2006 explorer radiator

[EX-SV]

Ex-SV, If your old one was a 2008 I'd swear I bought your car last April.... Same issues...

P----

Sadly, not uncommon.

 

[Chuhbaca]

Count me amongst the radiator victims. I have a 2006 4.0 4x4 Explorer XLT. Took it in for an oil change and we found that it needs a new radiator. Thought it was just unfortunate, but after doing some research, I see that this is not just bad luck but an extremely common occurrence!

Has anyone ever tried to have the repairs done, then taking Ford to small claims court for reimbursement and court costs?

 

[Kak923]

Haven't read the whole thread so I apologize if this has been brought up, but is there a difference between the 06 radiator, and the 07-10 radiator? They are different part #'s but look the same. Seems like most of the problems are with the 06 model and just wanted to check if anybody has tried putting the 07-10 radiator on their 06.

 

[Lukas2009]

At Spectra Premium, where I bought the radiator for my 2007, they also have two different part numbers.
Why don't you simply buy a radiator for the 2006 model?

http://www.spectrapremium.com

 

[Kak923]

Because it seems like both OEM and aftermarket radiators are failing on the 06 more frequently than the 07-10 models. With the 06 being a different part #, maybe the 07-10 is a better, beefed up model that will last longer. Just a thought.

 

[Lukas2009]

Could be that the transmission cooler tube connectors are different.

 

[mounted]

I had my radiator replaced with an aftermarket about 4 months ago. The new radiator has started leaking now too. Will be replaced under warranty but still seems odd. Maybe I just got a dud out of the batch.

 

[Threnners]

Make sure it's not just your thermostat housing being cracked. I noticed a leak after I had my radiator replaced, and thought the worst, but the housing was the problem. Got it fixed, haven't had a problem since. Still on the same radiator that was replaced in 2009.

 

[Kak923]

Installed

Put the 07-10 radiator on my 06 and it seems to be working fine. Also changed the thermostat (195*) and put the 16psi rad cap on. So far so good. Hopefully that'll be the end of it.

 

[RU55ELL]

Put the 07-10 radiator on my 06 and it seems to be working fine. Also changed the thermostat (195*) and put the 16psi rad cap on. So far so good. Hopefully that'll be the end of it.

Is the radiator an OEM Ford replacement or aftermarket? Mine is leaking as well with 60,x.. on it.

 

[Ornery]

While this is at the top, I'd like to know if you were able to swap the transmission line fittings from the '06 to '07 radiator? Thanks.

 

[RU55ELL]

EDIT: Never mind.

 

[Threnners]

Well, I cursed myself. My Exploder will be welcoming Radiator #3 today.

I did however, see this on Edmunds in one of the user reviews. Any thoughts?

The problem with the 06-07 V6 Eddie Bauer edition is the lower brackets that the radiator sits in. They are 1/4 "to far forward, this puts the radiator in a bind. After thermal expansion and contraction the the welds in the core give up. This causes a ever so slight leak in the core. Hard to find at first , but eventually becomes much larger. You lose enough coolant to cause a over heating problem which is hard to detect because the coolant level is dropping ever so slightly. The temperature of the engine is rising at the same rate, along with the transmission, remember the trans is cooled through the same radiator. hot motor, hot trans lube breaks down.

 

[RU55ELL]

Has anyone had problems after the TSB has been performed? A couple Ford tech buddies say it fixes the problem for good. One of them is going to flash my computer and I'm ordering the updated radiator in a few days.

 

[RU55ELL]

Could be that the transmission cooler tube connectors are different.

It looks like the only difference between those two pics are, one has the quick disconnects and the other one doesnt. To clarify, both use the QDs, one just isn't showing them.

 

[PEAR0119]

I had the TSB done on my 06' about 3 years ago and all seems good so far. There seems to be a coolant leak now but looks to be coming from the thermostat housing rather than the radiator. If it's not one thing it's another with this truck, that's OK though all is still covered under extended warranty.

 

[jmatteis]

Just read through 18 pages... similar problems! Yay!
Couple of clarifications, I can perform some tasks, but this one, not at all, I left the truck with my mechanic for a day last week, to try and replicate the superfan we've been experiencing and it didn't happen for him, he didn't want to replace the fan clutch, due to cost if it wasn't the problem. I just want to understand... The superfan happening can be caused by the rad itself and not the fan clutch? Our will come on, only after decelerating and then accelerating again, like making a turn. If we left off the gas, it seems to "drop in" and shut off, and then the engine returns to normal, but while the fan is going strong, the temp gauge moves in time with acceleration... Just last weekend, this happened, but the system got hot enough, when I stopped and looked underneath, I had a nice leak going on, turned out to be the Lower Thermostat housing, which was replaced the next day. But the superfan is happening more often lately, and we're concerned as we'll be taking the truck 2000 km's east this summer.
My mechanic couldn't find any problem, but I am going to ask him about the rad, as well as combustion air in the system causing the fan to act the way it does. The leak on our rad, is very slow, and comes and goes... I just want it figured out and fixed... Do I need to replace the rad, or will the PCM update, fix the fan issue? This truck, with all the problems we've seen, is a true lemon! I am a huge ford Fan, but ford's lack of ownership on this is crazy! I have wondered, how the EPA hasn't got involved, with all of the coolant being leaked on behalf of ford's faulty rads!

Any suggestions, help, etc is greatly appreciated!

edit - sorry, meant to mention that this is happening more frequently now, and it's winter, average temps right around the freezing mark, that's why I'm nervous, what will happen when we get into hotter temperatures???

 

[Fire488]

Along with many other problems i guess I will have to fix my anti freeze leak that appears to be on the left side of the radiator. The leak is very small and the anti freeze usually does not reach the ground before evaporating and leaving white residue marks on the radiator itself.
What updated radiator?
Is there anything else I need to know about this cooling system?

One other thing related to this that concerned me is that i recently changed my ignition coils and spark plugs because I was going through spark plugs about every 10k miles. They are expensive. The plugs always looked clean, but for whatever reason they could not be reused because the engine would miss and run roughly. New plugs and coils the problem seems ok. I only have 5k on them and will see what happens in another.

I noticed white anti-freeze residue marks all over the top side of the engine. Like evaporated drops of anti-freeze. The level seems fine so it is a very small amount. The thing that concerned me was that when i removed the #4 coil it was a little wet and the when i checked it I noticed it was anti-freeze. The spark plug was dry and clean. Upon code checks it always seems to be the #4 cylinder that showed random miss fire. Why would anti-freeze be there? I did a pressure check for 6 hours and could not make the system leak either. Maybe a hot check with pressure?

2007 Ford Explorer Limited V8

 

[lcbabj]

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

44xxx clicks on it and this is terrible.

Bought a replacement for my '07 Sport Trac today off Amazon. $118.

 

[FordSUVdriver]

I've joined the club. I bought a '06 Mountaineer Luxury within the past year and just replaced the radiator. Installed at an independent shop, the total was $698 after tax. I'm hoping that I don't have to do this again.

However, the price I paid for the Mountaineer was half the price of a comparable 4 Runner so I guess I'm ahead. Otherwise, I really enjoy this vehicle. Other issues are intermittent rear windows and the drivers side electric running board has a bad motor.