(LONG: skip to end for basic symptoms and questions if you don't wanna read it all!)

Hi all,
I am new to the world of Ford truck ownership; I just bought my '95 f150 about a month ago and it didn't take long to figure out why FORD stands for Fix Or Repair Daily! Fortunately I found you guys and I'm praying you can help. I love this truck and I want to learn how to work on it.

I already have had to take it to the mechanic once and I can't afford to run to him on a regular basis. In fact, I bought it from my next-door neighbor, test-drove it, it ran great, paid him, drove from his driveway to mine and it BROKE DOWN. I owned it for about 45 seconds when it quit! So, we got that resolved, long story not worth telling here, but paid a couple hundred to get it fixed and definitely motivated me to find out how to work on it on my own! I wish I could ask my neighbor for advice, and find out in more detail what history he has on it, but I've figured out that he knew about certain problems and failed to tell me, so I decided that he is a dirtbag and I don't talk to him anymore.


ANYWAY, a couple of weeks ago it started to run hot. I noticed coolant on the floor on the passenger side. It was also leaking onto the ground underneath. I didn't have time for it to cool down so I added coolant to the overflow tank (hope it was ok to do it that way?). Truck cooled down, went home.

Happened again a few days later, added coolant to overflow (cuz it seemed to work the first time?), temp dropped, went home. Both times, the coolant in the overflow tank got sucked into the radiator.

So, a few days later I wanted to take the truck out again but I figured I'd better top it off this time before I went out, so added some coolant to the radiator. I didn't know how much to add, and I think you're not supposed to overfill, so I just put in a little more in the radiator than what I'd put in the overflow before.

Got 2 miles down the road, wasn't watching the gauge (had a false sense of security, I guess, from having put coolant in already), looked down and temp gauge was over in the red zone!!

I was kinda surprised but I figured, hey I'll just add to the overflow like those other times. Well, opened up overflow and it was STILL FULL.

Well crap, now what? Had to wait for it to cool off, limped back home, put more coolant in the rad., still got too hot again. I have been researching this since last night and I decided replacing the t-stat was a cheap place to start. I thought I could figure out how to replace it since I've had other cars where a friend had done that for me and I didn't guess it would be too hard. (I was wrong about that, too, LOL, not because it was all that hard, but basically because I have no clue what I'm doing!

So, several hours and cuss words later, the t-stat is replaced, but still overheating. Researched some more, thought I was going to have to tackle the water pump next. While trying to figure out how to do that, I read some more and realized that I have all the symptoms of a bad heater core. Overheating, coolant leaking onto pass. side floor, white steam/smoke coming out of dash.

So, does this sound right to you guys? The heater core is like $22 at Advance, so I'll try replacing that tomorrow unless ya'll tell me otherwise.


Long story short:

Truck overheating, coolant leaking under dash to floor on pass. side, coolant leaking under truck onto ground, white steam coming from dash vents, overflow tank not emptying.

Fan runs, and I looked (as best I could) for hose leaks, but didn't find any. BUT, didn't really identify where the under-truck leak is coming from, either, unless it's also coming from the heater core?

Advice? Either on what the problem is, or suggestions for replacing the core, either would be greatly appreciated!

Now you see why they call me MotorMouth, LOL!

Oh yeah, it's a 4.9, inline 6 (I think!), 5sp, umm, what else do ya need to know?

 

so your constantly getting coolant leaking onto your pass side floor??

 

Replace the HC!!!

 

Agreed on the Heater Core replacement suggestion I myself need to do this on my recently aquired 1990 F150 Super/Extended Cab only in my case it was already bypassed when I bought the old truck

 

