2006 explorer radiator

99 zee71 · 03-17-2008, 03:29 PM

leak in rad. @ 40000 miles. took 2 dealer last monday. they just got done fixing one w/ same problem. they sent it to rad. shop to see if they could fix. that shop is a friend of family and he says that it is from of lack of support. dealer said it was gasket between plastic part of rad. and aluminum core. it has a hole wore in it. rad. shop cant find a replacement anywhere, so to me that means there seems to be a problem, also he said all explorers are known for this problem. just 3 wks earlier had power steering pump & tire sensor replaced. i've had 10 fords since 1995. last 3 had problems. time 2 say bye-bye ford, will be going to honda & toyota.

99 zee71 · 03-18-2008, 01:39 PM

dealer called today and said no radiators to be found. will take ford over a week to get one. sounds fishy to me, like ford has a problem.

*wharriso* · 03-18-2008, 08:48 PM

You could have a point. I sometimes smell antifreeze when I start the car in the morning. Maybe a slight leak, but a leak just the same.

aaronajb1981 · 03-30-2008, 06:36 PM

Just wondering if anybody has found anything out? My 2006 Explorer just started to get a leak on the bottom of the radiator today (march 30, 2008). If you say its your gasket is this on the bottom of the radiator? It looks like its leaking on the bottom of it. Not to mention my thermostat housing had corrsion around it again. Had this fixed once already under warranty.

nozzleman0358 · 03-30-2008, 09:43 PM

my 06 explorer was losing coolant and i took it to the dealership a couple weeks ago to get it looked at and they said the radiator cracked around the seams and they had to replace the radiator. good thin the warranty covered it. it only has 50k miles on it, i should not be replacing a radiator at 50k miles and 2 years old !!! ive also had to replace the entire gear selector because it wouldnt come out of park !!! the maintenence on this piece of crap is costing me more than the payments !!! i hate to tell you this but your going to need a new radiator. the service department told me that its a big problem with the 06+ explorers with the 4.0 LTR

aaronajb1981 · 03-31-2008, 06:12 AM

Anybody know what the going rate for a new radiator is now? roughly?

44xxx clicks on it and this is terrible.

midiout · 03-31-2008, 03:10 PM

I'm thinking of complaining to Ford about my Ex - radiator was replaced last year, leaking again. My ABS/Traction light is on again for the third time, battery was replaced, does not idle right after extended highway driving - when you stop, the engine shakes, but the tach does not waiver - this is the third time. Also, last year, after using the parking brakes, the rotors were "corroded", so of all the Fords I have owned , this is the worse. Only 38,889 miles,and the repair shops response is, "well, you have the extended warranty" - which we thought was thru Ford, but thru Interstate. If I ask the dealer for all the work done prior to purchasing the vehicle, will they give it to me ? The dealer who we bought the car from was "sold" by Ford.

aaronajb1981 · 04-01-2008, 11:55 AM

Well update on mine...

My ex is at the dealership right now (4-1-08) they are going to cover the radiator and thermostat housing under fords "AWA" (after warranty assistance) program so i only have to pay 20% of the bill. not bad considering that the radiator alone cost $303. So i will have to pay only like 200 for this.

along with them doing the 30k work too. However i will be fighting with them since they said i had to do the front diff, rear diff, and transfer case also right now to get the AWA to cover it. I have already been on the phone argueing with the service manager and emailing with the general manager of the dealership about these problems.

PS i tried complaining on the ford website and have not yet heard back.

Will keep ya posted.

midiout · 04-01-2008, 01:39 PM

I'm surprised that they require the diff. change - their way of making customers pay for the design flaws. What does the diff. have to do with the radiator ? It would be more of the trans, as it cools the trans fluid. I presume most people going to the dealer don't have a clue about their cars - sell them all these "maintainence" requirements. I sent an email to Ford about the $35,000 vehicle that -it's the worse Ford ever owned by me. I told them to look up the times I had the SUV in for services at the two dealers - I don't need to repeat it. I mean the second radiator, ABS/traction control and rough idle after highway driving. These are repeating conditions for my Ex. I've not had the transmission bump other members have described, lucky there I guess !!!! My new 1988 Chevy Corsica, first year produced no problems !!! Got 145,000 miles out of it.

aaronajb1981 · 04-02-2008, 07:51 AM

Well update:

I got my truck back yesterday. After bitching at the service manager and gm of the dealership we split the cost of the rear diff, front diff, transfer case flushes. Due to the fact they already did this by the time i called them.

