2002 cooling maintenance and Oil cooler

[mjhlosgatos]

Just purchased a 2002 premium in yellow. Even though it’s a one owner car he died a bit over two years ago so it has not been driven much recently. I’m organizing for maintenance and preventative maintenance as I do plan to drive it a few thousand miles a year in a warm climate.

The cooling systems are high on that list including coolant flush, hose replacement and thermostat/thermostat housing replacement. Any other recommendations on cooling? I’m aware of the gold coolant. A first for me as I’ve never owned a Ford product before.

Also, was the engine oil cooler an option for 2002?

Thanks

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[Frankie the Fink]

You should raisee up the car and torque the two "X" braces to spec, many '02s" left the factory with these braces somewhat loose. The spec is 46 ft-lbs . Several bolts on my car were 1/2 turn or better too loose. (see picture). A change of all fluids is prob in order; these cars still use DOT3 brake fluid which is hygroscopic -meaning it can attract water and cause corrosion/rust in the system. You should prob replace the cabin air filter (an often forgotten maintenance item) - its a pain in the neck but mine had NEVER been changed and was a nasty mess. The procedure is on this forum somewhere and NAPA or O'Reilly carriy the filter.

 

[mjhlosgatos]

If I didn’t post earlier- thank you. I will attend to those tasks. In fact just did the air filter which would not have occurred to me for some time.