You will eat them underlined words for the Record TRUST ME your love for this truck IS NOT misplaced I Guarantee that!!! you just haven't even gave the old fella a chance a heater core going out is not indicative of the quality of a Ford At all my 300 in my 87 sits a 475,000 miles and ran perfect when parked and my new 1990 with 225,000-325,000 runs good too for the most part previous owner ignorance or neglect has alot to do with things and since the guy in question who sold it to you has panned out to be scum it was probly abused. but in this case that particular part just wore out over an extensive period of time. I've owned 2 GMs a Blazer(Blew up literally at 80,000 miles by tossing a piston out the side of the block in rush hour traffic) and and 84 El Camino/Caballero which while it never blew up had constant problems that kept it parked the majority of the time. You will in short order learn to love Fords !!!! in my experience in nearly 20 years of wrenching and driving part of which was working for a Double ASE Master Certified technician we saw far more problems with ANYthing GM don't even get me started on dodge other than to say dodge the dodge lol Trust me you'll learn to love that truck once you A. get the issue resolved. and B. actually give the poor mistreated thing(By previous owner) a chance. All used vehicles are going to have problems it's the nature of the game you inherit peoples problems otherwise with some exceptions THEY would still own it Anyway lol point being don't be so quick to jump the gun and think negatively of Fords and Welcome to not only the Forum but also the Superior world of Fords. try this one on for size "First on racing day"....now no more blasphemy lol anyway like I said Welcome and give the truck a chance and consider the fact it probly had over 200-300 thousand miles on it when you got it from numb nutz thats Hard on any brand make or model of gasoline based vehicle drivetrain...But the ford 300 Straight 6 is one of/if not THE most indestructable engines ever made by anybody regular maintenance which I commend you for wanting to learn how to do yourself(and become self sufficient and not depend on anybody else) will see a 300 last 400,000 -500,000 miles before needing to be rebuilt

 

Haha, I was only kidding when I said that. You saw the part where I said I love the truck I am very much looking forward to working on it, in fact that is a big reason why I bought it. I have a car, the Ford is for tinkering with. But, I promise, no more blasphemy from me, LOL!

Ok, I'm off to replace the HC, wish me luck!

 

replace the heater core and make sure you properly "Burp" the system when you are refilling the cooling system.

 

Let me know how difficult or easy it is I'm up against the same thing as I mentioned so would be nice to know how hard/easy it turns out to be for somebody else that hasn't done it before and Yeah I was just playing with ya Except the Blasphemy part LOL J/K Anyway yeah I'm interested in how smoothly things go for you

 

Uh oh, what's that? I read somewhere that I should have the motor running when I refilled it, I hope that was the right thing to do? I did have to stop a couple times because of air bubbling up.

It was both harder and easier than I expected it to be. For example, draining the coolant? When I opened the valve it didn't flow nicely into my little bucket. No, that would be too easy, lol. The valve is over another part of the underside of the truck so the coolant splattered off of THAT first and THEN into the bucket, so I got a faceful of coolant, LOL.

Plus, I lost my DSL and I couldn't get online to watch any videos and the book (Chilton's) kinda sucks. So I just dove in and crossed my fingers. I didn't know how to get the negative battery cable off (can ya tell I'm a complete rookie?!), but I figured it out eventually. And I didn't know how to get the glovebox out. The stupid book said to push some levers or tabs or something on each side of the box. Well, I looked all over for some kinda lever and didn't see anything like that. Finally, I said the heck with the book and just thought about it for a minute, and then I OPENED the glove box and then it was obvious. Duh, just push in on the sides and lift out. I was trying to carefully follow the directions to the letter and the book didn't SAY to open it first, lol.

It got easier after that. Two plugs to unplug, 7 screws to get the cover off, don't forget to pull the hoses from the engine side, and wiggle out the core. Oh yeah, when I was taking the cover off I had to unhook the wire that controls the blend door (I THINK that's what it was for anyway), but it's easy, the wire just lifts off over the top of the post it is on. It's at the top of the cover on the left and disappears behind the rest of the dash, but it doesn't go far. I think the post it is on is connected to the dial on my dash for heat/ac. I couldn't see it from my angle and I didn't know it was there so it took some huntin' and cussin' to figure out why I couldn't get the cover off.

When I was re-attaching the hoses I had a helper push on the core from inside the cab while I pushed the hoses onto the tubes, as I didn't want to put the cover back on until I tested the system, in case I did something wrong.

I test-drove it today, went about 60 miles roundtrip and it ran perfect.

I'm a complete moron when it comes to cars (that will change!), so if I could do it, ANYBODY can!!


Question for anyone who can help. My overflow compartment is not draining back into the radiator. I thought it was because of the heater core and that there wasn't a vacuum as long as the heater core was bad, so I figured once I replaced the hc everything would be ok, but it still doesn't drain back to the radiator. Advice?

