i just bought a reg cab short bed 2003 SLT 4x4. i noticed the AC smells real bad. it also sounded kinda weird and loud. any ideas what might be causing this? thanks.

ps its a 4.7 with 47k miles.

 

The stink is bacteria living on the heat exchanger and in the vents.
We have an aerosol here in the UK which we set off in the truck for 10 minutes.
You close all windows and doors and put the AC or full re-circulation mode with the truck running.
Pop the aerosol and run for 10 mins or so.
When finished, open all the doors and windows to vent any leftover product.
Then, your good to go.
This stuff is usually sold with a nice citrus smell to it which makes the truck smell ace.
Whenever you use the cold AC, try to switch it off for the last 5 mins of your journey and put the heater on fully hot.
This dries out all the vents and stuff, stopping condensation forming and thus a home for the bacteria to breed.
Hope you can get this aerosol stuff in the States?
Here's a link to what I'm describing from a store over here like Autozone.
http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/s...Id_165632#dtab
Al.

 

mine did the samething.I truned the heater on for like 30mins as hot as it would go.no more smell after that.I do it every year when it starts getting hot

 

Make sure that the evaporator drain is not clogged. Should drip water on the ground after being of for a bit.
I too turn my a/c button off a few minutes before my destination. Leaving the blower on.
Turning to heat won't dry out the evaporator any faster because the heater core is usually after the evaporator, not before.