2004 coolant reservoir replacement help | Ford Thunderbird forum club group 1955-2005 models

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2004 coolant reservoir replacement help

C

centexrider

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2004
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Help! The book makes this seem simple. However, for the life of me I can't find enough space to get the new hose onto the aluminum pipe behind the engine and underneath the (I think big cylinder thing that's part of the power brakes). I am thinking of trying a flexible hose, but I'm a bit concerned that it may be too kinked as it has to bend as it goes under that big brake cylinder thing on the firewall I just spoke of. I just don't have the space to get my arm and hand far enough back in the space given (and my arms are average size for a fella). I've thought about disconnecting a brake line from the brake master cylinder (you can see it in the bottom right corner) to help provide more space for my arm/hand, but really don't want to mess with brake fluid then having to bleed them again, and I'm not even sure that would provide enough space. I have looked all over the net to see if anyone else can provide a technique, but am coming up with nada. TIA!

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Been there,feel your pain!! I replaced with high temp SILICON hose which is available from heating and plumbing stores. Take old hose for sizing and use the clamp they recommend. Attach to pipe on degas bottle and feed underneath. I tied a piece of twine to open end and pulled up until I could grab with my hand. You'll need a clamp on the aluminum pipe. I put mine on a piece of twine hung from above. Lube the aluminum pipe to help ease on. With the flexability of silicon it goes on much easier. Mine been on for a year and all is well. Make sure your clamps (suitable for silicon) are tightened properly.
 
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wiggy said:
Been there,feel your pain!! I replaced with high temp SILICON hose which is available from heating and plumbing stores. Take old hose for sizing and use the clamp they recommend. Attach to pipe on degas bottle and feed underneath. I tied a piece of twine to open end and pulled up until I could grab with my hand. You'll need a clamp on the aluminum pipe. I put mine on a piece of twine hung from above. Lube the aluminum pipe to help ease on. With the flexability of silicon it goes on much easier. Mine been on for a year and all is well. Make sure your clamps (suitable for silicon) are tightened properly.
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That is great advice. In fact, I did something somewhat like that. I carefully heated the end of the hose with an electric heat gun and likewise smeared a bunch of vaseline on both the rubber and the aluminum pipe. I also put a small piece of ice in the aluminum pipe hoping it would contact a bit. Then I tied a piece of twine about three inches down on the rubber hose to tug on. It worked to some degree. I was able to work the hose about halfway between those two raised portions of the aluminum pipe to fit a new clamp. It's not on as far as I'd wish, but I think it will hold. It's kind of a long story, but I had also replaced the thermostat housing as I saw a leak both there and at the Degas bottle when I pressurized the system. Unfortunately, after getting all that new stuff installed, as I was replacing coolant at the front end, I began to see it leaking from somewhere to the rear of the engine. Now I'm going to have to raise the car and take off the engine bottom cover and see if I can determine where it's coming from. I hope it's not above the transmission. If it is, it's probably beyond my measly capabilities. Fingers crossed it's not a cracked block.😥
 
wiggy said:
Doubt your block is cracked. When you changed out the thermostat housing did you put in a new gasket where it mates to the coolant outlet pipe? I had to buy a new coolant outlet pipe just to get that gasket. That could be source of leak.
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Actually, I changed out the entire housing kit, which comes with a new thermostat installed. What I observed with the system under pressure was leaking where one of the two smaller outlets connects to the engine. They are sealed with rubber gaskets, which come pre installed. I agree on the engine block, but I'm wondering if there are blowout freeze plugs. When I was a young fella working in my dad's garage back in the 60s they were a common source of coolant leaks. Frankly, just hoping it's a reachable hose behind the engine somewhere. 🤞
 
wiggy said:
The new housing kits don't include coolant outlet pipe so when you mated it it wouldn't have a new gasket.
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We may be talking about two different things. Here's an image of what I installed. The two smaller openings come with a rubber gasket pre-installed in their respective slots. The thermostat housing itself comes pre-installed on this kit with presumably its own gasket already pre-installed. It was only about ten bucks more than thermostat housing only.
As to the leak at the rear of the engine, I'll report what I find when I can get to it, hopefully this week (tending to some hip problems that seem to be typical to getting a little older.😥)
 

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The coolant outlet pipe I'm talking about is number 23 in the manual on page 303-03-4. When you mate new thermostat housing to it you need new gasket as they distort like those above. I'm livin in a 75 yr old body too so take care of that first. These cars are not that easy to get in and out of with a bad hip I'm sure😕
 
Update: I put the front of the car up on jacks this morning. After I poured coolant in at the thermostat, I could see it rapidly leaking from somewhere behind the engine. I crawled underneath to see if I could see the source, but could not. I put the car on the ground and went searching for a local mechanic willing to take this on (Waco, Texas). On that journey I came across a fella about my age who, while he doesn't want to do the job himself (he owns a machine shop), was familiar with this motor. He informed me there is a coolant hose that the intake manifold has to be removed to get to. It makes sense to me based on what I've seen so far. Can anyone confirm this?
 
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