Antifreeze Vapor coming through Vents

[gmgolden]

I just bought a 1998 Expedition with 196,100 miles on it. Its a 5.4l 4x4. I'm having a problem with it though, I know for sure I have an antifreeze leak and its somewhere in the engine bay (not leaking into the passenger side floorboard). My research has told me that it is the heater core if I have a leak in the passenger side floor board. I'm wondering if anyone has had this problem or can help with it. Thank you for your time.
Gabriel

 

[thevalleyboy]

Heater core maybe - but if you got vapour I'd be checking my head gasket while I am at it - is the oil milky? or nice looking? Could be as simple as a heater core - here's hoping for you

 

[fteac70]

I Just Did This

That is exactly what happened to mine. The Heater Core is around $50 and I would go to Ford for the Heater Hose Adapter Kit, around $15 for each fitting. I had a friend loan me some removal tools for the lines but ended up just pulling the Heat Core Hoses in to the Cab and pinching/squeezing them to unlock the hoses. I have a detailed instruction from the F150 Board if you want. But you will definitely want a good manual and a some time to walk through it. I took way more stuff out than I planned on. Everything is in layers. It took me about 5 days of a few hours each day getting it done. Truck is running and the heater works w/out any issues. One issue is the Cruise Control does not turn on. That most probably is due to one connector that does not have a mate and I do not recall removing it....just can't find it.
This would be a good time if you want to replace anything like Gauge Cluster as you will have to pull that out. I am not an expert just happy to pass along any mistakes you don't want to make.

 

[gmgolden]

Hey, Thanks for the quick response guys! I have determined that it is in fact the heater core, and I will be replacing it myself...as soon as I get the time. I'm getting married in 2 months, I'm in school full time and I work full time, so I'm pretty busy! Which brings me to my next question, I have read that a lot of people bypass the heater core until they can fix it. Is this safe to do? If so, how long could it safely stay like this? Thanks for your time!

 

[fteac70]

Idk

Seems like it would be a pain....

You would have to cut the hoses and have them reconnected to flow properly back to the radiator. You would then probably have to cap the hoses to the HC. When you do get the time, you would now have to replace the cut hoses. I can only guess you would not get much warm air to the cabin for defrost or heat. But when you do get the time and get behind the dash, you can just pull the HC out. Good Luck.