@ElliotTheCarpenter , I am currently accumulating all parts (as SS Checks permit) to tackle this job on my '04 5.4L soon. Question concerning your tip: I plan to disconnect the A/C line over bank 1 VC. After completing reassembly and reconnecting it - it will of course be completely discharged. Do you think it would damage the A/C compressor if I drove it 6-8 blocks to a shop to get the A/C recharged. Or would I have to have a 'mobile' A/C guy come to my house and evacuate and recharge it before starting up?

 

No. The compressor will not turn on at all. The system has a low pressure shutoff sensor / switch. It'll be fine. Mine hasn't been charged since 2013.

 

Don't turn your AC on when you drive it to the shop. Problem solved

 

It wouldn't even matter if he did. The compressor wouldn't activate.

 

Thanks guys. Feel kinda silly - I should have know that. Guess I can chalk that one up to being damn lucky to have gone 12 years and 211,000 miles without ever having had to add Freon. Just KNEW that I didn't want to screw THAT part up.

 

well that's partly because our trucks don't use Freon

 

You might be surprised what the refill does for you. I thought mine was fine before, but now it's ice cold. Helps that a family member hooked me up with the evac/refill for free

 

@LaMartian - enough already! Would you quit making me feel worse For a 70 yr old fart, I'm doing pretty good to grasp Phasers / OBDII and a bunch of this stuff! Let me up, and I'll get the R12 - R134a - freezone or whatever that stuff you're huffin' is. LOL

 

I have a 2005 F150 with 141K miles. I started with the ticking noise over a year ago but wasn't too bad. 2 months ago I had an oil change and the noise got worse after that oil change for some reason. A mechanic suggested trying Marvel Mystery Oil in the oil to see if it would help. 4 weeks later, no improvement (although the engine ran great otherwise).


I went to start it a few days ago and the engine started but made a horrible noise (like the fan was chopping something up!). I stopped the engine, took a look for critters, but nothing. Tried starting again, same thing. I had the truck towed to my mechanic who tried to start it and it won't start, nothing. Can't figure this out. It will be week before he can start tearing into it so does anyone have a clue what it could be?

 

No idea about the horrible fan noise but with the no-start, could be the FPDM module on the rear crossmember. They corrode real bad because of the way they are mounted. New ones have spacers to raise them off the crossmember when mounting.
Do you trust the mechanic that you towed the truck to? The only reason that I ask is because I friend of mine just took his car to a shop and the mechanic said that his car would need extra work because it wasn't starting. Turned out after my buddy checked it himself that the mechanic had the gas pedal to the floor when cranking and that was preventing it from starting. He decided to go to another shop at that point.