modifying the fan clutch doesn't seem like the best idea but that's just me.

In some cases I'm okay to modify something new but for the most part Ford engineers their parts to work together as is and off the shelf.

 

Glad your changes worked out ok.
My a/c is cooling pretty well now.
Will keep that in mind about the possibility of a worn compressor.
Thanks for the heads-up about no vehicle info.
I added a signature that I hope fixes that.

 

Put the vehicle info in whatever post you're seeking advice or help about---some users don't pay attention to signatures. What happens if your signature shows one vehicle and you're asking about something altogether different? IMHO those seeking advice should make it easy for those trying to help.

Its just good nettique ya know!

 

 

ok, thx for the good help y'all