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Topic: My radiator ped out today..... (Read 1829 times) previous topic - next topic

My radiator ped out today.....

I drove to Texas for a friend,about an 80 mile round trip,took Gayle out for lunch,and when I got home,I noticed water dripping onto the driveway and heard that "hissssssssss" sound of water steaming off the engine.I popped the hood,and there it was,water spraying from the radiator.Luckily,I have a lifetime warranty from Autozone,so,I picked up the new one,and it was a really nice aluminum piece.They didn't even charge me for the gallon of antifreeze either.I monuted the electric fan (took about 2 minutes,remounted the radiator,and had to make one modification,the driver side upper radiator mount has a small tab towards the front that helps hold the radiator in place,I had to flatten the tab and all went together great.I was glad the thing didn't take a dump on me while I was running hard down the highway in the middle of nowhere.The new radiator was $89.99 (if you have to buy it,mine was under warranty as I said).Not a bad replacement at all.It also has a revised drain that drains down to the ground instead of out towards the engine.I went ahead and bought a new cap while I was at it.I've had the same cap for 10 years,3 Birds ago.It hasn't failed me,but,a new one can't hurt,plus,it's chrome to match the intake and CAI.I actually would have been just fine with a standard replacement cap,but,with me buddy's discount,the chrome one was cheaper than I was ready to spend on the stock one.It was a good day all in all.Nice upgrade parts,and I only spent a little over $4.00.

There's my pointless story.Thought I'd share.LOL.
'88 Sport--T-5,MGW shifter,Trick Flow R intake,Ed Curtis cam,Trick Flow heads,Scorpion rockers,75mm Accufab t-body,3G,mini starter,Taurus fan,BBK long tube headers,O/R H-Pipe, Flowamaster Super 44's, deep and deeper Cobra R wheels, Mass Air and 24's,8.8 with 3.73's,140 mph speedo,Mach 1 chin spoiler,SN-95 springs,CHE control arms,aluminum drive shaft and a lot more..

My radiator ped out today.....

Reply #1 –
Im afraid mine is going to go soon. I have a small leak. Havent been able to trace it yet. Think Im going with a full aluminum when it does. If I have the money at the time.

Glad to hear you made it home with no issue though.
1986 Cougar LS

My radiator ped out today.....

Reply #2 –
Vinnie that story was pointless. How dare you waste our time.
1987 20th Anniversary Cougar, 302 "5.0" GT-40 heads (F3ZE '93 Cobra) and TMoss Ported H.O. intake, H.O. camshaft
2.5" Duals, no cats, Flowmaster 40s, Richmond 3.73s w/ Trac-Lok, maxed out Baumann shift kit, 3000 RPM Dirty Dog non-lock TC
Aside from the Mustang crinkle headers, still looks like it's only 150 HP...
1988 Black XR7 Trick Flow top end, Tremec 3550
1988 Black XR7 Procharger P600B intercooled, Edelbrock Performer non-RPM heads, GT40 intake AOD, 13 PSI @5000 RPM. 93 octane

My radiator ped out today.....

Reply #3 –
Totally pointless.After reading that,there's a couple of minutes of your life you'll never get back.
'88 Sport--T-5,MGW shifter,Trick Flow R intake,Ed Curtis cam,Trick Flow heads,Scorpion rockers,75mm Accufab t-body,3G,mini starter,Taurus fan,BBK long tube headers,O/R H-Pipe, Flowamaster Super 44's, deep and deeper Cobra R wheels, Mass Air and 24's,8.8 with 3.73's,140 mph speedo,Mach 1 chin spoiler,SN-95 springs,CHE control arms,aluminum drive shaft and a lot more..

My radiator ped out today.....

