Not all trucks have the water valve; mine did not.

 

Sig says 2005 EX Limited -- so figured that it would for sure have the water valve
Really don't like vehicle information in the siggy -- rather have it in the opening post , for clarity

 

As far as I remember, all the Ex's did. I think crews, too.

 

My 05 crew and 7 excb both have the valve.

 

Cleaning fins on the condenser, transmission cooler, intercooler and radiator. I have ordered a cleaner I can put in my sprayer to get in the small areas. Amazon is supposed to deliver it tomorrow.

 

I cleaned all of the coolers/fins in front the best I could, there is a good airflow into the engine bay from the fan. It just doesn't feel like the lines are getting cold enough under the hood. 93 degrees outside and 54 degrees vent temp driving, 65 at idle.

 

It should be cooler.

 

The large line and the accumulator should be cold

 

The large line is, the smaller one off of it is not as cold.

 

I am not against tearing into it myself, I have the gauges and evacuation pump and quick disconnect tools. I used a commercial cleaner and sprayer to soak the coils. I have not removed the evaporator blower fan, that is a larger job since my coolant filter is in front of it. I have a new thermostat and when I drain part of the system down I will see about opening it up.

We have a camping trip this weekend, I don't want it to be out of service this week.

 

Check the water valve operation -- it should pull in at the vacuum cylinder , when the AC is on max
this will at least turn off the hot coolant from the heater -- in case your air door seals are damaged or not fully operating

Pulling the blower motor and taking a look see , would be good -- may be part of a critter nest in there

The 2 lines on the accumulator are the same size on my truck -- they represent inlet and outlet for the accumulator / drier -- both should be the same temperature

The smaller line near the accumulator is the high pressure line , and the junction near the heater box is where the orifice tube sits
the line preceding the junction would be warm-ish , but just after would be the start of the temperature change

Feeling of the 2 lines where they run from the cooling air stack , would be the one is from the compressor (hot) and the other is after the condenser (ambient plus)
A lot can be learned about the health of an AC system by checking the temperatures (feeling) of the lines
if the line from the condenser is still too warn , then the air flow over the condenser is suspect

 

A couple of years ago the compressor was replaced. Since then the orifice tube was replaced about 3 times, last time it was not plugged.

Right before we headed on a trip to Yellowstone it was hot in the East and the a/c actually popped off refrigerant. My shop immediately took it in, ready to do whatever so it was ready to go. Said everything was fine just at idle it was not as cold. The popping off to me was either over charge or lack of air flow.

We took our trip, KY was hot, the A/C struggled and fortunately the West was cold (even snowed on us). I have gotten to the point of wanting a second opinion on the system. My dealer is a small country shop and they are going to look at it on Tuesday.

Thanks for all of the advice. I am holding off in the Blue wire mod, TBH I feel that if everything is 100% mods should not have to be made.

I do have a 195 degree thermostat ready to install.

 

While I am in agreement with your perspective, I also believe that 15+ years of age on these engines will probably dictate SOME decisions that might not otherwise be necessary at say 5 years of age.

 

So it was overcharged, and the high-pressure safety valve blew off freon. Those never hold well after that, in my experience. A new valve should have been installed. You might find you are low on freon.

A blue wire mod is just switching on the fan when the computer is holding off. It's not that big of a deal for the operating conditions when you need it.

 

Might be premature (for reasons I will note below), but I'm going to relate my A/C story.

I did some work on my A/C last spring, due to a leak in the evaporator. Also replaced the lines, orifice, and accumulator. Cooling still wasn't very impressive following this work, especially in 110 degrees.

Two weeks ago the system lost its charge over the course of two days. There was fluorescent dye all over the compressor. Replaced compressor, condenser, orifice and accumulator. Flushed lines and evaporator. Following morning outside was a cool 83 degrees when I drove into town and A/C was nice and cool too. Wasn't so cool on the way home at 5pm with 110 deg temps; more like cool-ish. The next day's drive home was barely blowing cooler than outside temps.

Following morning (last Friday) I charged it with a full can of dyed refrigerant and another half can. While it was charging I looked around underneath and saw fluorescent dye on the tranny cooler lines and starter. I recalled a tiny hole I noticed on the top rear of the compressor. I never considered the compressor to have a built-in relief valve, but it makes sense considering the location and amount of the dye, and the quick draining of refrigerant. I started looking at high pressure switches and only one, Santech at Autozone, said "fan function" in the description. I drove to the dealer without the A/C running and got a high pressure switch.

Today was my maiden voyage after the truck sat all weekend. 99 degrees when I left the house (according to the overhead) and was notably cooler than right after the repairs weeks ago, and cooled down much faster with a hotter cab that had been sitting in direct sun. For the first time in a long time I heard the fan running at a stop light. All but the first ten minutes of the trip home were quite cool. Keeping my fingers crossed that I don't also have a leak, but the high pressure switch certainly made the cooling more consistent, and possibly was the problem all along.

And the best part - It was $42 out the door at a local dealer and literally took 10 minutes to swap. WBL has it listed for a whopping $21.84. At that price I'll replace it next time I have to open up the system too.

https://parts.autonationfordwhitebea...OC1kaWVzZWw%3D