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I wish my stepdad or someone else taught me more about cars growing up. Oh well. Oh well something I look forward to is my son and I working on the car.
My car has been getting close to the HOT symbol in the temperature gauge. After driving it for half an hour it will get close to being hot. The gauge was a quarter away from being full blown hot.
I took my 1996 Ford Taurus model LX to a local auto shop. It’s got the 3.0 V6 DOHC Duratec engine in it.
The $818.57 is out the door price for parts and labor on a new thermostat and parts and labor for a new radiator.I paid $57 for a diagnostic. The owner of the mom and pop auto repair called me back. He told me it’s a plugged radiator and also probably weakened the thermostat. He recommended replacing the thermostat just to be safe.
I believe it’s the original stock radiator in it. The owner told me it’s a PITA to remove the radiator and also the thermostat. The radiator is a 5 and a 1/2 hour job while the thermostat is a 1 1/2 hours. Told me the 3.0 V6 Duratec engine is one of the worst designs that Ford came up with.
I was thinking of doing a radiator flush but I don’t want to do that and still have to replace the radiator.
I’m just wondering a few things.
I’m I getting ripped off?
Can I do this myself or do I need a pro to do this?
Should I shop around for the best price?
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Replies
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1 to 1.5 hr DIY
Radiator is around $40-50
T-stat sounds like around a 30 min job for rookie
Be well. Don’t dream. Make sure, YOUR son will not be posting this here:
I wish my stepdad or someone else taught me more about cars growing up. Oh well. Oh well something I look forward to is my son and I working on the car.
[quote=”ukrkoz” post=108751]1 to 1.5 hr DIY
Radiator is around $40-50
T-stat sounds like around a 30 min job for rookie
Be well. Don’t dream. Make sure, YOUR son will not be posting this here:
I wish my stepdad or someone else taught me more about cars growing up. Oh well. Oh well something I look forward to is my son and I working on the car.[/quote]
Don’t worry. I will make sure my son learns on how to fix his own cars. It’s very valuable to know.
I appreciate the video links. But both are for the 3.0 OHV Vulcan engines. Mine is the 3.0 V6 DOHC Duratec engine.
I will search for my type of engine on Youtube.
Go to Autozone.com and register. They have a REMOVAL & INSTALLATION procedure that you can use. If you take your time and be patient you can do it….. The Duratec engine is much harder to work on than the Vulcan engine…remember to raise the front of the car up as high as you can for radiator removal…..safety first
I see from the videos other members posted that they are looking at a 99 taurus. I even thought that 5+ hours seems too much time. Luckily, I own a repair shop and looked it up on alldata. I am sad to tell you that it is well over five hours to replace this radiator. A ton of other components are in the way. I attached the parts and labor prices and repair instructions. It is a lot of work but, I do feel that you can do it yourself. Good luck.
You should try to do it. Just make sure you have another vehicle to use.
I did a intake manifold plenum and timing chain on my truck never having done more than plugs, wires, cap, rotor and coil on the motor before. I have done running gear stuff like brakes and CV joints. I always knew I could, I just preferred paying someone else to do things like that for me just to be sure. I used this site and the instructions from the parts supplier which said it was a few hour job. It took me a few days, mostly because I am in a lot of pain, but I did it and it runs better now and I am proud and happy about having done it.Here’s what the workshop manual says. It doesn’t look that bad to me. At least you can pull it from the top. On our Windstar you have to actually support the condenser to the frame, remove the bracket, and then pull the radiator out from underneath. (Thanks for that one, Ford..)
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Section 03-03: Engine Cooling 1996 Taurus, Sable Workshop Manual
REMOVAL AND INSTALLATION
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Radiator
Aluminum Core, Crossflow
SPECIAL SERVICE TOOL(S) REQUIRED Description Tool Number
Fuel Line Disconnect Tool Set T90T-9550-SRemoval
CAUTION: Do not mix Standard (green) Coolant with Extended Life Coolant (orange). If mixing occurs, drain engine cooling system and refill with originally equipped coolant type. If this contamination occurs, the service interval on Extended Life Coolant will be reduced from 6 years/150,000 miles to 3 years/30,000 miles.
Disconnect battery ground cable (14301).
Remove battery (10653) as described in Section 14-01 .
Remove battery tray (10732) as described in Section 14-01 .
Remove clip retaining contant control relay module and position module aside.
Remove radiator cap (8100).
Raise vehicle on hoist as described in Section 00-02 .
