2001 Ford Expedition Radiator Replacement

[thsmith]

My 01 Expedition was deleveloping a rad leak. I figured it was time to replace the hoses and surpeantione belt too. I called around for estimates. $775 from a local repair shop I trust. Thinking I would see what the parts would cost plus 2 gallons of anti-freeze at the local NAPA store. All parts came to $380.

Figuring I could do it myself I set out at 8:30 in the morning to do the work with the help of a friend. By 11:30 we had everything installed and started the X to burp the cooling system.

The lower hose was leaking so we had to shut it down and investigate. The lower hose on the rad was like no other Rad hose I had seen as there was no clamp. The rad spigot had two o-rings and the hose slides on and there is a tab that aligns to a notch on the Rad.

To make a long story shorter we found that the o-ring on the new rad was much thinner than the factory o-ring. With the new rad o-rings we could slide the hose on and off with no problems, with the bigger o-rings it required pulling the rad and putting the hose on as we could not apply enough preasure to the hose while on the X.

So, we finished at about 5:30PM. Everything else worked like a charm. Napa said they had gone the rads make in China becuase the US ones were $100 more.

I would have been glad to have paid the extra money and will in the future but that will require going to the dealer.

Anyway, be aware if you change your Rad and it has the slip on hose. Go to the dealer for the part.

I have alays used Napa parts as I felt they were better than Autozone or O'Rielys and can usually get the part same day. I will still use then in the future but will check were the part is made before using. YMMV

[shepx2]

Sorry to hear about your hassle. NAPA is usually better than Autozone/O'Reilly. Unfortunately for me, they closed the NAPA shop here in town. Closest one is now 30 min away

I'm buying more and more factory parts for my Altima. Prices are barely more expensive than the non-OEM parts for lots of items I've needed. (Struts, Shocks, etc)