Reply #4 –
Agreed. I'm just overflowing with uncontrollable anger at this loss. This is truely a tragedy. I dont know what I'm going to do next. Probably fall asleep because this class is so boring. :rollin:
 
 
All seriousness aside LOL good to hear all is well the birdie is fine and nothing blew up en route in the middle of nowhere.
1987 20th Anniversary Cougar, 302 "5.0" GT-40 heads (F3ZE '93 Cobra) and TMoss Ported H.O. intake, H.O. camshaft
2.5" Duals, no cats, Flowmaster 40s, Richmond 3.73s w/ Trac-Lok, maxed out Baumann shift kit, 3000 RPM Dirty Dog non-lock TC
Aside from the Mustang crinkle headers, still looks like it's only 150 HP...
1988 Black XR7 Trick Flow top end, Tremec 3550
1988 Black XR7 Procharger P600B intercooled, Edelbrock Performer non-RPM heads, GT40 intake AOD, 13 PSI @5000 RPM. 93 octane

My radiator ped out today.....

Reply #5 –
This car has been SO good to me,never left me stranded,and has been great to break in the driveway (nothing too major),not on the road,and most everything that has broke was way old and beyond wore out..Pretty much everything I've done as far as swapping parts,modifying parts,whatever,the car has accepted everything like a champ.The blue Thunderbird fought me every step of the way with everything,no matter how simple.
'88 Sport--T-5,MGW shifter,Trick Flow R intake,Ed Curtis cam,Trick Flow heads,Scorpion rockers,75mm Accufab t-body,3G,mini starter,Taurus fan,BBK long tube headers,O/R H-Pipe, Flowamaster Super 44's, deep and deeper Cobra R wheels, Mass Air and 24's,8.8 with 3.73's,140 mph speedo,Mach 1 chin spoiler,SN-95 springs,CHE control arms,aluminum drive shaft and a lot more..

My radiator ped out today.....

Reply #6 –
and now with that said its going to leave you stranded. You should know better than to tempt "Murphy's law".

My radiator ped out today.....

Reply #7 –
My Cougar has a small leak too. Right now I'm just kinda babying it and using the Ranger for the longer trips it until I have the money for a full aluminum one and an electric fan.
85 Tbird 5.0
78 F150 351w
13 F150 4x4 3.5 Ecoboost

My radiator ped out today.....

Reply #8 –
Quote from: 86XR7project;266138
and now with that said its going to leave you stranded. You should know better than to tempt "Murphy's law".


Nope,not gonna happen.She (the Sport) and I have an understanding.
'88 Sport--T-5,MGW shifter,Trick Flow R intake,Ed Curtis cam,Trick Flow heads,Scorpion rockers,75mm Accufab t-body,3G,mini starter,Taurus fan,BBK long tube headers,O/R H-Pipe, Flowamaster Super 44's, deep and deeper Cobra R wheels, Mass Air and 24's,8.8 with 3.73's,140 mph speedo,Mach 1 chin spoiler,SN-95 springs,CHE control arms,aluminum drive shaft and a lot more..

My radiator ped out today.....

Reply #9 –
Quote from: vinnietbird;266119
Totally pointless.After reading that,there's a couple of minutes of your life you'll never get back.


try 10 min. i had to read it slower than normal due to your lack of using a spacebar. LOL!
1979 Ford Fairmont
[/B]
5.0L/4R70W/8.8"/5-lug/3" Exhuast

My radiator ped out today.....

Reply #10 –
Where do you get a radiator for $89.99? The cheapest I could find was alittle over $100 when I got mine. That was for a stock replacement.
Quote from: jcassity
I honestly dont think you could exceed the cost of a new car buy installing new *stock* parts everywhere in your coug our tbird. Its just plain impossible. You could revamp the entire drivetrain/engine/suspenstion and still come out ahead.
Hooligans! 
1988 Crown Vic wagon. 120K California car. Wifes grocery getter. (junked)
1987 Ford Thunderbird LX. 5.0. s.o., sn-95 t-5 and an f-150 clutch. Driven daily and going strong.
1986 cougar.
lilsammywasapunkrocker@yahoo.com

My radiator ped out today.....

Reply #11 –
Better yet, where did you find an aluminum radiator for under $90? What model car did you buy it for?

Must be radiator time. I had to replace the rad in my DD Nissan last weekend. $200, and that was at cost. Retail would've approached $400.

