It's time to replace the radiator on my truck. There's a leak somewhere around the seams/seals of the plastic tank. Has 182,000 miles and has been flushed twice in that time. Everything else in the cooling system looks and works fine.

I'm going to flush it out before installing the new radiator and replace upper and lower hoses while I'm at it.

Before I order parts is there anything else I might need?....hoses/clamps/fittings for the transmission cooling lines, etc?

Do you recommend aftermarket, like Modine, or Ford OE?

Are there any other steps I've left out?
Thanks for your help!

 

not sure of what route you want to take but I went with a griffin rad. and an electric fan. It cleaned up the engine bay buy discarding the huge shroud and gained a little power by ditching the stock fan.Just adding my$0.02 good luck

 

I just installed a "made in china" radiator in mine. Works great, looks identical and a lot cheaper than oem, $130.

 

replace the small hose from water pump to thermostat housing. They like to go on you.

 

Thanks for the replies. I'll probably go with aftermarket to save a few $$. An electric fan sounds like a good idea. Where did you get the fan and what did you put it on? Did it help mpg?

Is there a part# for the "small hose from water pump to thermostat housing" or is it just a cut-to-length piece of heater hose? It looks like it's pre-bent to 90deg, but I can't find a part#.

 

Look up "bypass hose." You can't get away with the "cut to length" hose here, as it will kink at the bend (as you already suspected)

I know Goodyear sells a long hose with the 90 degree bend that can be cut to work just fine, but it's been 12 years since my parts store days, so I can't remember any part numbers.

 

mine is the ramcharger fan I dont think they make it anymore I know alot of people that has used the lincoln mark VIII that works well it has the manual switch low/high instead of therm. controlled

 

I have 2 brass fittings that came with the new the new radiator for the transmission lines. These thread into the radiator. Do these fittings need teflon tape or nothing?

Thanks for your help!

(I know the fitting that captures the flared end of the tranny lines does not)

 

I have the old radiator out and ready to go back in with the new. Radiator will bolt up fine, problem is the shroud won't. I got a Spectra Premium CU1451. The little clips at the bottom won't hit the notches in the shroud to hold it side to side. The slots in the top of the rad for the little nut/clips are spaced too narrow, so these won't work either.

Any quick ideas?

I'm thinking I might put in the rad for now and leave off the shroud until I can figure out how to fasten it properly. Has anyone else had this problem and what was the fix?
Thanks for your help!

 

Maybe wrong radiator? Mine went in exactly as it came out. And that was a "made in china" brand.

 

Yes, long story short, I have the wrong radiator. The exact bolt-in replacement is a CU1453 (1-row) even though the description says non-A/C.

Now I have the Heavy Duty CU1451 (2-row) installed, but the shroud won't bolt up.

It lists both the 1451 and 1453 as options for this truck. I know someone else has probably upgraded to a 2-row and had the same problem.

I could cut down another shroud if it had the right hole spacing and was half-way centered on the fan. The side-to-side spacing for the top U-nuts needs to be 20-in and for the bottom clips 17-3/8. The top-to-bottom spacing could be 19 to 20-in and work.

Would a shroud from a Mustang or F250 maybe work? Is there anyplace to find shroud dimensions?

 

replace the rad support is my vote. Will save lot of troubles in the future. i have painted mine twice to save it. so far its working well.

 

I guess I'm not sure what you mean. What did you replace and with what?