I want to change radiator and heater hoses

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samson - 12 May 2008 21:29 GMT

I want to change radiator and heater hoses on my 99 Taurus 3.0/Vulcan.
Normally this type thing is pretty simple, but on this car it looks
like a
real mess. The radiator appears to be hidden underneath part of the
nose,
so the hoses on that end are out of sight. The heater hoses are not
straight forward, either. I was hoping it would be the same basic
trick as
on my 98 Windstar, but no luck there.

Does anyone have any advice? I do everything myself except internal
tranny
/ engine repairs, but this has me stymied. I'd rather not have to
dismantle
my car, and I hate to pay someone to do something that should be
simple.

Thanks,

G

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Ted Mittelstaedt - 13 May 2008 07:09 GMT

> I want to change radiator and heater hoses on my 99 Taurus 3.0/Vulcan.
> Normally this type thing is pretty simple, but on this car it looks
[quoted text clipped - 11 lines]
> dismantle
> my car,

Uh, I find it very difficult to believe that you "do everything yourself
except internal tranny/engine repairs" yet are afraid to 'dismantle your
car"

I have yet to see a car manufactured in the last 10 years that did NOT
require extensive disassembly to perform simple operations like changing
sparkplugs, hoses, etc. And lacked simple things like bolt head access
holes and such.

It appears that the automakers are intent on lengthing the time needed
for simple servicing so as to reduce the number of people who do their
own minor service work, and steer more of that work to the dealerships.

Get a factory service manual, read it.

Ted

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geemach@juno.com - 13 May 2008 14:34 GMT

> > I want to change radiator and heater hoses on my 99 Taurus 3.0/Vulcan.
> > Normally this type thing is pretty simple, but on this car it looks
[quoted text clipped - 28 lines]
>
> Ted

I don't know who this poster is, but I posted the original question a
couple posts down (only to be met by some smart a$$ who can do nothing
but call names.)
Please don't assume about mechanical ability. This is simply
something I've not encountered before. I've done plugs, sensors,
struts, brakes and so forth on this vehicle and they haven't been so
involved. Head gaskets don't even phase me, but having to take the
front part of the body apart JUST to get to hoses seemed absurd.
Hence my question, simply looking for the friendly advice that this
forum used to have, and seeing if there was something obvious I was
overlooking. I've found so far that it is necessary to remove the
lower radiator support just to get to the lower hose. I've not gotten
a svc manual for this car yet since I haven't needed it until now (I
have the one for my Windstar (based on the previous gen Taurus) and my
old Ranger). It's certainly on my list and I guess I'll go that
route.

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Ted Mittelstaedt - 14 May 2008 08:22 GMT

On May 13, 2:10 am, "Ted Mittelstaedt" <t...@toybox.placo.com> wrote:

> "samson" <cardsno...@gmail.com> wrote in message
>
[quoted text clipped - 32 lines]
>
> Ted

>I don't know who this poster is, but I posted the original question a
>couple posts down (only to be met by some smart a$$ who can do nothing
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
>involved. Head gaskets don't even phase me, but having to take the
>front part of the body apart JUST to get to hoses seemed absurd.

It IS absurd. But it's the Shape of Things To Come, apparently.

I feel your annoyance, you should have seen the permutations I had
to go through to replace a 3 inch long water bypass hose on my car
when it started leaking - and the leak was on the bottom of the hose
right up against the engine block. It took at least an hour to find the
leak. I'm similarly annoyed by what the automakers are doing.

Ted

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zzyzzx - 14 May 2008 18:50 GMT

Is there some reason why you want to change them? Hoses (and
serpentine belts) seem to outlast engines these days.

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Tim J. - 13 May 2008 07:22 GMT

>I want to change radiator and heater hoses on my 99 Taurus 3.0/Vulcan.
>Normally this type thing is pretty simple, but on this car it looks
[quoted text clipped - 12 lines]
>my car, and I hate to pay someone to do something that should be
>simple.

You don't want to dismantle your car enough to change the hoses, but
you don't want to pay a mechanic to do it, either. My advice to you
is to sell *all* of your vehicles and take the bus.

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