Hello everyone, i am having a dilemma with my car and after looking at many youtube videos on suspected problems and fixes the one thing keeps coming up about problematic O-Rings in the upper radiator hose and the thermostat T-Connecor pipe. My issue is if i am draining the cooling system on an 85,000mile car is it worth it to just change the o-rings or should i go all out while i have it dis-assembled and change everything in the cooling system. In the fall i had to add about 2 liters of premix anti-freeze and i went to start it the other day and it was at operating temp and the degauss bottle was empty again, as i cannot see anything leaking under the car bot car smell the fragrant aroma of anti-freeze i figure it was probably going to be the o-rings,thermostat,or water pump... i figure why not ask people's opinion as i won't be driving the car till march/april i can get the work done and pray....i am not one for doing a job half ways when i can get it done and not have to worry about it again the only thing i didn't price was heater hoses every thing else come in at under 600 dollars.. also if anyone has a copy of a repair manual for this car let me know where you got it as i can only find one that's online
water leak somewhere??
- Thread starter 14MustangDriver
- Start date
I got mine online - no complaints with it
****UPDATE****
i put a permit on the car today filled it with coolant and just went for a drive at the beginning of my drive i removed the radiator support cover and noticed the A/C Condenser was wet and the catch cover under it was soaked but i was going looking for parts so i drove it anyways.after i got home i noticed that the car had lost about half the coolant i put in it and the a/c condenser was wet from about 2" from the bottom, the trans cooler was dry and the fins on the radiator looked dry from what i could see with what i had and seeing as the ac and coolant are 2 separate entities i am assuming that the radiator has sprung a leak somewhere just not noticeable at the moment i did put cardboard under the car to catch whatever falls but it won't help much with the bottom cover still attached...if i am changing the radiator out would it also be a good time to change the water pump and thermostat as well?while i have the cooling system drained, should i get the beefier radiator for it as well all aluminum vs. aluminum /plastic
i put a permit on the car today filled it with coolant and just went for a drive at the beginning of my drive i removed the radiator support cover and noticed the A/C Condenser was wet and the catch cover under it was soaked but i was going looking for parts so i drove it anyways.after i got home i noticed that the car had lost about half the coolant i put in it and the a/c condenser was wet from about 2" from the bottom, the trans cooler was dry and the fins on the radiator looked dry from what i could see with what i had and seeing as the ac and coolant are 2 separate entities i am assuming that the radiator has sprung a leak somewhere just not noticeable at the moment i did put cardboard under the car to catch whatever falls but it won't help much with the bottom cover still attached...if i am changing the radiator out would it also be a good time to change the water pump and thermostat as well?while i have the cooling system drained, should i get the beefier radiator for it as well all aluminum vs. aluminum /plastic
What will you use the car for? If you're going to do lots of autocross or especially if you're going to do HPDE then a bigger radiator such as a Fluidyne or Kenny Brown triple pass radiator may be in order.
Ford Performance also has a higher volume water pump too. 5.2L "GEN 2" WATER PUMP KIT
But if you're just driving it on the street the OEM radiator or better yet a Boss 302 radiator (still plastic ends) will suffice.
Ford Performance also has a higher volume water pump too. 5.2L "GEN 2" WATER PUMP KIT
But if you're just driving it on the street the OEM radiator or better yet a Boss 302 radiator (still plastic ends) will suffice.
i just picked up my new radiator, upgraded t-connector hose(aluminum) and o-rings replacements....the only thing i didn't get a chance to get today due to lack of parts was the water pump i figured if i am tearing it down this far i might as well replace everything....time to dig out the cold air intake for it as well...but my parts guy contracted covid so he's off work for a bit i have to pay full price 
**Update** i got the repair fixed seemed all it was was a couple o-rings for the upper rad hose and t-connector but as i replaced the t-connector with the upgraded one i only needed 1 o-ring $17.57 at ford or $14.29 at lordco for 3pack. Oh and ford stopped manufacturing the orange coolant for these cars and sell a yellow variant that is compatible, going to have cooling system flushed when i insure it
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