I will be looking under the truck to see if i can tell if they actually changed it out or not. Too late now but I should have put a little mark on them to see. They told me it was the seam where the aluminum meets the housing the gasket.

So all said and done: $758.00 for 20% of the bill for the radiator and thermostat housing, transmition flush and fill, fuel filter, Front diff flush/fill, rear diff flush/fill, transfer case flush/fill. When i first went in there if i had to pay full price for the radiator and thermostat housing that would hae been $1100.00

midiout · 04-03-2008, 08:39 AM

Update - Ford called me with regards to buyback. I took the Ex to the dealer last night. The tech was not happy with the brakes -"too soft", like pushing down a marshmallow. He said the regular brake system and ABS are two separate systems - The traction contol woul go on and off for him - jerking, so he marked that. The radiator is leaking, so he said that they had replaced the front brakes, turned back rotors @ 17,000 miles. It appears that sometimes the parking brake will hang up after you release it, causing the rotors to warp. The old dealer had stopped the repair records six months after I purchased the car, so they will need to contact Ford about the other times the Ex was in for services. Ford was unaware that the old dealer has tried to alter the odometer reading, stating the car had 6 miles on it instead of 5700 miles. The owner actually whited out the 5700 on the odometer certification and wrote in 6, but gave us the original copy ? He was surprised that the radiator, battery were replaced six month after we purchased the EX. Sometimes I wonder how many new cars were in N.O. after Katrina, were sold off to dealers - you hear about flood damage vehicles.

midiout · 04-03-2008, 08:04 PM

DeaLER cALLED BACK with the following problems - radiator will be replaced for the third time, rear wiper motor shorted out, will be replaced and the back brakes ABS sensors were corroded on both sides. Interstate will cover these with $100.oo deductable, but how many times will they fix the vehicle before it gets "too expensive" ?

midiout · 04-07-2008, 10:13 AM

The dealer called me last Friday night - radiator is on backorder, maybe get it on Mon. or Tues. ? Let me use a 2007 4-door 4by4 F150 for the weekend- too big for me. Don't these car companies understand that the internet is a great research for car problems ? If the Ford rep. calls the house, and my wife answers - fireworks will begin.

aaronajb1981 · 04-11-2008, 07:11 AM

Update again:

So i emailed Ford on thrie website and they responded with we would like to talk to you on the phone. So i called them, tell them all the problems ofcourse the put me in touch with the service manager. well after talking to him again i got him to give me another $120.00 back. I think i am finally happy with this problem.

jupiterak · 04-11-2008, 11:21 AM

Where exactly is the leak coming from on the radiator? Is this more common in V6 than V8's?

midiout · 04-11-2008, 12:27 PM

I picked up the Ex yesterday - the rear ABS tone rings were rusted - costs $21.00 for each part, but $429.00 labor. The radiator was $239, but around $300.00 for labor.The rear wiper motor was $249, $100.00 for labor I had the extended warranty, so the total cost was $1212.00, and I paid $108.75 deductable. I still called Ford about the buy back, but due to the fact that it was beyond the 36,000 bumper to bumper, I was out of luck. The supervisor at Ford called my and said maybe I should trade the EX in, but we would lose big time, so she would give us credit towards another Ford/Mercury. I have a pin number which I need to go to a dealer to see what my "credit" is. The story continues on.....would'nt this be a great news piece abour radiators only lasting 10 months, and week of replacement waiting ???

V8power · 04-11-2008, 08:23 PM

Please post what engine you have or at least put it in your profile so everyone can see if this is a problem with one or the other or both. Thanks!!