Quote
I was glad the thing didn't take a dump on me while I was running hard down the highway in the middle of nowhere.
My personal best rad failure was at 90 MPH in my '80 Formula Firebird. After blowing by a bunch of cars (I was 17 and stupid) my windshield turned green. The rad tank completely split from the core and it dumped its contents in about 1/10th of a second. I called dad, he came with tools, we took the rad out, and re-soldered the tank right there on the side of the highway. We determined the tank failed because it was weakened by damage caused to the rad support when the car was pulled out of a ditch after a snowstorm (my father ditched it, not me - I still bug him about it, 20 years later...)
2015 Mustang GT Premium - 5.0, 6-speed, Guard Green - too much awesome for one car

1988 5.0 Thunderbird :birdsmily: SOLD SEPT 11 2010: TC front clip/hood ♣ Body & paint completed Oct 2007 ♣ 3.55 TC rear end and front brakes ♣ TC interior ♣ CHE rear control arms (adjustable lowers) ♣ 2001 Bullitt springs ♣ Energy suspension poly busings ♣ Kenne Brown subframe connectors ♣ CWE engine mounts ♣ Thundercat sequential turn signals ♣ Explorer overhead console (temp/compass display) ♣ 2.25" off-road dual exhaust ♣ T-5 transmission swap completed Jan 2009 ♣

My radiator ped out today.....

Reply #12 –
Quote from: 32VFoxBird;266158
try 10 min. i had to read it slower than normal due to your lack of using a spacebar. LOL!


Not again......................
'88 Sport--T-5,MGW shifter,Trick Flow R intake,Ed Curtis cam,Trick Flow heads,Scorpion rockers,75mm Accufab t-body,3G,mini starter,Taurus fan,BBK long tube headers,O/R H-Pipe, Flowamaster Super 44's, deep and deeper Cobra R wheels, Mass Air and 24's,8.8 with 3.73's,140 mph speedo,Mach 1 chin spoiler,SN-95 springs,CHE control arms,aluminum drive shaft and a lot more..

My radiator ped out today.....

Reply #13 –
Quote from: Thunder Chicken;266210
Better yet, where did you find an aluminum radiator for under $90? What model car did you buy it for?


I bought my radiator with a lifetime warranty for $99.99 from Autozone about 2 1/2 years ago.Now,they have been upgraded,and the cost is $89.99.It weighs slightly more than nothing.Nice looking.A 3 row is $159.99,but I got mine free as a replacement warranty item and it cools great.The needle stays on the cool side more than before.

The swap receipt shows part number 321661 433556
'88 Sport--T-5,MGW shifter,Trick Flow R intake,Ed Curtis cam,Trick Flow heads,Scorpion rockers,75mm Accufab t-body,3G,mini starter,Taurus fan,BBK long tube headers,O/R H-Pipe, Flowamaster Super 44's, deep and deeper Cobra R wheels, Mass Air and 24's,8.8 with 3.73's,140 mph speedo,Mach 1 chin spoiler,SN-95 springs,CHE control arms,aluminum drive shaft and a lot more..

My radiator ped out today.....

Reply #14 –
Quote from: 32VFoxBird;266158
try 10 min. i had to read it slower than normal due to your lack of using a spacebar. LOL!


LOL
That's Vinnie's contribution to saving space in today's ever crowding world.
I honestly don't notice the lack of spaces anymore. :hick:
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
***** Project "EVOLUTION" 1987 Cougar LS  & 1985 Cougar Convertible *****
[/COLOR]
5.0 HO 306 roller block, machined GT-40P heads, Wiseco dished forged pistons, Eagle forged floating I-beam connecting rods, Lunati pushrods, ARP bolts, Scorpion aluminum 1.6 rockers, Comp Cams Magnum 266HR, Explorer intake, 65mm TB, MAF Conversion, 19# injectors, Ford Racing stainless P-headers, 2-1/2" cat-less exhaust w/ Flowtech Afterburner lers , SC AOD with 2800 BDR torque converter, 3.73 T-Lok rear, CHE rear control arms, full 2-1/2" frame w/1" jacking rails & seat supports, Rear disk brakes, Turbine wheels, All original interior w/ floor shift upgrade .......
Pretty much every panel on my 87 is new, rebuilt, or re constructed. :D
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