Smell of antifreeze?
 

Hey guys...when i turned the heater on this morning, there was a smell of antifreeze or burning rubber...way too early in the morning to tell exactly and too cold! When i turned it to the a/c, smell went away. Wold this be the heater core? Thanks

Yes, sounds as if your heater core has developed a small leak but I am surprised that you say it went away when running the A/C. I am not that familiar with the air routing in the duct box on the PSDs but when I have seen core leaks in other trucks, the odor is usually picked up with the A/C also. If it leaks enough, it should start dripping from the A/C condensate drain in the duct box on the ground.

Thanks....is the core easy to replace or time comsumming?

Good question.....wondering the same thing myself!!

Heater Core


Removal

Note:
If a heater core leak is suspected, the heater core must be leak-tested before it is removed from the vehicle; refer to «Section 412-00»

1. Drain the radiator; refer to «Section 303-03».

µ 2. Disconnect the heater water hoses from the heater core. For the heater hose coupling disconnect and connect procedure, refer to «Section 412-00».

3. Disengage the stops and lower the glove compartment door.

µ 4. Remove the electronic blend door actuator and bracket assembly.

1 Remove the screw.

2 Rotate the blend door actuator and bracket assembly.

3 Remove the electronic blend door actuator and bracket assembly.

µ 5. Remove the screws.

µ 6. CAUTION:
The heater core cover must be raised vertically before removal to avoid damage to the heater core housing.

Remove the heater core cover.

1 Raise the heater core cover.

2 Remove the heater core cover.

µ 7. Remove the heater core.


Installation

µ 1. CAUTION:
Position the temperature blend door manually to properly align the actuator and the door. Do not power the actuator electrically. If it is not engaged with the temperature blend door, damage to the actuator may occur.

Note:
Add gasket between housing and cover before installing cover.

Follow the removal procedure in reverse order.

µ Refer to corresponding illustration.

Thanks for the steps. :-)

Much appreciated....only took about an hour to replace.....$35 was it! Dealer quoted me $300

Wow, sounds like it's very easy.

I dug up this post while searching for heater core replacement info. It seems that it is removed from under the dash. Anyone have any other tips. My heater core is starting to leak more and I think it is time to replace it soon.

Thanks!

Remove the glove box and the heater core panel is right there. A bunch of screws and it's out.

Well, I got the heater core out of the truck and it really wasn't too bad of a job. The hardest part of the whole job is accessing some of the parts that need to come apart. Now for my problem.

The heater core I got from the parts house has a smaller core than the one I removed from the truck. I went and look thru the parts book and there was two core to choose and I have both in my hand. One core dosen't have the pipes bent the same as the one I removed so that one is ruled out. The other has the same physical dimensions as the one I removed however the core is about 1/2" smaller than the one that came out of the truck. That seems to me like a lot less heat. Since this is a crew cab, I'm kinda concerned.

Does a crew cab have a bigger core than a regular cab truck? I can't find a ford part# on the core I removed so I don't know. Anyone have any insight?

Thanks

There is only one heater core for your truck that I know of. I've run aftermarket heater cores will vary on size and fins per inch from one supplier to another. The smaller ones might work but be sure to seal off the edges with some sort of foam rubber or your heat into the cab will be diminished.

Some cores have the pipes on a swivel (for shipping purposes) and need to be rotated into the correct position. This may be why the pipe bends look different. My .02

Thanks Jim!

The core I got has the swivel pipes. I guess I'll put this one in tomorrow. It comes with some foam tape. The core just looks so much smaller.

Do you think the Ford dealer core is bigger?

What a timely thread. I just started smelling anti-freeze when I kicked on my A/C this afternoon. Not dripping on teh ground yet, but sounds like I'm getting ready to do a little maintenance too.

FWIW: The cores with swivel pipes have just one more place for a leak to develope. I have installed a few of these, I've not had one come back....... yet. My cars get the expensive cores with the highest fins per inch. Generally These cores are a perfect fit and have the foam seal already installed. Drop-it-in, done. You get what you pay for.

The dealer is a good place to go for the higher quality cores. Check your local radiators repair shops too, they may have some choices for you. At least they may give you something to compare your old core to.