well, I had to re-register. so I guess I am starting out all over again. The sucker didnt like my password. I typed it in a thousand times, oh well. I noticed that when I get in the truck, crank it and turn the A/C on, The first minute it smells like I just opened a tube of silicone. After a few minutes its gone. Havent had any service done since last year when we discussed the plastic air intake replacement. Any ideas.

(known to some of you as the former madman)
97f150 LWB 4.6 excab. XL(love the rubber mat)

 

Can't think if a thing. Silicone rubber smell is acetic acid (sour smelling like vinegar). Can't imagine what could be causing that odor in an a/c. I'd think that even if you had a leak in the a/c it woud smell like oil. I believe refrigerant is odor free, isn't it?

 

Might have mold or fungus growing inside your duct system. Might try putting the A/C on recirculate, then spray Lysol disinfectant spray into the air intake, which is on the right hand side near the passenger's feet... you'll be able to see where the spary gets sucked in with the fan on high. Will kill anything with an odor that is growing in your system.

 

Contact the webmaster about your old name and password if you want it again. These things can be fixed.

 

You could do the lysol thing or buy one of the specialized products that does the same thing. Another idea is instead of putting it on recirculate you can set it to fresh air and spray the lysol in the air intake above the hood to clean that part of the system. To prevent odors in the future leave the heater/ac control set on fresh air (or vent) when you park, this lets all the moisture evaporate out of the system.

BTW, could it possibly be a coolant smell? Could be the start of an a/c evaporator core leak (same as a heater core).

-Jon

 

Dont!! dont say the word core. The A/C works so good in the Fords. I hate to mess with it. It might not work the same anymore. I live on a dusty road. I always try to keep the vent on Max and then sometimes on the highway I put it outside air. I had the coil cleaned about 2 years ago and Ford wanted to sell me a filter kit. You know it probably will work but why didnt they install that from the factory. The cost was more than I wanted to spend. This was the first vehicle I had owned that had the coil stop up. I noticed the air flow was low, but the air was still cold. Blower sounded like it was working a tornado under there. Boy that sucker was nasty. I looked up there with a mirror and a light. Nasty. Maybe it is some sort of residual cleaner? I dont know. If it breaks I'll know what it was.