97 E150 Club Radiator Replacement

Hi, The top of my radiator cracked (plastic) and needs replaced (I have the towing package). Replacement seems like I could do it, but I have three questions:

1. Is the radiator at the Ford dealer (5.69) a superior product to the Advanced Auto Parts radiator (6.00)? Ford stated that it was larger radiator due to the towing package, I thought the tow package only provided me an additional transmission cooler.

1. Does the fan clutch really need removed (from ALLDATA)? I only saw one of those wrench sets at Advanced Auto Parts, but it did not have my model year listed ('97) on the package. Not sure I can get it from anywhere else. Thoughts?

2. A local shop is going to give me another price, labor is close to the Ford dealer, but the part may be a different cost. The manufacturer they like is "Mundeen" or something like that. They stated they found it to be a great product. Have you heard of this?

Thank you in advance, StoneCry

On Wed, 29 Jun 2005 13:07:13 -0500, DjE rearranged some electrons to form:

Modine. They probably make the Ford part.

Thank you for the input, this helps a bunch.

Rich (StoneCry)

Modine is an old brand. They make a very large percentage of the factory radiators for all types of engines. AS far as the fan hub wrench from Advance, I have one. I believe the same wrench works on most if not all Ford pump mounted fan hubs. The reason for removing the hub is so that both it and the radiator schroud can be removed together. That will allow room to remove the radiator. As far as which radiator to use, I would get the one from Advance assuning it is for the tow package. Make sure it is the same number of tube rows as the original. If it not as thick, it will not be up to the job.

Lugnut

"" wrote: > Hi, > The top of my radiator cracked (plastic) and needs replaced (I > have the > towing package). Replacement seems like I could do it, but I > have > three questions: > > 1. Is the radiator at the Ford dealer ($345.69) a superior > product to > the Advanced Auto Parts radiator ($196.00)? Ford stated that > it was > larger radiator due to the towing package, I thought the tow > package > only provided me an additional transmission cooler. > > 2. Does the fan clutch really need removed (from ALLDATA)? I > only saw > one of those wrench sets at Advanced Auto Parts, but it did > not have my > model year listed ('97) on the package. Not sure I can get it > from > anywhere else. Thoughts? > > 3. A local shop is going to give me another price, labor is > close to > the Ford dealer, but the part may be a different cost. The > manufacturer > they like is "Mundeen" or something like that. They stated > they found > it to be a great product. Have you heard of this? > > Thank you in advance, > StoneCry

I would also suggest that you lose the 16 PSI cap and at least go down to a 12 or 13 PSI one or lower to help avoid this problem again in future. I never run stock pressure caps on any of my vehicals and I have never had any heating problem either (nor any radiator tank failures too) and I tow too. For what it is worth because plactic has no bussiness in a tank anyway and lower pressure will help it live a lot longer.

I would imagine that being better on hoses as well. Why do manufacturers want the pressure so high to being with?

I did notice when the tank was hot the buldging where it's cracked. It was noted after the van cooled and the crack sealed up some and the surface was flat vs. slightly rounded. I've not lost much fluid.

The reason for the pressure is to raise the boiling point of the coolant. The combustion chamber area of the heads is typically much hotter than the rest of the system and may, in fact, boil the coolant that is in direct contact with this area resulting in overheating of that area even though the engine is not overheated. Lowering the pressure can result in localized overherating that you will never be aware of as well as pre-ignition under heavy load. I would not advise reducing the cooling system pressure unless you are also reducing the thermostat temp. The manufacturers have done considerable testing of their cooling system to determine what will or will not work. Reducing the stat temp would not be any guarantee of avoiding the problem.

Lugnut