1997-2002 Expedition Radiator Support Replacement

[MikeA]

This week I will be working on my 1999 Expedition XLT, it was in an accident caused by another driver who left the scene after my SUV went plowing through a utility pole. That is the short story on that.

Now onto the work, my radiator support is rusting away just the way Ford likes it, was putting it off for better weather, but, along came the accident, now I want to fix it sooner rather then later, for one , I do not like looking at it in the condition it is in.

As you can see by the images, half the job the tear down is already done, just need to remove the fenders to access the spot welds for the support, and some other parts still connected to the support







Going through a utility pole, the odds of the vehicle being totaled is pretty high, considering it went through it at 45mph.
Other then the bumper, grill, radiator support, clutch fan, radiator, a/c core , both coolers,trans lines, which is easily replaced.



That spot that took the pole out, was the cross member, it now has a big dent, well that got me a bit worried, went over the frame to see how bad it got messed up, the driver side moved back about a 1/4 ", nothing a frame rack can not handle, so I will fix it.



I will be working on it all week, I have no need to rush through this, got other vehicles to drive, so when i get the fenders off and couple of other parts, i will post images of removing radiator support, a lot of spot weld drilling comming up.

And alot of parts to buy

 

[reece146]

Yeah, I can relate.

 

[MikeA]

Reece146,
How is your aftermarket support for fit and quality etc?


Today we are hit with 50+ mph winds on a clear blue sky , trying to get some work done on my 99', this wind is setting off car alarms, tossing everything not nailed down, all over the place.

As you can see by images, removed the hood and fenders, plus minor parts. Broke 2 hood latch bolts, like I really needed more work added to my list.Since I am removing parts, I removed the passenger exhaust manifold to replace with new one and replace broken studs with stainless studs and nuts.







I would like to take the time to share on why aftermarket parts suck.
This radiator support I purchased off amazon for $120, will do the job, but the job just got harder, no such thing as remove old one and put this one in with very little work of welding in place, nope, not gonna happen. Atleast not with this part, because who ever decided close enough is good enough, needs there nuts put in a grinder, the quality is a sight to behold, the fit at the spots where it needs to be spot welded should at the very least, match up to the part it needs to be welded at.

If you are going to do a radiator support replacement, be warned, aftermarket parts suck, you will need to work the parts to make them fit, no thanks to those in charge, making these parts as close enough, ship it.

Lets start with quality
Poor stamping and they used a tourch to trim edges

 

[MikeA]

Cont.


Now for fit, the passenger side, should fit really well with a little trimming, the driver side fit, well lets just say, WTF was going on here.


I know the old saying, cause im getting old, you get what you pay for, really, I asked for parts that are made out of shape? I do not give them money that is made out of shape, so do not send me out of shape parts.

So with todays list of work getting bigger, thanks to 2 broken bolts, 2 broken exhaust manifold studs, a radiator support that needs to have driver side reshaped to fit and what ever else I find as I continue.

 

[reece146]

The rad support I got is adequate. Like you said, it will need some hammer massage to get everything lined up. Mine still isn't done (didn't get it finished in the fall and I need to work outside). I need to sand, treat, paint, etc the support and doing that in poor weather is a waste of time so I'm waiting.

I figure remounting the fenders and grille/bumper will help reshape the support correctly.

Hard to tell in pictures but I think mine might be a bit better but it is not great. Can you even get an OEM rad support?

I broke the two bolts that hold the fenders on at the windshield (hood bracket). Still need to try to get those out. Will probably start with trying to weld a nut on the remains and go from there.

 

[MikeA]

When you have removed everthing you need out of the way, it is time to start removing spot welds.

First thing is to find the spot welds you will need to remove, so you can remove the radiator support. Next is to center punch for the small drill bit, making a pilot close to center of the spot welds.


Both sides are pretty much in the same spots, just repeat other side.

Next you use your spot remover tool, something like this one, does great, pick it up at harbor freight.


The green circles, you can go through all 3 panels, the red circles, just cut the single panel enough to seperate the 2 panels



There are 2 more spot welds lower down on each side, that section is rusted away, so look for them if the rust did not get as high up as mine in the lower corners.

Continue tommorrow.

 

[MikeA]

Reece146,
OEM is around $500.
Breaking bolts just add to the excitment of more work.

 

[MikeA]

Looking at the upper corner of support, you may end up scratching your head trying to figure out how to remove from the metal surrounding support, can not pull forward or down.



Here is a little tip, to make this repair go easier.
Cut the corner like I have done.



Now bend that corner up, this will make removing those corners so easy, slide right out with light taps from hammer .



As long as you cut each spot weld out , with none of them still hanging on, radiator support will come off with no effort at all.

 

[MikeA]

When these radiator supports rust out bad, you will most likely notice the support bushing nuts and bolts , rusted so bad, you know it is going to suck getting them off.

Here is a little tip on removing the nuts on trashed bolt threads.



Take a torch and heat up the threads, you will notice the rusted threads will have red hot spots all over the threads, that is the rust seperating from the threads.



Next take a wire brush and clean the loosened rust from the threads.



Now use the torch to heat up just the nut this time, remove nut.
Nut will come right off, no problem.



WD40 etc, will not remove rust from badly rusted threads, only heat will flake the rust off.

 

[MikeA]

I reworked the driver corner with a hammer and dolly, the fit on both corners came out good.




When installing the radiator support, you are going to need a reference point to measure from on the old support , so you can transfer those measurements to the new support, this will put your new support in the same spot as original, which will make everything that bolts up to it, fit properly.

I could not take reference points , because my old radiator support was destroyed in wreck, so I did the next best thing, I took reference points from the 98 and 01, that came out to be 31-7/8 " on both, so I set the new support to the same measurement, I should have zero problems when lining up body parts.



At this point it is ready to be welded in place, but I am going to remove it, so I can get easier access to fix some of the things now, like replace water pump, brake lines, exhaust studs, broken bolts, etc.

Plus, I will use por15 on the bottom support with spray on bedliner, that should make the rust problem a thing of the past.

Hopefully in a few days, parts will be going back on.