Hey i have a 1997 f 150 with a triton 5.4 and i was driving down the road the truck filled up with steam and windshield got foggy.Heater core hole ????????If so what do i need to do to remove it and replace.Also antifreeze coming out from under the body of the truck on passenger side any answers plaese let me know

 

Sounds like the heater core went tango uniform on you.

It's a fairly involved job...the instrument panel has to be removed, the plentum case split in half by removing 14 or 16 8mm bolts, sliding the new core out and dropping the new one in. You might want to consider replacing the temp blend door while you're in there, it's a common failure part and it's right next to the heater core, no sense in pulling the dash out two times over in case the door breaks later on down the road.

 

So does the dash need to removed from the top or can you remove the heater core with taking the font covers off.similar to a shift tube replacement or insrumant panel replacement.Either way do you need have someone recover the freon first ?I read a chilton manual but it is very dim instructions.Like take off tire remove engine for example. Could you explain (temp Blend Door)
And if be whats the procedure for removing the dash from the top fully pull the dash and not just the dash panels? thanks alot

 

The whole dash has to come out. Figure a solid day's worth of work at least if you've never done one before. The temperature blend door is in front of the heater core, it controls temperature by either blocking hot air from the heater core or cold air from the evaporator.

Rough summary, paraphrased from a post I made elsewhere. This is really a quick and dirty how to for the temperture blend door:

Set the temperature control in the middle position before disconnecting the battery. If it's on full cold, you might have a hard time getting the temperature door back in place.

I work from left to right when I do them...disconnect the three bulkhead connectors outside by the brake booster and push them through into the cab. Remove the steering column, don't forget about the shifter indicator, yeah, I've broken a few of those. The worst thing about those dashes is that they don't have 7-10 bolts total holding them in like a Town Car, they've got a bunch of little 7mm bolts. Two each on either side of where the column was, one in the center underneath the speedo. 10mm nut on the lower left. One or two 7s by the fuse box. Pull the A-pillar trim, makes it easier setting the dash back in. Two or three 7mm's up along top the dash. You're pretty much done on the left after this, I think there's another 7 or two, but memory fails me right now.

Right side, bracket going to the transmission tunnel, 10mm bolts under the carpet and/or 10mm bolt at the dash, I usually take them all out and let the bracket fall down under the carpet, gets it out the way. Drop the glovebox, don't unbolt it, just pop the clips and leave the hinge bolted up since it's a bitch to get back in since it's spring loaded. They actually make a tool to hold the glovebox door hinge, but as usual, I haven't found it in our special tools kits. Pull the pass. airbag, two 8mm bolts through the glovebox, one 8mm bolt up top, remove the oval shaped cover to get to it. There's four 7mm bolts (if I remember right) behind the airbag. There's two or three 7's under the oval cover too. Disconnect the sample tube from the evap case, disconnect the blower motor, a bunch of connectors down in the pass. side kick panel, air suspension (if equipped), inertia switch, one ground (8mm). You can either unclip the radio antenna lead from the dash or (what I like to do) go in through the pass. front fender well, disconnect the antenna lead and push it through the firewall, gives you loads of room to get in there. 10mm nut on the lower right. Pull away with someone on the driver's side, watching for anything you didn't disconnect. The top of the dash has pushpins, almost like a door panel, you'll have to wrestle with those a bit. The dash should come back far enough to sit on the floor in between the firewall and the front seats.

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More footnotes for after you get the dash out:

Split the case by removing the 14 or 16 8mm bolts. I use A/C tape in my 8mm socket, saves me from having to use a magnet or something to get them. With the case off, you'll now see the temperature blend door and the heater core behind it. Pull back on the passenger's side of the blend door to release the retainer for it and lift it out. I use a cut off tool, sawzall, hacksaw, something, to cut the old heater core tubes off inside the cab. The quick disconnects can be tricky to get to at times from under the hood. With the tubes hacked off, you can pull the hoses out from underneath the cowl and disconnect what's left of the heater core easily. Old core out, wrap in foam tape or similar material, slide it back in and reverse order of removal.

Like I said, it's a fairly involved job, but it's not something someone with some basic hand tools and knowhow can't accomplish. Allocate a good weekend for this job.