Should I replace radiator 2007 explorer 4.0

[cedarsales]

My truck has 144,000 miles and in the past week I have smelled antifreeze after pulling in the garage after getting home from work. I also noticed a very small spot of antifreeze on the floor. I just bought the truck a few months ago so I do not know how old the current radiator is. Are there aftermarket radiators that are not made by ford that wont have the issues I keep reading about? Thanks

 

[polizi212]

This radiator Design I fear is the reason these fail and aside from spending untold fortunes having an all aluminum radiator made your kind of going to have to stick with this design! There are a ton of choices in the Aftermarket area for this radiator and from looking they are all pretty similar in design and materials.

I will tell you its a pretty involved job to do the radiator your self but it can be done, I just did mine Back on June 13, The job took me 8 and 1/2 hours. I was mostly working alone and I had a major issue to deal with, I couldn't get the fitting off the end of the transmission line. I had to Dremel the fitting off the line without damaging the line at all! It took me some time but the patience was worth not having to buy new tranny lines!

After the install I had no further issues from my truck leaking Radiator fluid and I drove to South Carolina that weekend for vacation.

I bought my Radiator from RockAuto they had several to choice from and I bought the best one I could afford!

Good Luck to you if you choose to do this yourself if you have any questions please ask!

 

[Flag Gibby]

Track the leak down before you go assuming that it is from the radiator since there are several other areas that it could be coming from. For example, the thermostat housings are known to crack and start leaking.

 

[polizi212]

Track the leak down before you go assuming that it is from the radiator since there are several other areas that it could be coming from. For example, the thermostat housings are known to crack and start leaking.

Excellent point Gibby, I should have not assumed it was the Radiator as there are other areas prone to leaks!

 

[cedarsales]

Leak ended up being the water pump.