Originally Posted by
07EXPYEL
I have the heavy duty tow package and wondered what makes the (536) package radiator heavy duty. From what I could tell, the radiator isn’t thicker, wider, or taller.
So I was checking out the ford fleet site (great resource for technical info) and found the specs for the F150. All 2008 F150’s all have the SAME size radiator for 4.2LV6, 4.6V8, OR 5.4V8 and the cooling system capacity is the same for Standard or Super Cooling (varies with engine size). The difference for the “Super Cooling” is the Fins per inch. Standard is 13.50 and Super Cooling is 19.05 fins per inch.
I’m going to guess that more “Fins per inch” is what makes the Expedition radiator heavy duty. The larger (536) package transmission cooler is much easier to tell the difference.
https://www.fleet.ford.com/truckbbas/non-html/2008/vs_pdf/f150_08bb.pdf
look at page 10 of 14.
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After I wrote this, I checked the Expedition owner’s manual and I’m confused again. Without rear heat, Heavy Duty cooling is .5 qts more and with rear heat Heavy Duty is .6 qts more.
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Hopefully someone with an inside knowledge can explain this.
After suffering an overheat 300 yards from the top of Rabbit Ears Pass in Colorado, near Steamboat Springs (east-bound, 7 1/2% grade), I decided to replace my standard-cooling radiator and transmission oil cooler with the super-cooling parts. I'm not entirely convinced that I didn't have some other problem like a marginal thermostat or radiator cap (I replaced those, too) but I want piece of mind for the future. Vehicle is a 2007 Expedition EB 4x4, standard-length.
I did the work over the weekend. The standard-cooling radiator carries a 7L148005AC engineering no. (this is the sticker on the part itself), which corresponds to a 7L1Z-8005-A part no. The super cooling engineering no. is 7L148005BC and the part no. is 7L1Z-8005-B.
There is actually a visible difference once you put both radiators side-by-side. The fins extend farther on one side on the super-cooling part -- flush with the side tank on one side and within 1/4" or so of flush on the other, whereas on the standard-cooling part the fins are flush on one side but only within 1/2" or so of flush on the other. Also, the fins are much thinner, aiding heat transfer (and making them much more fragile, easier to flatten if you brush against them).
The job was maybe a 2 1/2 out of five on the pain-in-the-a** meter, and took me about 6 hours including replacement of the transmission oil cooler. Some of that was head scratching, figuring how to gain enough clearance between the A/C condenser and the radiator to allow the radiator to come out-- I didn't want to have to dump the A/C charge.
The good news is that it can be done without overstressing anything, either on removal or re-installation. I did decide to take a short cut and break the condenser support tabs off of the old radiator to speed things along.
Happy to help if anyone wants more detail.
Dakota123