Stressful day

Today has been a stressful day of ownership of two older vehicles. When you have an older car/truck there are going to be days like this, just didn't want problems on both in one day. Will spare you guys my Honda woes, since it is not the place.

So 1997 Eddie Bauer 5.4 with about 165,000 on it. I keep up with all of the maintenance and everything for good for a bit. Around December I got code P0401 but was on the delay on getting that fixed, since at least it ran. Now a antifreeze leak! I noticed it the day before I had to go out of town for a family emergency and said I will deal with it when I get back. Tw4o weeks later, I'm back. I added about a gallon of water to it and wanted to see if I could drive it around without more coming out. Well it's a faucet now and parked.

I am not much of a DIY guy and wanted to ask for so,e pointers on what to do or what needs to be repaired before I bring it to someone. I do not want them to see I'm a novice and overcharge me.

So I just put my phone on video and put it down the hole on inside of the engine looking for anything obvious and found what looks like the obvious problem. There is a hose that looks like it connects to the bottom of the radiator that is not connected. (Very obvious) Then I wanted to see where the other end of that hose goes, and it goes nowhere and also not connected. (???) Is this my problem?

Also another thing to add, a few months ago I was told by a mechanic that my radiator was original 1997, cracked and replacing it would be $500. This was right after I spent $$$ on brakes and $$$ on new tires. The guy said to use Bars Leaks which I did.

Also I do not drive it too often I think I did 2000 miles last year total.

Thank you in advance if you could please help.

Fist picture is the hose possibly not connected, second picture is the other end of that hose

https://flic.kr/p/2kHm59R



https://flic.kr/p/2kHmBux

The truck is 25 years old. Its going to have problems and require parts. If you don't do work yourself it's going to require labor for these repairs.

We all have days like these. Those who don;t just have bigger car payments.

The hose you photographed looks like a differential vent hose, with everything normal. If you were told "a couple of months ago" that your radiator is cracked, that's most likely your problem. If the Bar's Stop Leak worked it's a temporary fix and not a good one. You probably need a new radiator. I'd be surprised if the Stop Leak didn't ruin your heater core while it gooped up your radiator.

The P0401 code is probably a cracked vacuum hose that goes to your EGR valve. It's a common problem. The part's less than $100, plus maybe an hour's labor for diagnosis and repair. I you did it yourself, perhaps $35.

Old stuff breaks. There's no way around that. As they said when I was growing up, we all either make car payments or parts payments.

I have a Monday AM appointment with a local shop to drop it off.

What about the hose that goes nowhere at both sides? Is it supposed to be like that?

I watched a youtube video to clean the EGR and it was filthy and thought that would fix my issue but now I hear its EGR.

I see brand new radiators for about $100. Got to find out how much it will cost to flush and install.

Thanks

New radiator on order will arrive Thursday. not ready for the junkyard yet.

Figure about $250 to install that radiator in a fair shop; $300 with new antifreeze. If it's $100 radiator you will be installing another one in a year, so budget for that. Pray it doesn't take out your transmission when it fails.

If you can find the leak on the vacuum hoses you can patch that up with electrical tape or silicone, but that too will fail again.

Everything looks normal in the photos you posted.

I know it's easy to say you should buy the best parts, but you may simply not have the money to spend or you don't want to put it into an old car. When buying bargain (usually cheap Chinese) parts, do your homework. Look for those that aren't the cheapest, but may have some name recognition or good reputation on these repair forums.

Web site reviews are deceiving at times, because they usually don't reflect the longevity of the stuff, but at least they will tell you something about the fit and if they work out of the box. Many don't do either. There are ways to save a buck with cheap parts, but you are really tossing the dice when you do.

i’m thinking that if I have the money to put the best parts and I wouldn’t be driving a 25 year old expedition. ‍

nycnftm said:

i’m thinking that if I have the money to put the best parts and I wouldn’t be driving a 25 year old expedition. ‍

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To each his own. I sold an apartment building in New York last year.

I can buy and pay for every Expedition on the lot.

My truck's 14 years old, and that's the good one.

I choose to put my money elsewhere, and I don't believe in debt. That's done me well.

$75 Chinese ebay radiator returned, got it replaced at a reputable shop. They said I had a leak in the right side chamber and it was the original 1997 radiator. $585. Next up fix EGR P0401 code and I’m good to go. Thank you for the advice of not using the cheapest radiator available

nycnftm said:

$75 Chinese ebay radiator returned, got it replaced at a reputable shop. They said I had a leak in the right side chamber and it was the original 1997 radiator. $585. Next up fix EGR P0401 code and I’m good to go. Thank you for the advice of not using the cheapest radiator available

Click to expand...

Here's something I tell everyone with that code with an old Expedition... remove your throttle body (buy a gasket while you're at it) and check your 2 EGR ports inside of the throttle body. If you've never done this before, with your truck being as old as it is.. I'm betting these holes in the throttle body are FILLED with carbon. Here's what it should look like with your throttle body off.

https://www.f150forum.com/f6/insuffcient-egr-flow-p0402-problem-solved-100593/

Get a pick, carb spray, and some shop towels and go at it. Compressed air will help get all the bits of debris out but not necessary if you're flushing it with carb cleaner or something.