Ford F-150 - 1997-2003 :: Radiator Fluid Is Of Orange / Red - Change It?
Jun 12, 2012
I just bought a used 2000 Ford F150 with the 4.6L V8 engine and I have a question about radiator fluid.
In the owner's manual it says that if the radiator fluid is green is should be changed every 30k miles, but if it is orange color it is only changed at 150k miles. I look at the radiator fluid and from outside the plastic case it is in it has a dark'ish orange/red look. When I shine a flashlight down the hole where you would add more fluid it looks orange/red, but also has a green tint when the flashlight shines directly onto the fluid.
How do I know which kind I have forsure? The truck was bought at a Ford dealer, but I never thought to look at it while I was there.=
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I have a 97 F-150 and my Radiator fluid has been leaking very bad but hasn't been taking the fluid from overflow tank. Actually the new fluid that I put in the overflow has now turned a rusty color....
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I blew some hose in my engine and radiator fluid was spraying out of it like crazy. It's on a 1999 f150 4.6 on the passenger side near the rear of the engine but about even with the top of the engine...
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I have a 2003 F150 4.6 with 84,000 miles. Runs fine, but should I change the original trans fluid?
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The trans fluid appears to need to be changed. I do not know if it has been changed in the past as this 2001 F150 with a V6 truck is new to me and has 88K miles. I am wanting to drain the torque converter as well as drop the pan and change the filter. I am willing to take the risk of having to rebuild the transmission if the flush junks it up.
Three Questions:
1. Is there any issue with mixing the synthetic with ATF fluid as there would still be ATF in the cooler and other places unless I take it someplace and have it mechanically flushed?
2. Is there a way to determine if my 4R70W trans has a drain plug in the torque converter with out getting under there, looking thru the inspection port while some one is clicking the starter?
3. Is there any reason not to put a drain plug in the pan while it is uninstalled?
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When we open the radiator cap it seems like there is no fluid but once the car gets a like bit hot and we open the cap there is fluid. The fluid reservoir sometimes gets empty quickly but not often. We have no lights in dash board telling us that there is something wrong. What do we do?
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I have a 1997 Ford F-150 XLT 4x4 with the 4.6W and a 4R70W trans. For the past year is has been leaking trans fluid and has slowly got worse and worse. At first the truck would only leak at high speeds (when driving on the interstate for extended periods of time) and now It has gotten to the point where I am adding close to a quart of fluid a week. ( roughly about a quart every 300 miles!). I thought that it was the pan gasket leaking at first, so I flushed the trans fluid (dropped the pan and drained the TC and put on a new filter) put a new gasket on and torqued it all down and added some new Valvoline max life fluid. The first trip in the truck I noticed a puddle of fluid under the truck again.
The pan looked like it could have been a little warped, so I ordered a new pan and a new FoMoCo gasket (the one the came with the new filter was the cheap felt type). I thought I for sure had fixed the truck this time, but I drove it and once again it was still leaking. I checked all that I could before replacing the pan and gasket. I checked the trans cooler lines and fittings (no leaks) I pulled the inspection plug and it was dry (so I ruled out the front pump or TC leaking). The whole underside of the truck is covered with fluid so it is hard to pin point the leak, but most of the fluid drips down on the transmission cross member.
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I've got a 7.3 tranny that has had ELC Coolant and water mixed in with tranny fluid because of a bad radiator. I drained the fluid from the tranny a week ago and when I pulled off the pan today there is still junk in there. I'm planning on putting in a new filter, gasket and Mercon V but how do I clean the old stuff out of there? Picture.....
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Just like the title says oil In my rad! Anyway here's what I've seen....I noticed that I've been having to put oil in my truck more often than I need to. I thought maybe I was leaking somewhere but I wasn't. So then I thought I was burning it but no smoke. So then I was reading on this forum and someone mentioned oil in the rad. So I checked and it was pretty black in color so I figure that's what the problem is. My question is would it be a head gasket or intake? I also read a quote from Moto Mel on here that it could be some kind of adapter that is located on the lower left side of the motor that has o rings that can go bad and cause this?The milage on my truck is 145000 and running great (other than this). No overheating or anything.
