2006 XLT Radiator

[94Eddie]

Just buy a regular 20psi one LOL

Mine running fine for 3 years with stock ford radiator and stock 20psi cap

I don't see a need to run the cooling system at 20 psi. For the past 9-10 months I have used a 16 psi cap and have seen zero issues or the temp gauge reading any differently than when I used a 20 psi cap. Running with the extra pressure puts more strain on the cooling system and could be part of the reason so many radiators fail in the 4th gen Explorers/Mountaineers. Mine failed at just over 100k miles. The 20% lower pressure also puts less stress on other parts of the cooling system. Whatever use case that caused Ford to specify a 20 psi cap must be very rare for someone to encounter. I keep the 20 psi cap in the console should I run into this rare case. I doubt I ever see it.

 

[Blackhawkxx]

I have done the same without issue. I did the same with my house water pressure. It was real high and I was having trouble with things, turned it down and things are living longer.

 

[Bazz270]

Guys

Feel free to use any part you want in your own car

 

[fireftr]

Lots of threads here on the Explorer radiators, but the basic question is "how long to replace"? Mine, a recent auto-shop replacement unit, just blew the seam and lost all the coolant. Easy, driveway job with hand tools? Any off parts have to be removed for access other than radiator shroud, overflow bottle, etc?

Thanks in advance.

I replaced my 2005 4.6.
It wasn’t hard, but definitely challenging.
Four or five plastic shrouds. Some screw heads a little hard to reach, but definitely a backyard job without any special tools.
I’d highly recommend looking at some videos before you start, as some things need to come off and on in a certain order.
Good luck!

 

[Scorpion8]

Task is complete, ran it around town with no issues. I'll put the new cap on when it arrives, but using the old cap for now which (curiously) is stamped "14" in the center, but that's all it says. Biggest issue I had was one of the tranny oil cooler lines quick disconnect was anything but quick, and broke the lil' plastic quick-release tool that O'Reilly's had. I was going to just swap the fittings in-place onto the new radiator, but (egads!) they were different sizes. So I wrestled with that and some very cold hands but is no longer kaput!

 

[Ruddy]

I Replaced mine right after I bought it. It had 125k miles on it. It was leaking from the inside top seam.
Bought this one on Rock Auto

MOTORCRAFT​

RAD38

Radiator

$ 230.79​

2010 V8

 

[Bazz270]

Mine is the same motocraft one,3 year old and approx 30000 miles with oem stock radiator cap.since that never experienced any kind of leaks or overheating

 

[Scorpion8]

Well, I'm losing coolant from somewhere. There are no leaks under the car, no water in the oil, I don't think it's coming out the tailpipe (but it's winter in AK so there's always condensation around the exhaust). I'm going to find a time to put it up on ramps and get underneath to see if the water-pump is weeping. The water pump is ~ 1-1/2 years old and was replaced when the cooling system had issues back then, and am wondering if it failed and allowed the cooling system to over pressurize and thats what popped the seam on that radiator. I'm losing maybe 2" of coolant in the expansion tank each day that I drive it back and forth to work, so am using a spare vehicle right now until I can troubleshoot it better.

 

[Ruddy]

Well, I'm losing coolant from somewhere. There are no leaks under the car, no water in the oil,

I had no spots on the ground either, but I could smell it. Finally got a small led flashlight and poked it through the fan blade and shroud just right and could see some old crud on the fins. When I finally pulled it out I could see the seam weeping above it. I suppose the fan suction was evaporating it and just leaving the hard crud.
I don't remember how much loss I was getting though.

 

[07EddyB]

Well - first off my condolences since you just replaced the radiator and you are still losing coolant. Can't help much - the only time mine was losing coolant without dripping was when the radiator had a small leak that the fan was blowing onto the engine - thus no coolant on the ground.
Seems like every other leak made it's presence known by hitting the ground.
The one thought I have here is that maybe you didn't get all the air out when you refilled the system. I would take the time at this point to look at that before I got into too many other things.
Good luck.