FordxMan · 04-12-2008, 08:18 AM

Would like to see some PIC's. online parts arethe way to

midiout · 04-12-2008, 09:40 PM

I have the 4.0 engine, and can you believe a 2006 Eddie Bauer Edition is only worth 18,500 to 20,00 for trade in ? It seems the bigger, larger SUV you buy, the less it's worth for trade-in down the road. Today, I drove a 2008 HHR with turbo, five speed -fast for only $22,000 !!!!

99 zee71 · 04-13-2008, 07:57 AM

mine is the 4.0 motor. i'm going try to support the radiator some more by alum. straps. the people i talked to @ radiator shop said its from lack of support.

03-17-2008, 03:29 PM	#1
99 zee71 Wannabe Elite Explorer metamora, il 2006 xlt Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 7 Vehicle Specs (Original Poster)	2006 explorer radiator leak in rad. @ 40000 miles. took 2 dealer last monday. they just got done fixing one w/ same problem. they sent it to rad. shop to see if they could fix. that shop is a friend of family and he says that it is from of lack of support. dealer said it was gasket between plastic part of rad. and aluminum core. it has a hole wore in it. rad. shop cant find a replacement anywhere, so to me that means there seems to be a problem, also he said all explorers are known for this problem. just 3 wks earlier had power steering pump & tire sensor replaced. i've had 10 fords since 1995. last 3 had problems. time 2 say bye-bye ford, will be going to honda & toyota.

03-18-2008, 01:39 PM	#2
99 zee71 Wannabe Elite Explorer metamora, il 2006 xlt Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 7 Vehicle Specs (Original Poster)	update dealer called today and said no radiators to be found. will take ford over a week to get one. sounds fishy to me, like ford has a problem.

03-18-2008, 08:48 PM	#3
wharriso Elite Explorer Philadelphia, PA 06 Eddie Bauer Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 293 Vehicle Specs	You could have a point. I sometimes smell antifreeze when I start the car in the morning. Maybe a slight leak, but a leak just the same. __________________ 06 Explorer EB V6 4X4 Dark Cherry, Alpine IVA-W200+Sirius+iPod, 4 X Infinity Kappa 682.7cf, KKM intake, Python 700 2-way remote alarm.

03-30-2008, 09:43 PM	#5
nozzleman0358 Wannabe Elite Explorer Mechanicsville, MD 2006 XLT 4x4 Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 13 Vehicle Specs	new radiator my 06 explorer was losing coolant and i took it to the dealership a couple weeks ago to get it looked at and they said the radiator cracked around the seams and they had to replace the radiator. good thin the warranty covered it. it only has 50k miles on it, i should not be replacing a radiator at 50k miles and 2 years old !!! ive also had to replace the entire gear selector because it wouldnt come out of park !!! the maintenence on this piece of crap is costing me more than the payments !!! i hate to tell you this but your going to need a new radiator. the service department told me that its a big problem with the 06+ explorers with the 4.0 LTR

04-01-2008, 11:55 AM	#8
aaronajb1981 Wannabe Elite Explorer Minneapolis, MN '06 XLS Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 521 Vehicle Specs	Well update on mine... My ex is at the dealership right now (4-1-08) they are going to cover the radiator and thermostat housing under fords "AWA" (after warranty assistance) program so i only have to pay 20% of the bill. not bad considering that the radiator alone cost $303. So i will have to pay only like 200 for this. along with them doing the 30k work too. However i will be fighting with them since they said i had to do the front diff, rear diff, and transfer case also right now to get the AWA to cover it. I have already been on the phone argueing with the service manager and emailing with the general manager of the dealership about these problems. PS i tried complaining on the ford website and have not yet heard back. Will keep ya posted. Last edited by aaronajb1981; 04-01-2008 at 01:11 PM.