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Is it difficult to replace the lower radiator hose on a 5.4L? I'm mainly thinking about access to the connection at the water pump.
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I went to unscrew the radiator drain plug but the head broke right off leaving the rest of it inside.
I drilled out a little bit of it so I could drain the coolant and bough a replacement plug but there are still pieces stuck inside and I cant get them out.
Should I just drill out the remaining pieces or is there a better way to get them out?
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So about 2 yes ago I had a cracked intake manifold and had it replaced..shortly after had low egr flow codes that had me replace every sensor involved on top and three that ford found for me. And fixed...my 01 f150 5.4 super crew has been my best friend last 165k of its 246. So it has a small leak in radiator. Didn't think that would do anything for a bit. Well after almost overheating a few times I pulled up to a job and water was pouring out the top back passenger side....blah blah blah saving 1400 this time I pulled everything to the head. Took off intake put back together torqued to 20lbs.
Still mix fires at low idle and low rpms.gets worse longer I sit at light have redone plugs switched coil pack at the misfire location..still missing. the round black sensor before the egr out of the intake has good vac in but limited to egr. Don't think this is right...has lean codes both banks....but I also had a PVC not in and the exhaust outflow sensor had a hose knocked off again...misfiring...checking hoses nothing obvious... Perhaps the spare coil is no good now....keep one two handy for wet locations... Did I not do intake right...and I did use rtv
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I have a 2000 F150 with 5.4 L motor. The last two trips I have had the top radiator hose come off while under heavy load (pulling a long hill) after 5 hours of driving. So far I have flushed the radiator, checked the thermostat, and refilled with G05 Gold and distilled water 60/40 ratio. I do not hear any gurgling in the heater core. Heater seems to work great.
The stock temp gauge shows it right in the middle range between Hot and cold, right before it blows the hose off. I have replaced top and bottom hoses and put new stainless steel clamps at all end except the top, where I am using the OEM clamp that came with the truck. I thought about replacing the top clamp as well but did not want to blow out my radiator, if in fact it is developing high pressure.
Do these clamps get weak with time? Should I use a vacuum attachment on the fill/overflow tank to remove all air before refilling?
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So the story goes like this, my teacher was trying to scrap a truck that he had sitting on his farm so i got it. I've been using it for a DD for the past year and a half and not I'm starting to do rust repair starting with rocker panels. But, what i was really wondering is how involved would it be to replace the radiator core support? Main reason being last time i was under the hood replacing the pass side valve cover gasket i hit it and knocked a hole right through it so yeah I'm thinking is about time to replace it.
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So I go and get my oil change on Sunday at a local place. Oil change is done and later that evening my engine light comes on (solid orange). I call the local VW service and they say its nothing to worry about. "Maybe a little moisture got inside my gas tank." The service manager said to continue to drive it like nothing is wrong and it should go off. Here I am two days later and its still on. So should I be worried?
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So after struggling with a coil spring issue, I finally got my car all fixed up. To test out the new shocks, I drove it around the block. All of my hard work and dedication was rewarded with a stinky and smoking engine compartment.
Upon inspection, I determined that there was a transparent orange fluid leaking down onto the exhaust system. My first thought was coolant, but I checked the coolant tank and the fluid is green. I suppose it could be oil, but it has a low viscosity. There is enough fluid leaking to cause a small puddle under the engine after it's warmed up and I can see a trail of fluid coming up the driveway.
With the use of a mirror, I could trace the fluid up to the exhaust manifold on the rear of the engine. Obviously the manifold does not contain fluids, so I assumed it must be coming from the intake manifold or a cracked hose and dripping onto the exhaust. I didn't see any cracked hoses.
Is there anything else it could be besides the intake manifold? I'm hoping it's just the gasket...but I don't understand why the gasket would suddenly fail.
Here's a pic looking down onto the intake manifold bolts and the exhaust manifold...
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this winter i have found that my truck's heater core isn't flowing, meaning i have hot on the upper hose and the lower is luke warm and there is no heat while running down the road. I have changed the t-stat and the heater core and radiator are new as of four years ago. last year i could roast a chicken with the heat. i also have no pressure in the radiator hose at all, engine runs at normal temp, no over heat situation and i don't smell any loss of antifreeze.
