What the heck? Truck has wrong radiator!?

junioRace

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Was installing my MADfan electric fan, and could not figure out why I was having some issues. Called Mike Dunn over at Mad Enterprises, and looks like I have a regular F-150 radiator in my truck. The Lightning supposedly has a 2 1/2 inch thick radiator, where mine only has one that is 1 1/2 inch thick? Anybody else set up this way?
 

junioRace

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Yeah, I called my Ford dealership and that said "basically it's going to be your word against Ford's". Ford will probably deny the claim and say my truck's radiator was replaced at some point. I'm a little bit pi**ed off right now. Truck is cherry with 28,500 miles, clean Carfax, a Premium Care Warranty for 70,000 miles and I just know that when it came down the line they put the wrong radiator in it.
 

junioRace

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Fade 2 Black said:
Maybe you'll get lucky and "something" will puncture the current radiator so Ford will have to put the correct one in there. ;-)
Ha....thanks for throwing the humor in there. Just been a bad week. Decided to install my RUSlow underdrive pulleys. Broke the pulley installer bolt off about 1/2 inch deep inside the p/s shaft. :cuss: Finally got that out, after pulling the pump. Started putting the e-fan in, and was concerned how the underdrive pulley could affect cooling, only to find out the truck came with the wrong freakin' radiator.

Oh yeah, found a Ford part sticker on the driver side of the radiator core dated 02-07-02. My truck's build date was 02-27-02. Whaddya wanna bet that still isn't good enough for them.

UPDATE: Talked to Steve (FORDSVTPARTS). Great guy. I gave him my VIN and the part number that I found on the radiator core and, interesting enough, my truck WAS built with an incorrect radiator. Shows up that way in his system.
 
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Fade 2 Black

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Go to Ford and talk to the service manager and tell you that you have a mis-build. Keep your cool and hopefully they'll listen to reason. Why the hell would anyone put a less effective part in a PERFORMANCE application?
 

Derek@Amazon

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Fade 2 Black said:
Go to Ford and talk to the service manager and tell you that you have a mis-build. Keep your cool and hopefully they'll listen to reason. Why the hell would anyone put a less effective part in a PERFORMANCE application?


prolly ran short on the production line... threw the "standard" part in
 

junioRace

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Trying to keep cool. I'll wait till I have no other recourse before I start going apesh*t. Still working the phones, but I doubt if they do anything. The sticker on the driver side of my radiator core had the numbers YL3H-GA with a date of 02/07/02. My SVT build certificate date is 02/28/02.
 
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lightninmike

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This was known to happen and your not the first to find this. I remember reading a thread years ago when i first got my truck, over on f150online.
Deff look into this and get the right one put in
 

ChrisNelson

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Being in the parts business we see this ALL the time. It's very common with Chrysler. I swear they throw whatever parts they have available at vehicles sometimes.
 

LIGHTNING LARRY

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junioRace said:
Yeah, I called my Ford dealership and that said "basically it's going to be your word against Ford's". Ford will probably deny the claim and say my truck's radiator was replaced at some point. I'm a little bit pi**ed off right now. Truck is cherry with 28,500 miles, clean Carfax, a Premium Care Warranty for 70,000 miles and I just know that when it came down the line they put the wrong radiator in it.


Did you buy the truck new or used?
 

lightninmike

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LIGHTNING LARRY said:
That's what I was thinking Mike. Then that's def not Ford's fault.
It is if its been like that, and like i said its not the first i have heard of it................ but it has been a while.
When is the last time you have heard of a rad going bad, and if the truck hasnt been in an accident than i can see no other explination
 

ChrisNelson

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I guess unless it's inspected CSI style to see if the radiator had ever been out he'll never know. If it's been out you could probably tell by the hoses, clamps on the hoses, marks on the shroud, or wrench marks on the fan clutch (since it needs to come off to remove the shroud). It is odd that the production date on the radiator is before the date on his truck, but it's not out of the question that it could have been replaced with a radiator older than his truck or a used radiator. I'd bet I could tell if it's been replaced if I inspected it.
 

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