03-30-2008, 06:36 PM	#4
aaronajb1981 Wannabe Elite Explorer Minneapolis, MN '06 XLS Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 521 Vehicle Specs	Just wondering if anybody has found anything out? My 2006 Explorer just started to get a leak on the bottom of the radiator today (march 30, 2008). If you say its your gasket is this on the bottom of the radiator? It looks like its leaking on the bottom of it. Not to mention my thermostat housing had corrsion around it again. Had this fixed once already under warranty.

03-31-2008, 06:12 AM	#6
aaronajb1981 Wannabe Elite Explorer Minneapolis, MN '06 XLS Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 521 Vehicle Specs	Anybody know what the going rate for a new radiator is now? roughly? 44xxx clicks on it and this is terrible.

03-31-2008, 03:10 PM	#7
midiout Wannabe Elite Explorer Buffalo, New York 2006 Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 100 Vehicle Specs	I'm thinking of complaining to Ford about my Ex - radiator was replaced last year, leaking again. My ABS/Traction light is on again for the third time, battery was replaced, does not idle right after extended highway driving - when you stop, the engine shakes, but the tach does not waiver - this is the third time. Also, last year, after using the parking brakes, the rotors were "corroded", so of all the Fords I have owned , this is the worse. Only 38,889 miles,and the repair shops response is, "well, you have the extended warranty" - which we thought was thru Ford, but thru Interstate. If I ask the dealer for all the work done prior to purchasing the vehicle, will they give it to me ? The dealer who we bought the car from was "sold" by Ford.

04-01-2008, 01:39 PM	#9
midiout Wannabe Elite Explorer Buffalo, New York 2006 Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 100 Vehicle Specs	I'm surprised that they require the diff. change - their way of making customers pay for the design flaws. What does the diff. have to do with the radiator ? It would be more of the trans, as it cools the trans fluid. I presume most people going to the dealer don't have a clue about their cars - sell them all these "maintainence" requirements. I sent an email to Ford about the $35,000 vehicle that -it's the worse Ford ever owned by me. I told them to look up the times I had the SUV in for services at the two dealers - I don't need to repeat it. I mean the second radiator, ABS/traction control and rough idle after highway driving. These are repeating conditions for my Ex. I've not had the transmission bump other members have described, lucky there I guess !!!! My new 1988 Chevy Corsica, first year produced no problems !!! Got 145,000 miles out of it.

04-02-2008, 07:51 AM	#10
aaronajb1981 Wannabe Elite Explorer Minneapolis, MN '06 XLS Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 521 Vehicle Specs	Well update: I got my truck back yesterday. After bitching at the service manager and gm of the dealership we split the cost of the rear diff, front diff, transfer case flushes. Due to the fact they already did this by the time i called them. I will be looking under the truck to see if i can tell if they actually changed it out or not. Too late now but I should have put a little mark on them to see. They told me it was the seam where the aluminum meets the housing the gasket. So all said and done: $758.00 for 20% of the bill for the radiator and thermostat housing, transmition flush and fill, fuel filter, Front diff flush/fill, rear diff flush/fill, transfer case flush/fill. When i first went in there if i had to pay full price for the radiator and thermostat housing that would hae been $1100.00

04-03-2008, 08:39 AM	#11
midiout Wannabe Elite Explorer Buffalo, New York 2006 Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 100 Vehicle Specs	Update - Ford called me with regards to buyback. I took the Ex to the dealer last night. The tech was not happy with the brakes -"too soft", like pushing down a marshmallow. He said the regular brake system and ABS are two separate systems - The traction contol woul go on and off for him - jerking, so he marked that. The radiator is leaking, so he said that they had replaced the front brakes, turned back rotors @ 17,000 miles. It appears that sometimes the parking brake will hang up after you release it, causing the rotors to warp. The old dealer had stopped the repair records six months after I purchased the car, so they will need to contact Ford about the other times the Ex was in for services. Ford was unaware that the old dealer has tried to alter the odometer reading, stating the car had 6 miles on it instead of 5700 miles. The owner actually whited out the 5700 on the odometer certification and wrote in 6, but gave us the original copy ? He was surprised that the radiator, battery were replaced six month after we purchased the EX. Sometimes I wonder how many new cars were in N.O. after Katrina, were sold off to dealers - you hear about flood damage vehicles.