 

[Scorpion8]

Thanks all. Just got enough snow cleared and melted to put the car up on ramps. There seemed to be weeping at the lower radiator connection, but that was the only place I could find coolant "evidence". I repositioned the hose clamp there, and re-tightened it and cleaned that all up. Ran the engine until it is good and warm and put a drip tray under that spot. Now we wait. Also finally got my 16lb radiator cap, so added that too.

 

[Blackhawkxx]

Real cold weather will sometimes make rad hose connections leak until the water warms up. Not saying that was your issue but something I have noticed since they started using plastic in the radiators.

 

[07EddyB]

Scorpion - you jinxed me man! I ran a short errand today and later noticed a small puddle under the Ex.
JK - in reality I replaced my radiator about 4 years ago - used the Spectra CU2592. Literally in less than two years it was leaking again. This time not enough to reach the ground so I've just been running with it for a few years. It always holds coolant just above the fins in the radiator and I just add a little from time to time - no issues overheating or any other problems so I just let it go even though the recovery tank always stays empty.
Well - I guess I have to address that now.
I have to admit - as much as I'm pissing and moaning about it right now I do have a garage to work on it in. I understand you are working on yours outside in the cold and snow - it humbles me a bit.

 

[Bazz270]

Try using motorcraft/fomoco radiator.

Aftermarket radiators wont last long on 4.6 3v. Even with low pressure cap cheat LOL.

In my opinion
The reason for early radiator failure not only the aftermarket parts low quality and low pressure capabilty but also the way of this huge radiator mounted to the chassis.

 

[Scorpion8]

Try using motorcraft/fomoco radiator.

Not always available. My O'Reilly's listed it, but didn't have one. Wait for it, and the car is down 3 weeks. Or I could (and did) get the Murray that they had in stock. Yea, I wish I could always get Motorcraft parts, but sadly not always the case. And no Ford dealer here for 900 air miles....

 

[07EddyB]

Not always available. My O'Reilly's listed it, but didn't have one. Wait for it, and the car is down 3 weeks. Or I could (and did) get the Murray that they had in stock. Yea, I wish I could always get Motorcraft parts, but sadly not always the case. And no Ford dealer here for 900 air miles....

I'm going to call the dealer tomorrow and price a Motorcraft radiator and check on availability. The thing is - obviously a Motorcraft radiator isn't special - we all know they fail also. Maybe they take a little longer to fail but fail they will. Also, at this point, what are you really getting? Unless they are still using the same radiator today then I would imagine the supply of true OEM radiators dried up years ago - this is a very common problem. So who makes them now? Maybe the same people that make the Murray radiator at O'Rielly's or the Duralast radiator at Autozone or the CarQuest radiator at Advance? I thought I was doing the right thing ordering a Spectra years ago - they came highly recommended.
I do know that the O'Reilly's that's five minutes from my house has a Murray in stock. I'll likely end up there.

 

[94Eddie]

I replaced the radiator two years ago with a Spectra Premium CU2952 model based on the recommendation of FordTechMakeYouLoco in one of his videos. They don't make this specific model any longer. I agree that even the OEM radiator isn't all that dependable because the one in my Mountaineer went out at well before 100k miles. This is based this on the amount of dried up coolant on the fins. At least I knew this before buying it and got a price drop.

 

[Bazz270]

100k miles its a huge mileage for modern aluminum radiators.

 

[94Eddie]

100k miles its a huge mileage for modern aluminum radiators.

I disagree on this. Most OEM radiators last well beyond 100k miles. The radiators in the 4th gens are a known problem. The other gen Explorers don't have this issue to nearly the same extent. At least here in the USA. The 2010 Mountaineer is the only vehicle my wife and I have owned that has had a radiator fail.

 

[Bazz270]

And how long Spectra radiators last?