I'm fairly confident that it is the heater core, but would like to get some other opinions. Here are the symptoms:

1. When I brake and come to a complete stop, I hear water running/sloshing. The noise comes from the passenger side glove box/door area.

2. The floor board on the passenger side is damp, paticularly next to the kick panel and door.

3. I stuck my fingers down between the floor and kick panel as far as I could and felt water. The water really didn't have a coolant smell, but it made my fingers real sticky.

Every thing points to the Heater Core, but I'm not getting the tale, tale coolant smell in the cab.

Thank you in advance for any advice you can give me. I do realize you have to pull the dash to replace the core. I've got a real good friend who own's a reputable repair shop. He told me he would do it for $375...

Thanks again

 

Oh yea. Its a 1999 4x4 F-150 4.6l-V8

Sorry.

 

Look in the HVAC heading andscroll down the page to the A/C leaking on the passenger side, I think this may be your problem.

Paul

 

I'm right in the middle of replacing my heater core. As you'll have to do, I pulled the dash off to get to it.

I, too, used to hear that water sloshing sound near the glove box. That could be the collection of fluid building up inside the "blender" (thats what Ford calls where the heater core and AC core sit together). I didn't have any leaking inside the cab tho since most of the fluid seemed to be running out thru the drainage port at the bottom of the blender.

When I got the core out, it had rust streaks flowing down below the intake and outlet tubes. I got a replacement but it actually seems more flimsy than the original one. I hope it lasts cuz I don't want to do this again.

I took off 3 days of work just so I could take my time and do the job right. Just a few hours yesterday and today and I have most of the thing back together...just a few more connections and it will be done. It may be worth $375 to have your buddy do it unless you really like to take things apart and try get it back together. If you decide to do it yourself, I have lots of pics of the process and recent experience of the task.

Either way you look at it, it's a PITA

Good Luck...Scott

 

Sorry to break the news to you , it is the heater core . And you will need to pull the entire dash to replace it . While you have the A/C box out of the truck , dont forget to wash it out ,or you will still have that antifreeze smell .

 

Thanks for the info. But I'm starting to doubt if it is the Heater Core. I have a 30min commute and ran the defrost wide open on high heat on the way home yesterday and on the way to work today. The windshield never fogged up and there is no coolant smell what so ever. But I do still hear the water sloshing around, and the floor on the passenger side is almost completely dry now.

We had a ton of rain over the weekend, I'm starting to wonder if some how rain water got back there... I stuck my hand back down by the kick panel and felt the water again, but it does not smell coolant at all.... Hopefully I'll have time tomorrow to get that water out of there.

Scott, I love to work on all my stuff. But with the way work is going right now I don't know when I could find the time to do it. Jimmy is the only person (beside my brothers) that I will allow to work on anything of mine. Nothing like the feeling of knowing you can do it yourself....

Thanks again,

TB

 

https://www.f150online.com/galleries....cfm?gnum=1509

 

How in the world do you unhook the heater hoses from the core? No room to work. Is there a special tool? What did you use?

Thanks and BE BLESSED!