Ok, so here is the deal. 98 XLT, 4.6, 160,000miles. My heater core just went for the 4th time!!! It failed back in december while I was in Virginia at about 155,000 miles. Had it replaced to the tune of $1,400. The about six months later, it failed again, had it replaced under warranty. Then about a month after that, failed again. This time ford sent out a rep to determin why it keeps failing. The guy found that the truck had a bad ground and was grounding it'self through the antifreeze, thus turning the cooling fluid in to a acid and causing it to eat up the heater cores from the inside. They put all new ground straps on it and said I would be all set. But no, it just failed again, about 2 months after they 'fixed' the grounding problem. Now they have no idea what to tell me and Ford (not the dealer) doesn't want to replace it under warranty again. Any thoughts on the issue? I'm really getting concerned becasue the warranty is only good from the original fix (december) and after that, I'm on my own.

My other question was if the antifreeze was acting as a acid and eating out the heater cores, was there anything stopping it from eating anywhere else if flowed, i.e. radiator, engie, lines, ect? I'm wondering if it is even worth it to keep the truck at this point. I have a feeling it is going to be one problem after another with the cooling system.

Let me know what you think! Becasue I'm at a loss right now.

 

Oh, and everytime they replaced the heater core, they flushed the cooling system.

 

Tell them to quit screwing around with those junk Ford aluminum cores, call a radiator shop and get a copper or brass heater core.

 

lemon?

 

Yah i was gonna ask if they flushed. You could try a weaker mix, like 40/60 (antifreeze/water) Or a 30/70.

The process i believe is called eletrolosis, where electrical current flows through non conductive metals, and thats where you get pitting from. Check all other straps, mounts etc of the entire cooling system, if anything is shorting out, or rusted grounds etc replace as needed.

And im with quintin too. Brass will hold up alot longer.
-Patrick

 

So what do you think are the odds that I will be able to get ford to pay for a brass heater core? After all, it is still under warranty. BUt even if I put ina brass heater core, won't the problem still be there and it will just eat up some other part of the cooling system?

 

I've been told by Ford engineers that the aluminum heater cores suck and to use an aftermarket brass or copper piece. I've ran into the same problems before, multiple heater core failures, and they were all fixed by brass or copper heater cores. As far as electrolysis eating something else in the system, I wouldn't worry about it since the heater core is the weakest physical link in the cooling system, I'd expect it to go first.

 

I'd do that job for that price and smile all the way to the bank!
Actually for that price you'd get a Complete AC systm installed.

 

yah but if he doesnt do anything to correct the electrolysis problem if he has a problem, putting in a new heater core wont fix the elect. problem, it will just put a bandaid on a bullet wound.... Thats why i suggested checking all the ground straps etc.
-Patrick

 

When it went into the garage last time, they did replace all the ground straps with heavy duty ones, and even ran one directly from the heater core to the frame as well as added them to the cooling system, or atleast thats what they said they did.

 

*Update*
Talked to the dealer today. They replaced the heater core, for the 5th time. They said that when they replaced it last, they only grounded the outlet for the heater core and they were supposed to ground both the inlet and the outlet. Now that it is replaced, the cooling system is still holding a 6 volt electrical charge, but that charge is supposed to be grounded to the frame and not eat out the heater core again. Is the electrical system supposed to be holding an electrical charge, at all, regardless of how weak it may be?

Also, they initially said that the heater core was made of plastic. Then later said it was made of aluminum and plastic and that the heater core wasn't being eaten, but rather the solder that holds the heater core together. So now my heater core has plastic parts in it? They also said that there is no way any of the parts of the cooling system could have been damaged. does this sound right?

Finally, when I asked them about the warranty, they said that the dealer, not Ford, would give me a 12month/12k mile warranty from today. This is great and all, but if I have a problem with the heater core again, it has to go back to this dealer or else it won't be covered. Problem is I travel alot and I'm in school and I'm only around this dealer durring the summer. I'm going to contact Ford about the warranty issue. When I asked the service manager for the Ford customer service number, the guy got a little bit upset with me and told me there was no reason to contact the factory becasue they had already replaced the bad heater core. So hopefully the 5th heater core will last longer than 2 months this time.

 

The brass heater core will eventually get eaten away. I am on #7 or 8, I lost count. Stray voltage can eat away the core in no time. I have for this one rewired my blower motor resistors. The motor speed is no longer controlled by varying the ground but by the positive current. I will let people know how it turns out when the next core goes.

JMC

 

Unless you have some kind of sentimental attachment to it, get rid of the truck. This should be a no-brainer. 98 XLT with a 4.6 & 160k miles and a history of maintenance problems? The truck is worth like $27.83. Get a new truck or a newer used truck.

KC-10 FE out...

 

I second that time to bail out of that truck before it becomes a bigger money pitt

 

I have no attachment to the truck at all, as far as I'm concerned it has been a good truck and now it is time to let her go. Only problem is I'm in college and I shouldn't get into car payments at this time. Right now all I'm paying for is gas and insurance, with the occasional maintance. Plus, I can only imagine what I'd get for a trade. The truck is worth more to drive w/o payments than what I would get for it. I'd like it to last another year and a half untill I'm out of school, but given the history of the heater core, I don't think it will last.

Oh yeah, I just picked it up from the dealer the other day and now there is this rattle behind the dash that is driving me insane! I guess they forgot to tighten something up. I'll have them fix it next time they have to take the dash apart (with my luck will be sooner than later).