Is it the radiator?

[BigRed2004]

I recently discovered that my radiator is leaking. Or I should say, I believe that it could be the radiator leaking. What I don’t know and have not been able to ascertain yet is if this leak is the radiator proper or possibly an o-ring. Does anyone know if this is an o-ring that can be replaced or will I need to get an all new radiator? And would I need special tools to remove these hard lines? Vehicle has a VIN build date of 03/19/2004.

 

[SafariGoneWrong]

The transmission line quick disconnect tool is a cheap plastic thingy readily available. You’ll need to remove the quick disconnect fitting from the radiator and make the call if you want to try to find a suitable o-ring or replace the fitting. I think the fitting has an external o-ring for the radiator and internal o-rings for the transmission lines. I’d go with replacing the fitting mostly for peace of mind for the internal o-rings.

 

[whtbronco]

The problem with replacing the fitting is that you might break the plastic headers on the radiator. I tried to remove them on my sons radiator, 2000 Ranger, and the radiator broke rather than the fitting unscrewing.

Either way you have to disconnect the trans lines. Here's what I found to work, seat the tool and listen for lock release, pull both tool and line out together and the line will unseat easily. Pull just one and it will not come out.

Here's the tool I ended up with after 3:

 

[BigRed2004]

@SafariGoneWrong , thank you for the feedback on this post. I accidentally had a double post and have already determined that I have a bad radiator and need to replace the whole thing.

@whtbronco , thank you for the tool suggestion. I just picked up this tool from Autozone about (3) days ago. It should do the trick as it has the tapered head also. I do line the overall build better on the one you suggested. Not a fan of tools that only allow for uneven leverage for lines like this. I have the same gripe with my old fuel line removal tool.

 

[whtbronco]

The tool I used was the 3rd one I tried. I picked up the style you have from Harbor Freight, but I failed. That said it may have been from improper technique. You must push the tool in until it releases the lock, you can probably feel it, and then pull both the tool and line together and they slide apart nice and easy.

 

[BigRed2004]

I might order the tool you suggested as a back up, just in case.