Remove radiator splash shield.
Drain engine cooling system as described in this section.
Remove the radiator mounting bracket assembly.
Remove lower radiator hose (8286).
Partially lower vehicle.
Remove upper radiator hose (8260).
Remove radiator overflow hose (8075).
Remove upper A/C condenser core retaining bolts.
Remove upper transmission oil cooler tube clips.
Remove lower transmission oil cooler tube (7C410) using 3/8 Inch Fuel Line Disconnect Tool T90T-9550-C.
Raise vehicle on hoist.
Remove lower transmission oil cooler tube clips.
Remove lower transmission oil cooler tube (7C410) using 3/8 Inch Fuel Line Disconnect Tool T90T-9550-C.
Remove transmission oil cooler bracket and position transmission oil cooler aside.
Remove lower A/C condenser core bolts and position A/C condenser core (19712) aside.
Remove radiator support bracket.
Remove radiator (8005).
Installation
Position radiator (8005).
Position radiator support bracket and tighten nuts to 8-12Nm (71-106 lb-in).
Position A/C condenser core (19712)and tighten lower A/C condenser core bolts to 5-7 Nm (45-61 lb-in).
Position transmission oil cooler tube and install transmission oil cooler tube bracket. Tighten nuts to 5-7Nm (45-61 lb-in).
Install lower transmission oil cooler tube (7C410)(EPN=7C410).
Install lower transmission oil cooler tube clips.
Install lower radiator hose (8286).
Install radiator mounting bracket assembly. Tighten bolts to 8-12Nm (71-106 lb-in).
Install radiator splash shield.
Lower vehicle.
Install upper tranmission oil cooler tube (7C410)(EPN=7C410).
Install upper transmission oil cooler tube clips.
Install upper A/C condenser core retaining bolts. Tighten bolts to 5-7Nm (45-61 lb-in).
Install radiator overflow hose (8075). Tighten clamps securely.
Install upper radiator hose (8260).
Position constant control relay module and clip securely.
Install battery tray (10732).
Install battery (10653)(EPN=10653).
Connect battery ground cable (14301).
Fill and bleed cooling system as described in this section.
Start engine and inspect for leaks.
I don’t know the history of the car and maybe you don’t either but radiators don’t usually plug up if the coolant has been changed at regular intervals. Another thing is that the dash temperature gauge in a lot of cars is junk. Before I’d be putting 800 plus dollars into a radiator I’d want a reading off of the coolant sensor for the computer. Also, I’d be looking at what I could see in the radiator filler opening. If that is clean I’d suspect the rest of the radiator is too.
I’m not saying the engine isn’t overheating but there’s other things that can cause this. What shape is the condenser in and how clean on the outside. Is the cooling system full. Are the fans running. Radiator caps wear out quickly. Do you have a new one on it? How is the recovery system working?
So, I’d hate to see you spend 800 bucks and still have the same problem.
Those are excellent points. Usually they spring a leak or just don’t dissipate heat well after a while, but “plugging up” sounds fishy.
It’s 1996 so it has to be OBD2 compatible. A $200-range scan tool should give you the actual temperature. Plus, high temperature should set the check engine light, although maybe not right away, so check the live data. If the data indicates a problem, I’d change the thermostat first and make sure that’s not your problem either since that’s such a simple swap and they’re cheap enough anyway.
I’d also get another quote from another shop for that radiator swap. That sounds really exhorbitant. I bet there’s $179 or so for a coolant flush in there too. $818.57 is almost 82 years of premium ETCG membership!
It’s very difficult to say in these situations if you’re being ripped off or not. To know that for sure we’d have to get a look at the problem for ourselves. There are a few flags however as has been pointed out. 5 hours does seem a bit steep but I’ve never replaced one of those radiators before. Also, as pointed out, radiators don’t often ‘clog’ up unless there’s a bunch of sediment in the coolant. I doubt that’s the case here.
If you want info on how to diagnose this yourself you’ll find that info here.
http://www.ericthecarguy.com/faq/what-to-do-when-your-engine-overheats
Good luck and keep us posted on your progress.
I’m not sure of the cost for the radiator. In Canada everything costs more anyway. I can tell you that the rad has to be removed from the bottom of the car and is a PITA to do especially if it has A/C. The thermostat is a bitch too on the duratech engine.
Before you spend money on anything have it scanned and read the actual temperature data. You could have a faulty gauge, sending unit or inoperative cooling fan.
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