1999 f-150 4.6 150k
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Went to start my truck to leave work yesterday and blew the coil on #2. It's happened before and I can fix that. The other weird thing that happened was that the radiator leaked out some antifreeze. Not a lot, but a good 2 foot puddle. The reserve was still full and it leaked from the passenger side at the bottom (below the upper hose). Upper and lower hose show no sign of leakage. I suppose the drain is on the lower end of the passenger side of the radiator and it leaked from there. Would the compression from the engine cause that to happen? Or is it something more, dare I say, like the head gasket blew?
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I have an 03 f150 supercrew that had a 4.6L. I am installing a 3.9 Cummins diesel. I will have a separately mounted transmission cooler. I'm using the stock radiator as these engines run cool. It has a transmission cooler built into it. If i just leave the fitting loose, will it cause me any problems. It is a plastic can on each end and i suppose it to have contact with the radiator passages.
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I have a 2002 F150 which has a small leak somewhere in the radiator system. I am looking to see if recommended using one of the Bar Leaks products for fixing cooling system leaks. I guess it is an aluminum based product the adheres to the inner services of the cooling system and can stop leaks.
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The problem is my new-to-me 97 Ford F150 5.4L SOHC engine, auto transmission, is overheating after driving it for a short while. Seems to be fine at idle. I have read previous posts with the exact same issue, but the consistency seems to be all over the map from burping the system, head gasket, thermostat, and possibly a plugged radiator.
Backstory:200,000+ miles.
Truck sat for 6 months after previous owner broke the shift cable.
Truck was in a front end collision. Frame looks bent underneath the engine.
Previous owner had overheating problem. He said he changed the heater core. Looks like brand new coolant in the system so story probably checks out. Desperately needs an oil change. Very black oil.
Previous owner thought the system needed a burping. So I'm largely assuming the problem started after the heater core change, or he misdiagnosed an overheating problem and thought the heater core could cause it. I have found a radiator cap and thermostat in the truck which seems to indicate he tried many things to fix the overheating and was unsuccessful. Engine looks pretty clean for the miles.
Symptoms/Backyard Tests :
Blows cold air with heat on highest level and on defrost.
Blender door fuse intact.
Doesn't overheat at idle.
Ran the truck for 15 mins with the coolant bottle fill cap off on level ground to try to burp it after draining some coolant and checking the thermostat orientation. Coolant level increased in the bottle. Large air bubbles came out. (Another session before this one, I ran it for 30 minutes with no coolant cap, and eventually coolant overflowed the fill bottle. Normal or no?)
Seems to overheat after the thermostat opens. After doing the 15 minute warm up/burp, I took it for a test drive. I drove it about 20 blocks with the temperature gauge on the dash reading the same as the warmed-up idle temperature. Got to the 20th block and the gauge immediately spiked to overheat with the oil pressure dash light coming on. I could be mistaken as the oil pressure light almost looks exactly like the overheat dash light. But I'm pretty sure the temperature icon was on the right side of the oil can icon and not the left.
After the above drive: Upper rad hose too hot to touch.
After the above drive: Lower rad hose medium warm. Could hold on to it if I felt like it.
After the above drive: Upper part of rad pretty hot. Not Insta-burn but hot. Tempature decreases to warm to cool as you go lower down the rad.
After the above drive: Both heater core hoses going to the cab luke warm.
Coolant looks brand new.
Radiator looks slightly bowed. Probably from the accident? Otherwise looks clean and minimal bent fins.
Drained some coolant and pulled the upper rad hose to see if the thermostat was upside down. Looks installed correctly.
No signs of weep hole leaks from the water pump.
Fan seems solid. Has maybe 1-2mm of play in the bearings.
Something that looked like steam from the muffler at startup, that disappeared after getting closer to a normal range warm engine.
I have driven crap cars for many years and I've never seen a plugged radiator which makes me skeptical of it being that. All the radiators I have changed were because they were eventually leaking from cracks in the radiator.
I would also be interested in doing an informal poll if you have read this far and have had this era of F150 that overheated. Have you ever repaired the head gasket? And/or have you ever changed the radiator?
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