How to: - Remove and Replace your 2nd gen 1996 - 2001 Explorer V8 Radiator (with pics) | Page 3 | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

  • Register Today It's free!

How to: Remove and Replace your 2nd gen 1996 - 2001 Explorer V8 Radiator (with pics)

Prefix for threads which are instructional.
I'm hating photobucket even more now. I've used this post before, a few years back. Was hoping for a refresher course. Guess i'll have to use my memory for the pics.
 



Join the Elite Explorers for $20 each year.
Elite Explorer members see no advertisements, no banner ads, no double underlined links,.
Add an avatar, upload photo attachments, and more!
.





I'm hating photobucket even more now. I've used this post before, a few years back. Was hoping for a refresher course. Guess i'll have to use my memory for the pics.

I don't know which browser you use, but adding an extension (recently posted by J_C) listed links to several. I added the extension for Google Chrome and I can now view the pics this very thread.
 






I don't know which browser you use, but adding an extension (recently posted by J_C) listed links to several. I added the extension for Google Chrome and I can now view the pics this very thread.

Thank you very much... The pics are now visible! Now, to get the extension installed in my phone...
 






Thank you very much... The pics are now visible! Now, to get the extension installed in my phone...
This thread was essential to allow me to change the radiator on my 1999 5.0 Explorer today. A few undocumented problems I encountered were:
  1. 10mm bolt hold evaporator to radiator. I don't think this was shown in the original pics and it took me several minutes to determine this was why I could not get the evaporator free from the radiator. Its on the passenger side, near the top of the radiator.
  2. evap bolt.png
  3. Attaching the evaporator to the new radiator was really difficult. I could not get the male clips on the drivers side into their mates on the radiator. I had to lift the radiator out of the support and push it back toward the engine to open up enough space to maneuver the evaporator into the clips. I also removed the plastic cover above the grill, the one with doors to access the headlight bulbs, so that I could get a hand on the evaporator and guide the clips into the mates on the radiator. Then I lifted the evaporator/radiator assembly into place on the support brackets.
  4. IMG_1359.JPG
  5. IMG_1355.JPG
evap bolt.png
 






I just replaced the radiator on my son's '97 Mountaineer, and get to do it all over again because the new radiator leaks, has the wrong tank on the passenger side (doesn't have the slot for the bottom clip or the ear for the top bolt to connect the condenser), plus other problems. Removing the cover above the grille is very helpful. I also found plastic air deflectors snapped to the bottom of each side of the condenser tend to hang up and limit the upward travel of the condenser on installation of the radiator. I went out to remove the new leaking radiator this afternoon, and had it ready to lift out in a very short time. Knowing which direction to move everything certainly helps. I didn't see this thread until now. Another good thread, not quite as good as this one, is - Removing radiator from condensor on a 5.0?
 






I secured new AC Condendser Coil snugly to Radiator Support - Went back with all Aluminun 2 Row Radiator with Shroud & Electric Fan & cut Threads off of Water Pump.

NEW RAD W FAN & SHROUD.png
 






IDK why Ford made radiator replacement so difficult on the 5.0L's. I've replaced 3 of them to-date. Some were more difficult than others for some reason, but none were what I'd call easy to replace (requiring lots of swearing). The V6 radiators, by comparison, are super simple to replace. This is because the A/C condenser on the V6's is not attached to the radiator in any way. Years ago, I recall reading a thread here about how to convert a V8 Expl to a V6 mounting system. I don't recall the details, but I do recall thinking it was a good idea.
 






IDK why Ford made radiator replacement so difficult on the 5.0L's. I've replaced 3 of them to-date. Some were more difficult than others for some reason, but none were what I'd call easy to replace (requiring lots of swearing). The V6 radiators, by comparison, are super simple to replace. This is because the A/C condenser on the V6's is not attached to the radiator in any way. Years ago, I recall reading a thread here about how to convert a V8 Expl to a V6 mounting system. I don't recall the details, but I do recall thinking it was a good idea.
I put a V6 Radiator in mine & just ditched the Clips.

V6 2 ROW RAD .JPG
 






I'm headed to the salvage yard this morning to get the V6 condenser mounts. It looks like the lower ones support the bottom corners of the condenser and the upper ones secure the top corners to the header panel in front of the radiator. Much like radiator mounts of old.
 






