When it's not blowing heat, the left side is noticeably cooler than the right. When the heat is working, they're the same temp. The blend doors remain fixed in whatever position, so no, they're not moving when it gets cold. It seems like the only time it goes hot / cold, is if I'm just driving around town and low rpms. But, if I get out on the highway, it would stay warm. I tried to get the engine warm to check the hose temp, but after a quick errand and sitting at idle, just the right hose was warm. So, I had someone else rev the engine for a while, and then the heat worked and both hoses were the same. Also, now have noticed that there's a rattle sound in the first acceleration. Like, when I go from 0 - whatever. But, I do not hear it once I'm at speed. With the hood up, I hear the rattle the loudest near the driver's side wheel well when I rev the engine. I have put all 300K+ miles on that truck, and normally it sounds like a sewing machine, so I notice when something doesn't sound right. I just noticed the rattle today - the hot / cold problem started last week and was much more intermittent. Today, more cold than hot.
Just a thought, but when the water pump went out on my Tundra it made a rattling sound...at first I thought it was the exhaust rattling until I lifted the hood and noticed it was coming from the engine bay.
Gonna check that tomorrow when I get under my truck in the garage. Check engine light came on on the way home. P0101 code.
OK, I've got one for y'all, this has been driving me nuts: 1999 Dodge Durango, 5.9. It''s been having some issues with the fuel delivery system. I replaced the IAC and thoroughly cleaned the intake. Then it developed a cold starting problem. When it's cold it takes a good 4-5 seconds of cranking for the engine to start, it's almost like there isn't constant pressure in the fuel line. Is there some sort of cold start sensor? When the truck is warm it hits right away. The fuel pressure when running is constant, so I know it isn't the fuel pump. Also, and I really hope this isn't related, but it's recently started hunting the idle occasionally. I started it today and it started revving itself up to about 1500, then dropping to 400, then shooting back up. This went on for about a minute before it settled back into it's normal idle. On top of all the fuel system work done, the computer was replaced about 4 months ago along with brand new wires and plugs. I'm kind of thinking (Hoping) the idle issue is due to getting some bad gas.
When this whole mess started, it was the IAC that went bad. The truck wouldn't start or stay running unless you pushed on the throttle.
So, this is interesting. I had to run an errand first thing this morning, and it made the little rattle noise on start up - sounded like something from the bottom of the motor, somewhere around the transaxle mate point. I dunno. Anyway, I had to park at this even where I was steeply pitched forward in a ditch. When I started the truck an hour or so later, no rattle. And, also, the heater issue is gone. I have no clue. Last night, I looked up the code, and it was all related to MAF issues. I reseated what felt like a loose connection on the harness and that MAF at the air cleaner box. Advance Auto Parts cleared the CEL for me, and it hasn't returned.
I am just going to follow up here, in case anybody else ends up with something similar or whatever. So, these two problems are unrelated. - based on what I've been able to check and/or isolate, the heater issue is with the heater core likely clogged. This model year does NOT have a heater core valve. So, the intermittent heat / not heat is either a thermostat issue or blockage in the core. The issue seems to have resolved itself at the moment, which makes me think blockage rather than thermostat. Either way, I probably should do a coolant flush and replace. - the rattle noise was unrelated to the heater issue. The catalytic converter is falling apart. (Hey, it made it 305,000 miles!) There's a piece (or pieces) of the honeycomb or something that's broken off, and it's rattling inside the container. I think that's why when I was parked on a steep pitch, it temporarily went away - some of the pieces shifted. Should I just replace the catalytic converter with an OEM or universal type one, cut & welded in? Or, is there some change to that part of the exhaust that would be worth it to get better gas mileage? I have no idea what options there might be. I have no need to customize it, get a cooler sound or get more power.
Universal pipe, with a couple clamps is going to be way cheaper. Since you looked at your exhaust system you know your catalytic converter is part of the y pipe assembly, minimum you are going to pay for it is 350, more likely closer to 500.
Or if you really want cut the cat's out, take a big concrete drill bit drill all the stuff out of the middle, and put them back.
Replaced driver's side (only) catalytic converter with a new one. ($225) The CEL light was reporting "MAP sensor bank one lean." This is probably a dumb question: But, does the MAP sensor do anything to the fuel mixture, communicating with the PCM, or does it just report the condition? That is to say, can just the MAP sensor be bad and causing the error? I am guessing (hoping) there is just a leak in a vacuum hose or fitting, but I am not sure what the most common causes for a lean mixture would be, or whether or not that's big trouble. The code is cleared out now. The guy at the shop suggested that the lean mixture may have been what burned up the cat converter, but the CEL light did not come on until last Friday. I assumed it was more likely that the 300K+ miles was the culprit.
MAF/MAP sensors are key components whose only jobs are to inform the PCM/ECU what to make the air/fuel ratios. If they're fucked, then they will totally fuck with fuel mixtures in a big way.
It was just the thermostat. I replaced it and all heating has been working normally. And, again, just for anybody with similar vehicle, I'll share what I found. That year model GM started with a drain plug in the radiator, which is what I spent about 10 minutes looking for. But around 03, they eliminated the removable plug. Some 2003s are still equipped with it, but 2004 and later are not. So, just have to remove the lower radiator hose to drain it. And, I'm not sure what the better way is, but until I took off the thermostat housing, the rest of the coolant wouldn't drain until I broke that seal loose.
So I have a brand spankin' new F150 XLT crewcab 4x4 and I love almost everything about it. The exception being the front armrest/console. The driver's seat is a bucket and the rest is a bench with fold down centre console. That console is probably the most poorly designed piece of engineering ever. The holder is not deep enough for CDs. The cup liner is not removable, so it fills with gunk and there's no effective way to wash it out. There are not powerpoints. The Dodge armrest was way nicer. Is there such a thing as an after market one of these, with a better design? I'm talking removing the one that's there and installing something different. What do I search for if I'm looking for something like that?
There's tons of options. Just Google "f150 center console aftermarket" and you'll see a bunch of options. Some are just straight up replacements, others are high-security replacements with fancy compartments, etc.
I did google that, and nothing really came up in the realm of what I'm after. Basically I want to pull out the existing fold down seat/console (at least, the top of it) and stick in another. All the after market ones that pop up are $50 jobs that you'd just set on the bench. Am I missing something?
I'm not clear... Are you just looking to replace what's there with the exact same thing, or looking to change to something that's a different/better design? If you're looking to just replace it, a pull-a-part place or junk yard would probably be your best bet, especially since the F150 is probably the best selling truck of all time. If you're looking for a new design/replacement, there are a ton of aftermarket online shops that specialize in that kind of stuff.
I'm looking to throw away the existing and install something better. I just got off the phone with a local aftermarket accessory place, and he says there's nothing on the market right now that he can think of.