Headers? Yes? No?

Yes I have an aftermarket radiator. But my fans have been mounted on an all aluminum radiator as well as a OE replacement.

I’d be curious to see pics of your radiator.

Taken from under vehicle; not the best but you can figure it out.

Interesting. The transmission hard lines look legit but that hose clamp does not look like a typical factory clamp.

I’m confused. Someone put in a bunch of effort to make a different radiator work.

Tom, I am also confused as is my tech. The fitment and connection issues with the Gibson headers that Gibson has never seen before and the not fitment of a "direct fit" Flex A Lite fan kit have us scratching our heads.

I am pretty dang sure that the radiator was installed at the factory. I purchased the vehicle in late '03 with less than 4K miles logged. The vehicle had been driven for a few months by the dealership sales managers wife and she fount it too big and cumbersome to her liking so the put it on display for sale out in front of the dealership. At the time, I was driving a two year old Explorer that needed some work and when I took the Explorer in for the work, I saw the Expy, we made deal and I bought it.

The Expy was badged as a "Touring Edition" which, to me and at the time meant nothing more than some trim differences. A small Touring Edition badge on the lower left corner of the tail gate and Touring Edition embossed on the driver and passenger seat just below the head rest. I have never seen another like it. We have run the VIN and nothing strange shows up. However, I am now wondering if it is a bit of a bastard Expy since we are having issues that have not been heretofore encountered on an XLT.

Since this is an Expy forum, I wonder if there is an Expy scholar on the forum that might know something about this vehicle.

Radiator mystery solved. Apparently radiators in the '03-'04 Epxys were down flow units with top/bottom tanks which was a mistake. The trucks ran hot and in '05 the Expy radiators reverted back to cross flow units. We got the FF Dynamics fans installed without any major issues. The fans are nice; good hardware but the wiring turned into a semi DIY project; not plug and play like other kits. At any rate, they are installed, do the job and are very quiet, much more so than the fans in my wife's '15 Explorer Sport. On balance, a satisfying upgrade.

donl said:

Radiator mystery solved. Apparently radiators in the '03-'04 Epxys were down flow units with top/bottom tanks which was a mistake. The trucks ran hot and in '05 the Expy radiators reverted back to cross flow units. We got the FF Dynamics fans installed without any major issues. The fans are nice; good hardware but the wiring turned into a semi DIY project; not plug and play like other kits. At any rate, they are installed, do the job and are very quiet, much more so than the fans in my wife's '15 Explorer Sport. On balance, a satisfying upgrade.

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uh oh. I just bought an 04 Expedition. it is a police package, should I be worried about engine cooling? it is under 100K; it was actually a fire department vehicle; I suspect it was some admin type's truck since it looked like showroom condition.

joethefordguy said:

uh oh. I just bought an 04 Expedition. it is a police package, should I be worried about engine cooling? it is under 100K; it was actually a fire department vehicle; I suspect it was some admin type's truck since it looked like showroom condition.

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I would not worry. My issue was finding fans that were a direct fit to my '03. For the 15 years I owned the vehicle, I never experienced an over heating issue, even when towing and I live in south Texas where it gets pretty dang hot in the summer.

So what’s your “long term” update on the headers? Worth it?

ExplorerTom said:

So what’s your “long term” update on the headers? Worth it?

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Hard to say since the headers were just one component of the mechanical mods which included a set of 4.10 gears, under drive pulleys, CAI and a 5-Star tune to pull it all together. I will say that I am pleased with the results. I do plan to get on a dyno soon just to see what was gained over stock in TQ/HP but haven't had time to schedule the run. I should have included a set of mild cams as part of the plan but decided against it; might still do it after the dyno.

oh, lord... I probably ought not to be sticking my nose in, but I rarely take my own advice, so here goes.
arguments based on denigrating others' choices, etc., are rarely worth the time they take to present, are usually heavily opinion, rather than fact, based, and usually don't add value to the conversation. i try to avoid those, though I am just as prone as anyone else to jumping into the fray when i get annoyed.

second, financial arguments based solely on book value, etc., are straw man arguments that leave out some considerations.
when considering repairing/renovating(feel free to use your own words here; I assume my meaning is obvious) versus replacing (new or used) the proper values to use are the cost of the replacement, taking into account what is being purchased, and the cost of the repair/renovation, taking into account what the end result is.
For example, the book value on a 72 chevy nova with a 195000 miles is fairly low. Buying a replacement could, at best, eventually yield a used chevy nova with high miles in good condition.
I believe that if you renovate yours, you have at least, a used chevy nova in near new condition. that is what should be compared with any replacement car before you start looking at how much you've spent. It will come down to "what's it worth to you?" Since that has a different answer from everyone asked, it is not subject to a right/wrong decision.

Certainly, insurance value should be a consideration, but that is the trump card, then just stop now and start buying used checker cabs and cop cars.

OBTW, I'm right and no one else's opinion matters.