04-03-2008, 08:04 PM	#12
midiout Wannabe Elite Explorer Buffalo, New York 2006 Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 100 Vehicle Specs	DeaLER cALLED BACK with the following problems - radiator will be replaced for the third time, rear wiper motor shorted out, will be replaced and the back brakes ABS sensors were corroded on both sides. Interstate will cover these with $100.oo deductable, but how many times will they fix the vehicle before it gets "too expensive" ?

04-07-2008, 10:13 AM	#13
midiout Wannabe Elite Explorer Buffalo, New York 2006 Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 100 Vehicle Specs	The dealer called me last Friday night - radiator is on backorder, maybe get it on Mon. or Tues. ? Let me use a 2007 4-door 4by4 F150 for the weekend- too big for me. Don't these car companies understand that the internet is a great research for car problems ? If the Ford rep. calls the house, and my wife answers - fireworks will begin.

04-11-2008, 07:11 AM	#14
aaronajb1981 Wannabe Elite Explorer Minneapolis, MN '06 XLS Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 521 Vehicle Specs	Update again: So i emailed Ford on thrie website and they responded with we would like to talk to you on the phone. So i called them, tell them all the problems ofcourse the put me in touch with the service manager. well after talking to him again i got him to give me another $120.00 back. I think i am finally happy with this problem.

04-11-2008, 11:21 AM	#15
jupiterak Wannabe Elite Explorer 2006 Explorer EB V8 4x4 Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 386 Vehicle Specs	Where exactly is the leak coming from on the radiator? Is this more common in V6 than V8's?

04-11-2008, 12:27 PM	#16
midiout Wannabe Elite Explorer Buffalo, New York 2006 Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 100 Vehicle Specs	I picked up the Ex yesterday - the rear ABS tone rings were rusted - costs $21.00 for each part, but $429.00 labor. The radiator was $239, but around $300.00 for labor.The rear wiper motor was $249, $100.00 for labor I had the extended warranty, so the total cost was $1212.00, and I paid $108.75 deductable. I still called Ford about the buy back, but due to the fact that it was beyond the 36,000 bumper to bumper, I was out of luck. The supervisor at Ford called my and said maybe I should trade the EX in, but we would lose big time, so she would give us credit towards another Ford/Mercury. I have a pin number which I need to go to a dealer to see what my "credit" is. The story continues on.....would'nt this be a great news piece abour radiators only lasting 10 months, and week of replacement waiting ???

04-11-2008, 08:23 PM	#17
V8power Wannabe Elite Explorer Des Moines, Iowa 2006 Moutaineer PremierV8 Join Date: Jan 2004 Posts: 16 Vehicle Specs	Please post what engine you have or at least put it in your profile so everyone can see if this is a problem with one or the other or both. Thanks!!

04-12-2008, 08:18 AM	#18
FordxMan Wannabe Elite Explorer California 07 Sport Trac Limited 4X4 Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 76 Vehicle Specs	Would like to see some PIC's. online parts arethe way to __________________ Mr. C 2007 Sport Trac Limited 4x4 4.6L V-8 Magnaflow exhaust, K&N intake. 325HP Goodyear Silent Armor 265/65 18

04-12-2008, 09:40 PM	#19
midiout Wannabe Elite Explorer Buffalo, New York 2006 Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 100 Vehicle Specs	I have the 4.0 engine, and can you believe a 2006 Eddie Bauer Edition is only worth 18,500 to 20,00 for trade in ? It seems the bigger, larger SUV you buy, the less it's worth for trade-in down the road. Today, I drove a 2008 HHR with turbo, five speed -fast for only $22,000 !!!!

04-13-2008, 07:57 AM	#20
99 zee71 Wannabe Elite Explorer metamora, il 2006 xlt Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 7 Vehicle Specs (Original Poster)	4.0 mine is the 4.0 motor. i'm going try to support the radiator some more by alum. straps. the people i talked to @ radiator shop said its from lack of support.