Does 16 psi radiator cap harm the engine | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

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Does 16 psi radiator cap harm the engine

alawneh

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ford explorer 2010
Hello everyone, as the title of this thread i wanna know if i change the 20 psi rad cap with16 psi may this affect or harm the engine or not!!!?
Last week i changed the rad cap becouse i felt that 20 psi built alot of pressure so the large main hose very hard to sequeez and there is no 20 psi cap at the dealership.
2010 explorer 4wd about 164k mi.
Thanks
 



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Hello everyone, as the title of this thread i wanna know if i change the 20 psi rad cap with16 psi may this affect or harm the engine or not!!!?
Last week i changed the rad cap becouse i felt that 20 psi built alot of pressure so the large main hose very hard to sequeez and there is no 20 psi cap at the dealership.
2010 explorer 4wd about 164k mi.
Thanks
I don't think so, I have been running one of over a year no problems.
2008 4.0
 












Same here, 16 PSI cap for several years now.
 






It will lower your boiling point of the coolant slightly.

I think for every PSI pressure you apply you raise the boiling temp by 3 Degrees?

Therefore you have just lowered your boil over temp by 12 degrees.

If you keep the coolant changed on a regular basis there should not be an issue.
 






Thank you Davidm53 and shucker1 for response. Until now i havnt any issue just releif some hoses pressure.
 






Dear shucker1let me understand that,which better lowering or raising the boiling point??
 






You defiantly don't want to go higher.

The system was designed for 20 PSI.

You run the risk of blowing things up.

Unless you live and drive in the desert most of the time I don't see where lowering the pressure cap wold hurt.
 






Thanks again. So the lower pressure cap means lower boiling point and allow water to move faster from engine to the container.
 






In essence, yes.
 






I changed my cap on my 08 Ex to the 16psi cap in 2009 because of all the radiator and thermostat housing issues I've seen on the forums. I now have 98K miles on the odo and haven't had any leak issues.
 






the 20psi/16psi swap is one of the first things people do because 20psi is too much for those cheap plastic t-stat housings and plastic radiator end caps...... on mine before and after the swap my coolant stays stable at 192F winter and 194F summer which is normal for a 192F t-stat and the cap pressure will not change it..... so you basically did what others do but without reading it on a forum thread so I will award you with intuition 50 points lol
 






I changed my cap on my 08 Ex to the 16psi cap in 2009 because of all the radiator and thermostat housing issues I've seen on the forums. I now have 98K miles on the odo and haven't had any leak issues.
Thanks alot for your post, i am wondring why i didnt change it before.
 






the 20psi/16psi swap is one of the first things people do because 20psi is too much for those cheap plastic t-stat housings and plastic radiator end caps...... on mine before and after the swap my coolant stays stable at 192F winter and 194F summer which is normal for a 192F t-stat and the cap pressure will not change it..... so you basically did what others do but without reading it on a forum thread so I will award you with intuition 50 points lol
Thanks for the points, it took from me alot of time and changing parts until i swap to 16 psi rad cap,so it was intuition and trail and error expirements..

Thanks again
 






If one more plastic coolant part springs a leak on my “4.OH NO”, I’m going to begin a search for an even lower psi cap than my current 16
 






I did the through bolt and nut hack on mine and it's holding up great but the 3 bolts holding it to the manifold like to loosen up and I have to keep checking them when ever my coolant starts looking low.... but it did come from a salvaged 3rd gen and they say those crush sleeves don't like being reused but....... screw those engineers
 






resurrecting an old thread, but how do I locate a 16 psi cap to fit my 4.0? Only ones that say fit are OE replacement 20 psi caps. Thanks!
 






Motorcraft RS-76 is the 16# cap. (E9SZ-8100-A)
" RS-523 is the 20 # cap. (6L2Z-8100-AC)
 






Is it the same cap on the 4.6L Rad of an 09. Will have to check that for the summer running. Coolant was low when we got it not topped off in the rad. Its topped up but will have to recheck later to see if a leak is in play. I always go for higher than 50% concentration and that pushes the boiling point up anyway. Added straight Antifreeze when topping off and it will mix with the system bringing it to a higher %.
 



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I often use rockauto as a reference source for parts "lookup". Just checked for you and RS-523 is the Motorcraft cap for a 2009 4.6 engine.
Rad caps should be changed every couple years, they don't last too long.
The 16# cap I have will only hold pressure at 11". The 20# cap that I have will hold pressure at 17-18#. These caps have only seen a couple years of usage.

Tripplec, if you are going to change the coolant on your sons truck, be aware that Ford uses a long life coolant. Best to use one that is compatable with their "Gold" coolant, has a 5 year life. Also you should consider a new stat at the same time. (Motorcraft RT-1196 for a 2006 4.6)
 






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