5th Radiator in 12 months

[majorpile]

New member here, decided to post because I'm at a loss with what is going on.

1999 Ford Explorer, 4.0L V8 SOHC, auto trans with overdrive. The engine and trans are rebuilt and only have ~25k miles on them.

We are working on our 5th radiator in 12 months, a few times the issue has been a hole in the radiator somewhere (but unlikely to be a rock every single time, and in a location where it's hard to imagine it was a rock), one time the transmission cooler broke and filled the radiator with transmission fluid.

We've tried different brands of radiators, and one that the shop told me was "Heavy Duty", and the problem still persists.

We have checked for electrolysis and don't see any signs of it, oil is clear and not milky, and we have been using the same antifreeze so no chemical reactions there.

Any ideas what's going on? Is something else in the engine defective and causing this issues?

 

[my98nnj]

So what your saying is it keeps leaking?
What brand radiator are you using?
Have they been replaced under warranty?
Unless you have really bad luck, you've got a run on bad parts.

 

[Joe Dirt]

Unless you have really bad luck, you've got a run on bad parts.

...or a bad shop

 

[SoNic67]

Replace the radiator vent cap. It's supposed to open at a certain pressure to leave the heated water overflow (liquid dilatation).
If is not opening (mechanically stuck or the spring is too hard), something else will have to "give"... Hoses, radiator seams, radiator plastic ends.

PS: There is no 4.0L V8 engine... in an Explorer. Edited for accuracy

 

[BradR]

PS: There is no 4.0L V8 engine...

I'm not saying you're wrong, but just putting this out there, oldsmobile and land rover both have/had v8 4.0's, but yes, never such thing in an explorer...

I'm with Joe. I'm thinking it's a bad shop, who is probably just JB welding the hole... Have you thought about doing the work yourself.. A radiator actually isn't all that hard...

drain radiator
remove upper and lower hoses and overflow line
remove trans cooler lines
Remove fan shroud - 2 bolts and a tug, hook it onto the fan
couple bolts here, couple there...
remove the radiator

 

[Joe Dirt]

...and I'm with Brad

Check my V8 radiator replacement thread, might help?

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=332584

 

[majorpile]

Thanks everyone.

The shop is pretty reputable, and I've seen that the radiators they are putting in are new. The shop has even tried switching brands of radiator. I could do the radiator myself, but I'm pretty busy, and the repairs so far have been covered under warranty and replaced each time at no cost to me (other than not having the vehicle for a few days). I just don't want to have to deal with this every few months.

We switched the cap about halfway through this process. I'll have that done again just in case.

Sorry about the wrong engine description.

This last time, the radiator was leaking from 4 different points in the core, second to last time there was a hole in the radiator on the lower passenger side of the radiator, time before that was the transcooler giving out.

I've heard suggestions of getting a radiator made out of brass? Anyone have any experience with, or information about, that? Or any experience with electrolysis?

Thanks for all the replies so far, much appreciated. I'll check out the replacement thread.

 

[J.Rovirosa]

I'm having the same problem; the three month old radiator I picked up at NAPA is leaking from where the side tanks are crimped/bonded to the core. Dreading having to go through the runaround with this p.o.s. If Ford can make a radiator of this design last 17 years and 280K miles, I'm hoping there's an aftermarket equivalent. Would by direct from Ford, but it's been discontinued.

 

[J.Rovirosa]

I'm having the same problem; the three month old radiator I picked up at NAPA is leaking from where the side tanks are crimped/bonded to the core. Dreading having to go through the runaround with this p.o.s. If Ford can make a radiator of this design last 17 years and 280K miles, I'm hoping there's an aftermarket equivalent. Would by direct from Ford, but it's been discontinued.

 

[deweyville65]

Electrolysis (?) should not be a problem as long as you are running anti freeze, and especially for that zhort of time. Most electrolysis problems come from diesels and not running additive in the cooling system. I can not remember the name of the purple additive. Been too long.

 

[SoNic67]

I'm having the same problem; the three month old radiator I picked up at NAPA is leaking from where the side tanks are crimped/bonded to the core.

Is the limited lifetime warranty one? Canada made...
If is Balkamp one, is made in China.

 

[budwich]

Poor quality control (probably no quality control), a lot of bad luck and lack of "root cause analysis" by the shop especially after the second time. They should be able to easily and closely examine the failure to determine possible causes.... things like "rock hits" will leave obvious "bings" in the cooling fins. Cracks, spits will tell other "stories". Of course, it might take a bit of effort and in the end won't necessarily solve the problem out right but might help move in the right direction (ie. change suppliers, replace parts / cap, etc). Seeing nothing obvious might require a magnifying glass. Pressure bench testing of a unit before installation might pinpoint problems.

 

[J.Rovirosa]

Is the limited lifetime warranty one? Canada made...
If is Balkamp one, is made in China.

Whichever I got is, in fact, made in China.

 

[radman]

Ford Had Same Issues

When the plastic tank/aluminum core radiators first came out on the Gen 1 Explorers they had leak problems from not having a good crimp on the seal. These radiators have three different materials in the header that have three different expansion rates.

What you need to do is tighten up the crimp, even on new radiators. There is a rubber gasket like seal between the tank and the header that needs to be snugged to ensure a good leak proof area. In order to accomplish this you will need a pair of vise grip pliers to pinch the tabs of the header down a little bit. You will notice that the tab area is about 3/8" thick and you only want to crimp it a little bit. DO NOT CRUSH OR DENT THE HEADER, if you over squeeze the tabs you can cause damage to the sealing ability of the header.

If you are getting repeated leaks form holes in the core the problem can be stray currant in the cooling system. If grounds were not properly reinstalled after your engine change your electrical system is using the coolant to seek a ground and the low voltage can erode holes in soft aluminum radiator cores.

 

[CDW6212R]

The Ford radiator is most likely still available, it's just that Ford does not sell it. They didn't make it, Visteon did. I have a brand new Visteon V8 full core radiator I bought two years ago, from an eBay seller.

The radiator itself is probably not your issue, if you have had four fail after the first one. Look to other things, like the cap, bad shop work, or vandalism. Good luck,