I look forward to seeing how that works out, thanks for showing it to others here. You will love the bottom bracket, one big piece that easy to R&R. The small top brackets may be no fun to remove.
 






I'm headed to the salvage yard this morning to get the V6 condenser mounts. It looks like the lower ones support the bottom corners of the condenser and the upper ones secure the top corners to the header panel in front of the radiator. Much like radiator mounts of old.
Other than the time it takes to disconnect the trans cooler lines, rad hoses and removing the plastic "wind defector" under the radiator to make draining the rad easier/neater, removing/replacing the V6 rad really couldn't be easier.

Here's what the old thread indicated was necessary to do the swap.

"I got around to pulling my radiator and getting the condensor separated was as big of pain as others stated. I saw a few others mention using the 4.0L condensor mounts but there weren't any pictures to be found. I went to the local pick n pull on a 40% off day and was out the door for under $10. Just had to remove four small bolts. Make sure to grab all the weatherstripping since the condensor will now be slightly separated from the radiator. Everything mounted up to my 5.0L perfectly even with a 1" body lift. All holes were already in the body. Great mod.

Here is a picture of the brackets and weatherstripping. Long bracket goes on bottom and two small brackets go on top. You do have to cut the existing plastic brackets off the condensor. Tinsnips made quick work of those".

IDK if the copies image will display, but I've tried to include it...
1645463298031.png
 






Excellent write up. I had to replace my radiator when replacing the water pump and timing set on my '01 5.0 as I spun the tranny connection trying to get the fittings apart. [RADMAN - at least I think I had to replace it, didn't want to take a chance at contaminated tranny fluid! ] Used some anti-seize on the tranny cooler fittings upon installing the new radiator in hopes that they're not stuck next time.
 






Excellent write up. I had to replace my radiator when replacing the water pump and timing set on my '01 5.0 as I spun the tranny connection trying to get the fittings apart. [RADMAN - at least I think I had to replace it, didn't want to take a chance at contaminated tranny fluid! ] Used some anti-seize on the tranny cooler fittings upon installing the new radiator in hopes that they're not stuck next time.
those fittings have killed many a radiator - in SC i just delete the Tranny Fluid warmer in Radiator and add 2nd Air to Fluid cooler but not the WTG in every climate.
 






Good to see you chime in koda!
I got back from the salvage yard a little while ago. I took the top brackets off a '03 Sport. The bottom bracket was pretty rusty, so I looked around and found Rangers use the same setup even without a V6, and they're easier to get to than on the Explorers - at least the '01-03 Sports - if you remove the grille. In this case the grille was already broken around the headlights, so I just snapped it off. The driver's side bolt isn't too bad to get to. The oil/trans(?) cooler is in the way to get a ratchet on the passenger side bolt. You could disconnect the one line, or take out 3 bolts holding the cooler in place, or do what I did and use an 8mm (or 5/16) gear wrench. Those bolts are longer than they really need to be, so they take some patience. I took the radiator out to get to the bolts for the upper brackets. You might get by with just disconnecting the radiator and tipping it toward the engine, but you'd have the radiator loose and ready to pull out anyway.

In the photo above, we're looking at the engine side of the bottom cradle/bracket. The small ones in the front are the top ones. The piece above the cradle attaches to the front of the top of the radiator to cover the gap between radiator and condenser. The middle 2 attach to the side of the cradle, I assume - I didn't get those. The top piece looks like the piece I took off the Mountaineer to insert a screwdriver/small pry bar from the front to help move the condenser toward the passenger side when R&Ring the V8 radiator.

The 2 upper brackets, lower cradle, filler piece covering the gap between radiator and condenser, and the hood supports from the Sport (which are better than the ones on my '02 Sport Trac) cost $26 total. I haven't looked at the breakdown to know what each cost.
 






The condenser brackets cost me $10.60, and the hood supports cost $13.70 for the pair.

