03 5.4L (2 valve) head gasket replacement - Disassembly questions

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Eric M

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I've decided to try to give myself as much space as possible to do the head gasket job, which means I am now trying (not super successfully) to try to remove the front grill and bumper. Headlight assemblies are out. The clips on the grill seem like a nightmare to try to remove without ruining them, which is why I'd like to leave them in place. Actually, after having a look at the whole grill and bumper assembly, I'd like to remove the whole thing in one piece. Is doesn't seem like a terrible idea, but then again, I have never done this before. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Also, there are two brackets under the front bumper that fasten it to the frame (see photos). They are held on by plastic fasteners (see the plastic disc sitting flush on the bracket in the photo) that don't seem to want to come out without being destpyrd in the process. Do I just pry these things out, break them, and just replace with new ones when reassembling? Thanks!

bumper bracket 2.jpgwould be appreciated.
 

Retiredusps

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pry out with claw hammer , crows foot, or what you have , replace if they break, not a big cost item.why hold up your work over such a small item, trying to save. clips and fastners has a good stock of products, no i have no interest in the company, but just passing along a source of items.
 
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Hamfisted

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Not sure how much space you actually gain removing the frontend. You still end up with the radiator support there, and the AC condenser (unless you discharge that ....) . I had plenty of room with the frontend in place. I actually just sat up there with my feet on the crossmember for most of the job. The bigger issue is the space ( or lack there of....) at the rear of the motor.






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Eric M

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Not sure how much space you actually gain removing the frontend. You still end up with the radiator support there, and the AC condenser (unless you discharge that ....) . I had plenty of room with the frontend in place. I actually just sat up there with my feet on the crossmember for most of the job. The bigger issue is the space ( or lack there of....) at the rear of the motor.






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OK. I am glad you said this. I was having doubts about the need to do this. I will just get the radiator out and work with what space I have. Thanks again.
 

Hamfisted

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Yeah if you pull the radiator out you'll have tons of room anyway. If it's the original radiator you might look at replacing it anyway. Mine took a dump at 230k miles, shortly after I did the heads.
 

Vincent Vega

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I banged my radiator a couple times with my impact wrench while removing the harmonic balancer. I should have been more careful, but removing it altogether would have helped, so yeah @Eric M not a waste of time to remove.
@Hamfisted did your radiator suddenly have a gigantic leak and leave your somewhere, or start leaking gradually (give you some warning)? I'm at 150k and looks and seems fine, but can't have that thing crapping out on me in the middle of the desert.
 

Hamfisted

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I banged my radiator a couple times with my impact wrench while removing the harmonic balancer. I should have been more careful, but removing it altogether would have helped, so yeah @Eric M not a waste of time to remove.
@Hamfisted did your radiator suddenly have a gigantic leak and leave your somewhere, or start leaking gradually (give you some warning)? I'm at 150k and looks and seems fine, but can't have that thing crapping out on me in the middle of the desert.

It just developed a small leak along the top tank seam on the passenger side. I could smell coolant, and popping the hood I saw evidence of coolant spray towards the battery area. I banged it up a little doing my timing chains anyway, so I didn't mind replacing it, since it was original. Motorcraft doesn't offer 'em anymore, so anything you use is gonna be aftermarket. The Duralast has a lifetime warranty and they were just around the corner so I went with that. I don't know that there's any difference in quality in any of them now.





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Vincent Vega

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@Hamfisted ok thanks man. Yeah I saw Motocraft discontinued it. Napa has two models available - one is a 1 inch core, the other is 1.25 inch. Do you know if the 1.25 inch core is what comes with the Tow package?
(I'm so out of date, I can't seem to stop calling it a Camper Special).
 
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Eric M

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It just developed a small leak along the top tank seam on the passenger side. I could smell coolant, and popping the hood I saw evidence of coolant spray towards the battery area. I banged it up a little doing my timing chains anyway, so I didn't mind replacing it, since it was original. Motorcraft doesn't offer 'em anymore, so anything you use is gonna be aftermarket. The Duralast has a lifetime warranty and they were just around the corner so I went with that. I don't know that there's any difference in quality in any of them now.





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Thinking about replacing the radiator too. It looks OK, no corrosion anywhere. But it looks to be the original (185K). Was the Duralast an exact fit or did it require improvisation, extra parts, etc. to secure it?
 

Hamfisted

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Thinking about replacing the radiator too. It looks OK, no corrosion anywhere. But it looks to be the original (185K). Was the Duralast an exact fit or did it require improvisation, extra parts, etc. to secure it?

The Duralast was an exact fit. The trans line fittings required a little assist from the removal tool (3/8" trans line tool...) to get the locks to open up so the lines could slide in and lock, but other than that it was plug-n-play. I had little 3/8" caps over the trans lines to keep them from dripping fluid during the swap out. I'm pretty sure most of the aftermarket radiators will be the same. I just used Duralast 'cause of the warranty and AutoZone was literally just around the corner. I even replaced the reservoir 'cause the original one was getting pretty trashed. It's nice to be able to see the clean coolant level again.

Trans Line Disconnect Tool on Amazon

Vacuum Line Cap Assorted Kit on Amazon

2003-2006 Expedition Coolant Reservoir on Amazon



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