Just saw this section. On a 00' 5.0, how do you remove the radiator from the condenser? I have all hoses off, all bolts out, shroud off, as well as the lines removed like for the trans etc. Unscrewed the bottom bolt that holds/guides the two lines below the radiator. Only thing that should be holding it in is the clip on the bottom passenger side. But in the manuals and online I keep seeing remove the "clips", but I only see one clip, not "clips"?

Am I doing this right, I have that clip compressed and pulling, or trying to, the radiator forward to unhook off it to pull it out....but I'm yanking like hell and its not budging.

Try some of the links in this link: http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showpost.php?p=1488868&postcount=2

You're doing it right. I know there is a clip on the passenger side, and I thought there was one on the driver side. I wish I could give you details, but you just have to get some light in there to see how it unclips. Once it's released, it should slide out. I can't remember now if it slides up and off the clip, or straight out from it. You have to watch the AC lines, which keep the condenser from moving too much.

Yeah-this one is hard to explain. You just have to keep at it until it clicks for you.

I'll check tomorrow, if I look at that truck right now I'm gonna kick the front end in. I think Ford has drunk engineers working for them :confused:

Yep, you're on the right track. :D I did the same thing. It's really easy once you can SEE how it's supposed to come apart. REAL EASY!

while its out, I break those plastic clips and use zip ties to hold them together when re-installed... makes it easier next time

while its out, I break those plastic clips and use zip ties to hold them together when re-installed... makes it easier next timeI was honestly thinking of that as well, and was about to ask if I break that clip if I could use zip ties to hold it. Would be a lot easier to cut the ties off.

Here's the prob, and Haynes and other ones don't mention this. Unless I'm doing something wrong? Looks like it cannot be removed without taking the two ac lines off, yet no mention of that in any manual I've looked at or online. They make it seem like exactly what I did above and you can just pull it right out. Unless, again, I'm doing something wrong? And these lines are under pressure, the passenger side one I uncapped just a bit to check and you can see where it sprayed and then I quickly capped it.

http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r273/Surfer-Chris/DSC01121.jpg
http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r273/Surfer-Chris/DSC01120.jpg

um yeah those are under pressure, its the refrigerant for your ac system, if you disconect them you will purge the ac system to the atmosphere and that is a NO NO
plus make a HUGE mess and you will have no AC until you charge the system again ($$$$)
Chiltons / Haynes dont mention this sucker because they always miss stuff, they likely used one Gen II explorer to make their book and it was probably a v6

um yeah those are under pressure, its the refrigerant for your ac system, if you disconect them you will purge the ac system to the atmosphere and that is a NO NO
plus make a HUGE mess and you will have no AC until you charge the system again ($$$$)
Chiltons / Haynes dont mention this sucker because they always miss stuff, they likely used one Gen II explorer to make their book and it was probably a v6Yeh now not sure what to do, truck isn't drivable as is lol. I have other parts off it I was replacing anyway. I don't know how any manual doesn't mention this, or others online I found on removing the 5.0 radiator. Now not sure what to do?

get the radiator seperated from the ac condensor, it will come apart, I just dont remember how LOL
OR
evacuate your AC system and plan to have it re-charged, you can buy a self AC evacuation thingy at most good auto parts/ tool stores (Harbor freight)

The radiator clips to the AC condensor on two sides, you may have to pull the whole thing back jsut a bit to gain access to both clips OR remove your grill/trans cooler/plastics and go at it from the front

If you are replacing the radiator look at your new unit, does that help you see how they clip together? I think the radiator actually has some plastic side thingys that go on it before it clips to the condensor... let me go look through my 5.0L engine pictures....

get the radiator seperated from the ac condensor, it will come apart, I just dont remember how LOL
OR
evacuate your AC system and plan to have it re-charged, you can buy a self AC evacuation thingy at most good auto parts/ tool stores (Harbor freight)

The radiator clips to the AC condensor on two sides, you may have to pull the whole thing back jsut a bit to gain access to both clips OR remove your grill/trans cooler/plastics and go at it from the front

If you are replacing the radiator look at your new unit, does that help you see how they clip together? I think the radiator actually has some plastic side thingys that go on it before it clips to the condensor... let me go look through my 5.0L engine pictures....Yeh I'm trying to pull, but it seems those lines are whats holding it, I feel like I'm going to break something or those a/c lines. As there is a lot of tension. This is my 1st time working on a Ford V8 and can't believe how much of a pain its been for even simple things. How the heck have I work on the Porsche and other vehicles no problem, and I'm stuck on a "simple" Ford V8.

learning curve thats all
took me 2 hours to get the dash of my wifes FJ apart first time, now it takes 12 minutes

Well now I can budge that clip more, and the bottom seems to want to come out easy. But I can't get it all the way out of the clip, its being held me something at the top or front....has to be those lines :mad: , I can't see any other clips or anything else that would be holding it.

the radiator has plastic thingys on the side of it that must slide up about 2-3" before it will release. The lines are going to the ac condensor, you want the ac condensor to stay in the truck

You did undo the transmission cooler lines from your radiator correct?
Have you tried pushing up from under the truck? yOu may be able to see whats going on better down there

the radiator has plastic thingys on the side of it that must slide up about 2-3" before it will release. The lines are going to the ac condensor, you want the ac condensor to stay in the truck

You did undo the transmission cooler lines from your radiator correct?
Have you tried pushing up from under the truck? yOu may be able to see whats going on better down thereYeh I just saw that, thos a/c lines have a black clip sorta on each side, the passenger side is off. Its the driver side and can't figure out how to get off, thats where its binding at. Yeh trans line holder was removed at bottom. Uploading pics right now.