 

BTW, I can see this is going to be an expensive damn hobby! I went to Advance for a $22 HC and ended up spending $187!!! I had to buy shop rags, and a bigger screwdriver, and coolant, and a funnel, and ramps for the truck ($50!!), and of course then I decided I needed new wiper blades for the Buick (yes, Court, a GM, lol), and MAF sensor cleaner for the Buick also, and a special star-thingie to get the cover off the MAF sensor, etc, etc, etc...oh yeah, some GOJO, lol. And a couple other things that I prolly didn't need but what the hell.

The guy at Advance told me why my cigarette outlet stopped working....damn fuses! So it's working again, and I can use my GPS and phone charger again, so it's all good

 

for future reference, you do not need to drain the radiator to replace a heater core on a ford pickup. the heater core is higher than the top of the radiator. remove the hoses, and stick them in the hood hinge to hold them up. after you replace the core, put the hoses back on the core nipples, and top off the radiator.

i can replace a core in 20 minutes with a coffee, and only put a quart of coolant in the radiator.

 

lol THEY saw you coming from a mile away. when I go to Oreillys the only thing I'll be getting is literally the Coolant previous Eeediots(Said in a Ren Hoek accent) just filled it with I assuming water hose water, and the Heater core thats it lol none of the other stuff they got you for Bet who ever helped you that day(More like Conned you) got in really good with the manager!!! BUT now that you've done this once you can do it everytime you have a problem

 

The 80-96 F150 with the 300 is one of the most mechanically friendly vehicles made since the advent of emission controls. The heater core replacement is an easy repair as compared to many vehicles that require removal of dashs and even seats. My 6 year old grandson and I did it on my 94 in an hour. Be prepared and always know what part number you need and anything else to complete the job. Spending more money can result in a smoother less time consuming job. On the heater core job I ripped the weather stripping but I had some handy. Going into a parts store can be expensive but many times worth it. I did a radiator replacement and ended up changing out the heater core, all the hoses, cap, and a flush tee. The OEM hoses looked good but at 16 years and 215k miles they were due. Yes I spent more than I wanted but for the peace of mind priceless.
I'm neither a Ford or GM man and have owned or worked on most of the popular makes since the mid sixties. My 95 will soon become my "All time highest mileage king " over the 86 GMC Suburban and it will probably hit 300k. Its also my third of this truck generation (80-96) to hit 200k with the original powertrain.
YMMV
rikard

 

Hey, I may be inexperienced when it comes to cars, but I'm no sucker for salesmen! I just paid off my car and I have almost
$400 extra/month to play with so I've been ready to do some shopping!

I hadn't planned on buying it that day but everything I bought I'd already decided I was going to buy eventually, so I walked around and picked it out, nobody "sold" it to me. Do you have a funnel? Do you have a decent-sized screwdriver? Do you have decent wiper blades? Well, I didn't. And the "couple other things that I prolly didn't need" was an air freshener and something else that I can't even remember now, but less than $10 for both. In fact, I asked the guy for something to test my fuses with and he said I didn't really need one, and showed me how to just look at them and tell if they were blown. He's my new bff so you leave him alone, lol.

They WANTED to sell me a new MAF sensor but I'd already researched it and said "no, thank you, I'll try cleaning it first before I fork out $150 for a new one".

So there!


I'd a whole lot rather spend the money on tools that I will have for next time, than spend it paying someone else to do the job.


Oh yeah, the overflow tank drained back into the radiator after I drove it (I forgot to actually check it before I posted about it, lol). And the Buick runs nice and smooth now after cleaning the MAF sensor, and the Ford is back to hauling landscape timbers and bricks and gravel and whatever else I can throw at it!

Thanks for your help, guys!

 

Also, for future reference when the funding is low, you can re-route the heater core lines to bypass the core in a pinch. I keep a spare coupler in my tool box for just that reason. There have been many times, in my years of owning Ford cars and trucks, that the heater core failed. The last time was on a Crown Vic...instead of ripping the dash apart (it's located in the middle of the dash on that car) I re-routed the lines and drove it like that for another 4 years.