my radiator blew up on me yesterday

operation rob

Registered User
i was at a stoplight waiting to pull out and it was already boiling over, next thing i know i hear a pop and then see a huge thing of steam. the plastic part of the radiator cracked. urg :mad:
 
Thank god its not the late 90's and that happend. I waited with my 93SC sitting at a Ford dealership for 4 months because Fords supplier dropped the ball. Valeo lost the molds to make them when they moved to Mexico and had to retool at a cost of many many many thousands just to make SC radiators again. There were no used ones anywhere and Griffins were 600 bucks and I had a repair bill of about 500 just to get my car back broken unless I waited for the warranty authorized Ford approved radiator....

Today they are 145 bucks on Ebay http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/NEW-89-93-FORD-THUNDERBIRD-SC-RADIATOR_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ33602QQitemZ8077306931QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW
 
Radiator Express is great. Two years ago my rad was plugged up and got one from them within 48 hours. Make sure you take a note of the radiator drain plug threads, a few weeks ago somehow the threads were smooth out (melted from the heat?). I had a hard time finding the correct one. I finally found one at a local parts store and it was a metric size thread. I saved the box just incase it happens again.

John
 
i think the radiator breaking also killed the engine/caused it to overheat pretty badly. if i end up needing a new engine, i'm going to go with the griffin, mind as well spend the money if it will help solve overheating issues.
 
Radiator alternative.

It turns out that the SC radiator and a 66 Mustang radiator are almost exactly the same size but there are a few differnces. I just fitted a four core unit to the Spyder and found the upper inlet is slightly larger, the lower tube is on the opposite side, and the trans cooler inlets are a different size.

See the photos below.

So, if you are in a pinch, there are alternatives.

Doug
 
66 Mustang radiator alternative.

Opps,

Now .... see the attached mustang radiator alternative.
 

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I agree with what was said by jsue1961. When you get your new radiator from radiatorexpress.com, replace the plastic drain plug immediately with a metal plug from an auto parts store. Mine was claimed to be an oil pan drain plug, but it will work the same. Otherwise, about two years later, you'll be replacing it due to melted/stripped plastic drain plug threads.
 
well, it's not just radiator problems now...the motor is blown. we had a pretty good feeling that it was on it's way out anyways.
 
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