Here's that top clip/connection point, can't figure it out though. The passenger side was easy as that bolt is out and it just pops away. There's no bolt for the driver side.
http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r273/Surfer-Chris/DSC01125-1.jpg

And here you can see at the top whatever that connector/holder above is too, and you can see another one thats lower.
http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r273/Surfer-Chris/DSC01126-1.jpg

so did you get it? when you do you get to post the pics for future people with the same issue, careeful this is addicting!
in 10 years you may have 19,640 posts

Geez, all of us remember it being a pain in the neck, while none of us remember exactly how it comes off. I'm thinking it's and up and back motion. Up off the lower piece, and out toward the engine. I'd go look and try to jog my memory, but my back is in bad shape today..... HOWEVER, I just remembered that I have the old radiator in the shed. Be right back .... (which means in about an hour at the rate I'm walking today).

I got the top clip off, but can't get the middle one out, theres no way to reach it at an angle to push it out :mad:

I'm gonna track down the engineer that designed this and drop kick them

OK, try this:

Passenger side: I believe you have to pull up, and get this out of the bracket it is sitting in.
http://www.explorerforum.com/photopost/data/3762/medium/IMG_4346.JPG

This the driver side clip:
http://www.explorerforum.com/photopost/data/3762/medium/IMG_4345.JPG

You need to slide the radiator toward the passenger side, until this clip clears. It's hard to get enough movement out of it, but keep at it - it will go. I'm pretty sure that's all there is to it. I don't remember any "middle" clip.

yeh the passenger side I have clear, the drivers side I'm stuck. Where's that clip you show at the bottom? If you look at the pic I just posted before, you can see the top clip and middle one circled.
http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r273/Surfer-Chris/DSC01126-1.jpg

what hes saying is one side has those clips (you have already un done) the other side has a slidey thingy that goes up and down, it slides UP like 2" before it will release

If you have the passenger side clear, then I think all you have to do is slide the whole thing toward the passenger side to get the driver's side clear. I think you can now move the whole assembly toward the driver's side, and then slide the radiator toward the passenger side to get enough clearance. If the whole assembly does not move right now, then I think you missed a bolt somewhere.

I got that MOFO out :D . Lot of yanking, and cursing...seems to work. I see where I could have made it easier as I could have tied back some of the lines so they didn't keep getting caught on the radiator when pulling out. At that point I didn't care as I was gonna rip it out no matter what was attached lol.

http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r273/Surfer-Chris/DSC01127.jpg

See? Easy, right? :D

See? Easy, right? :DI think it would have been easier kidnapping whatever engineer designed this, torture them, and have them do it and see how they like their design.

Congratulations! Which part was the final thing holding it back after all of this?

Congratulations! Which part was the final thing holding it back after all of this?If you look at the pic above that has the clips circled. The lower one in the middle was a beotch. There's no room to really pry it out. I actually forgot how I got it out finally, I think I moved the ac lines on the driver side to the right, while reaching my hand in as far as it would go to push the radiator to the left while holding the condenser in place. Not easy as pushing it also caused it to get hooked/caught on the passenger side. Next time I'll tie the shroud away better, and tie all the lines away as the angles they come in at catch the radiator and fins. It finally just came loose, but then was still a beotch to pull out as it was getting caught on everything.

You can see that wood beam in the radiator pic, I put that there with a bucket that has rubber braces on each side to support the bottom of the radiator. As I almost dropped it when trying to pull out and it held it up, put that there as I was worried if that happened it would crack/damage the trans lines on the passenger bottom side.

Friends of ours own a big mechanic shop down here, great rep. Work on everything from normal trucks to exotics, basically told me every time he gets an Explorer/Mountaineer in he dreads it, he said the same thing I thought...that you would think working on a Ford truck would be easy.

People say that, but I have a Toyota van, and listen to my brother who works on his Toyota truck. There's a lot of stuff there that is NOT easier and makes no sense. Like the two belts on the van, instead of one serpentine belt, and no tensioner, so I have to adjust the stupid thing every 6 months. Remember, the grass is always greener on the other side. ;)

Forgot, didn't have time to install it till today. Def a 2 person job, but lost of cursing, banging, and kicking helps if your by yourself :D . Got the new radiator, and had a tough time as the clips wouldn't go in. Took it out and shave each part of the clips on the radiator, and went in much more easily. I noticed the same thing on the original, they have too much plastic to where the plastic basically is binding/compressing. No wonder its so tough to get out, and almost impossible to put back in. Easiest way is to do drivers side first but only about half way and I left the bottom clip out, than go to drivers side and use a plier or whatever to get that clip in, then go back and do the bottom clip on the drivers side and jiggle it a bit to make sure its set right on the mounts. If you do the driver side all the way 1st to hard doing the passenger, and if you do the passenger clip first its impossible to do the passenger side without almost breaking the a/c lines as theres no enough play.

Now just have to flush her out and some other stuff tomorrow and make sure no leaks. Plus I bought some extra hose to cut and connect to heater inlet hose to install the t-flush since Ford decided to curve both down at an angle behind the engine unlike almost every other vehicle coming out straight.