Rob Adams
Well-Known Member
Hi All,
New to this Ford forum (member of others), and definitely not new to Fords! Been keeping a family fleet of them running for years.
Questions about a new to us 2005 Expedition EB with the rear AC. When starting up/idle the AC blows significantly warmer than when we're driving. It's very nice and cold when moving around, but at inital start up when its hot outside or if we're sitting idle for a long time in traffic, the AC suffers. I checked the charge and all is where it should be, also I have taken a hose to the AC condenser coil and made sure it was clean.
As a contrast my 1997 F150 blows cold almost instantly on start up. One thing I noticed today is that when I fire up my pickup i can feel air being drawn in through the grill and if i hold a piece of paper up to it, it stick due to the intake of air...so i know a LOT of air is being drawn through and across the condenser. The Expedition I can't feel any draw of air from the grill.
I took the shroud off the top of the motor and was surprised to see the radiator is only about an inch thick and theres enough of a gap between the condenser and the radiator i can shove my whole arm down between. (To compare my f150 has what i would expect as a radiator, couple+ inches thick) I fired up the expy and while i can feel air drawn when i put my hand between the condenser and the radiator, its not anything like my pickup and if i put my hand in front of the condenser its non-existent. If i hose down the condenser while the AC is running it blows cold nicely.
*Deep breath* so after all that backstory here's my questions:
A) is this normal on these expys? Poor AC when idle/not moving?
B) does anybody know of an improved set of fan blades to draw more air? or, alternately is there a combined condenser radiator part that would drop in and replace the 2 individual "thin" radiators and thus eliminate the gap?
c) could this be a fan clutch problem? I don't deal with high engine temps at Idle, so i think the radiator is getting enough airflow
d)any recommendations for a bolt on additional electric condenser fan? I'd rather not convert and go full electric (removing the factory fan from the front of the motor) Just looking to get some additional airflow at idle...maybe a switch I can toggle on the dash to add some extra airflow.
I appreciate any and all thoughts on this!
New to this Ford forum (member of others), and definitely not new to Fords! Been keeping a family fleet of them running for years.
Questions about a new to us 2005 Expedition EB with the rear AC. When starting up/idle the AC blows significantly warmer than when we're driving. It's very nice and cold when moving around, but at inital start up when its hot outside or if we're sitting idle for a long time in traffic, the AC suffers. I checked the charge and all is where it should be, also I have taken a hose to the AC condenser coil and made sure it was clean.
As a contrast my 1997 F150 blows cold almost instantly on start up. One thing I noticed today is that when I fire up my pickup i can feel air being drawn in through the grill and if i hold a piece of paper up to it, it stick due to the intake of air...so i know a LOT of air is being drawn through and across the condenser. The Expedition I can't feel any draw of air from the grill.
I took the shroud off the top of the motor and was surprised to see the radiator is only about an inch thick and theres enough of a gap between the condenser and the radiator i can shove my whole arm down between. (To compare my f150 has what i would expect as a radiator, couple+ inches thick) I fired up the expy and while i can feel air drawn when i put my hand between the condenser and the radiator, its not anything like my pickup and if i put my hand in front of the condenser its non-existent. If i hose down the condenser while the AC is running it blows cold nicely.
*Deep breath* so after all that backstory here's my questions:
A) is this normal on these expys? Poor AC when idle/not moving?
B) does anybody know of an improved set of fan blades to draw more air? or, alternately is there a combined condenser radiator part that would drop in and replace the 2 individual "thin" radiators and thus eliminate the gap?
c) could this be a fan clutch problem? I don't deal with high engine temps at Idle, so i think the radiator is getting enough airflow
d)any recommendations for a bolt on additional electric condenser fan? I'd rather not convert and go full electric (removing the factory fan from the front of the motor) Just looking to get some additional airflow at idle...maybe a switch I can toggle on the dash to add some extra airflow.
I appreciate any and all thoughts on this!