my j-3 has just over 18,000 miles on it and had the venturi tee kit done at about 7,000 miles. the only problem i have had was a defective dpf that was replaced at about 5,000 miles.

i'm getting ready for the summer travel season and i have a few questions:

1. if my radiator fails, does ford replace it with the same kind of JUNK radiator that would be prone to the same defects?

2. IF ford is gonna use another JUNK radiator as a replacement, does anybody make a QUALIITY RADIATOR that i could purchase on my own that is not prone to these defects?

3. if i purchased a QUALITY (READ: NOT A FORD/MOTORCRAFT) RADIATOR on my own, would i void my warranty?

thanks for any input. i'm planning a lot of trips out here in the southwest and a blown radiator won't be a fun option........

66

 

My diesel tech left the bottom driver side mounting bolt off of my second radiator. There is a theory behind it based on the truck frame twisting a little. Might consider taking yours off.

You could probably have a custom radiator made. I know they do it for those custom show cars. Warranty issue is out of my league. Hope somebody else can give you better solutions.

 

There was a Ford tech on these forms a while back that said the main cause of the radiator failure was that the radiator has two pins on the bottom that fit into two tight holes. His cure was to enlarge the holes. Kinda like the last post said so that under frame twist it would not effect the radiator. As soon as my warranty is up I'm going to look into this.

 

There is NOTHING short of odometer fraud or the vehicle being declared a total loss that will completely void ANY vehcile warranty.

Nobody can require you to use OEM parts. Now, if you install an aftermarket part that causes something to fail, they will simply not cover the damage under the warranty....even though the warranty is still in effect.

So, say you install your aftermarket radiator, and a month later your rear axle starts leaking. They would have to cover it, as the aftermarket part couldn't have caused the rear axle leak. Now, say your aftermarket radiator is a bit smaller than the factory one, and your engine overheats and dies pulling a long hill under load...they would refuse to cover the damage because it was caused by an aftermarket component.

But the warranty would still be there!

 

The tech was vloney. Very educated tech and he doesnt make up BS for these forums. The radiator in our trucks is not built differently than other radiators Ford uses and have gone 200k.
Fords response was the venturi tee based on cold coolant entering directly in to a hot radiator. Sounds logical, no need to argue it and Ford is doing it for everyone.

vloney's experience (and some others too) is showing that the trucks that tow heavy are seeing the problems and it appears the frame twisting is literally pulling the radiator apart at the seams. The tolerence for the posts (that mount/position the radiator) are too tight and dont allow for any give. Options are to enlarge one of the holes or maybe run a rubber bushing, or even cut one of the posts off (personally that would be my last choice).

I think both theories hold water. Since the venturi tee we have not seen many complaints about radiator failures. Some are questionable because the radiator had miles on it before the tee was done. At the same time, its the trucks that haul frequently that are having the radiator problems. Only time will tell.

 

Caprang: Great pun "both theories hold water" even though the radiators don't.
Forgive me, I have only been Dodge free for 43 days.

 

thanks for the info gents. i will print this stuff out and give it to my service advisor. i'll ask if they could leave a side mounting bolt off the radiator..........

66

 

At least you repented...that is what counts

 

It seems that after the "tee" fix the rash of radiator failures seems to have subsided at least what I read about them on several powerstroke 6.4 diesel forums. In fact the forums have really calmed down on all problems. For a brand new engine this was a pretty good rollout. I wouldn't worry about your radiator as I think you have the fix. I was lucky enough on my Job 1 that the dealer replaced the radiator and did the tee at the same time.