You'll want to get the bolts and blind nuts that go with the brackets. I said the lower bolts are longer than they need to be. I knew that was wrong when I typed it. The bolts need to be long because you have to spread the bracket to get it on or off, and it's still spread a little when you start the bolts.
This conversion is not a 15 minute job, especially if you're working alone as it's getting dark and colder, but the end goal is to make swapping radiators easier, and it certainly does that. A second person would speed things up, with one working underneath while the other lines up the bracket and blind nuts & bolts from the front. Daylight would be a big plus as well. When the radiator comes I can slide it right in, connect the hoses and transmission lines, 2 bolts for the radiator and 2 for the shroud, and fill it with coolant. Easy peasy. Turns out, the lower bracket is easier to access on the '97 Mountaineer with the grille intact than the Ranger with the grille removed. The Mountaineer has openings in the bumper and grille area that allow easy access to the bolts, and you can see what you're doing. And the trans cooler and lines aren't in the way like they were on the Ranger. The plastic pieces on the sides of the condenser need to come off, which requires cutting them, or disconnecting the a/c lines to the condenser. I got the brackets and condenser bolted in. I'll take pics tomorrow, weather permitting.
 






The condenser brackets cost me $10.60, and the hood supports cost $13.70 for the pair.

You'll want to get the bolts and blind nuts that go with the brackets. I said the lower bolts are longer than they need to be. I knew that was wrong when I typed it. The bolts need to be long because you have to spread the bracket to get it on or off, and it's still spread a little when you start the bolts.
This conversion is not a 15 minute job, especially if you're working alone as it's getting dark and colder, but the end goal is to make swapping radiators easier, and it certainly does that. A second person would speed things up, with one working underneath while the other lines up the bracket and blind nuts & bolts from the front. Daylight would be a big plus as well. When the radiator comes I can slide it right in, connect the hoses and transmission lines, 2 bolts for the radiator and 2 for the shroud, and fill it with coolant. Easy peasy. Turns out, the lower bracket is easier to access on the '97 Mountaineer with the grille intact than the Ranger with the grille removed. The Mountaineer has openings in the bumper and grille area that allow easy access to the bolts, and you can see what you're doing. And the trans cooler and lines aren't in the way like they were on the Ranger. The plastic pieces on the sides of the condenser need to come off, which requires cutting them, or disconnecting the a/c lines to the condenser. I got the brackets and condenser bolted in. I'll tsake pics tomorrow, weather permitting.

Regarding the hood/lift supports, I've replaced the lift supports on all my Explorers/Mountaineers and ST with some I found on eBay. They were $16 a pair brand new. They've been on there for years now and are still working great. I think the brand name was "WAS". If anyone is interested, I can try and find my receipt. The first set I ordered were for my Sport Trac.'s hood and they weren't strong enough. I contacted the seller and they immediately sent me a stronger set and told me to just keep the weaker set, which worked fine on my Sport. On my 4-doors I not only replaced the hood lifts but also the liftgate and rear glass struts too. All @ $16 a pair, regardless of length or strength

I found a receipts. The brand/seller was "WAS" wisconsinautosupply.com. First set purchased for my '01 ST in November 2015 for $16.39 and still working great. Last pairs purchased in spring 2019 for my Explorer/Mountaineer lift gates and rear glass.
 






I remember us having that conversation in the past, and my experience was the same as yours - the first set was too weak. I know I replaced the hood supports on my '01 Sport Trac, and I think the Mountaineer, at that time, and they're both still working well. I don't remember ever replacing them on the '02 ST. Current ones won't hold the hood at all. The ones I got at the salvage yard were holding the hood wide open when I got there.
 






I remember us having that conversation in the past, and my experience was the same as yours - the first set was too weak. I know I replaced the hood supports on my '01 Sport Trac, and I think the Mountaineer, at that time, and they're both still working well. I don't remember ever replacing them on the '02 ST. Current ones won't hold the hood at all. The ones I got at the salvage yard were holding the hood wide open when I got there.
The real test of the supports is on a super cold day.
 






The real test of the supports is on a super cold day.

Ditto, you find out which are old during Winter. My 99 I put new hood struts on in late 2006, similar $10 each kind. They now just don't quite hold the hood up, they've been weak for a couple of years most likely.
 



Join the Elite Explorers for $20 each year.
Elite Explorer members see no advertisements, no banner ads, no double underlined links,.
Add an avatar, upload photo attachments, and more!
.





Back
Top