TooManyToys
Well-Known LVC Member
Over the last weekend I changed out all the plumbing on my wife’s 2003 3.9L LS with almost 100k on the clock. She is dependent on the vehicle to get her to her business so reliability is an issue. In a past thread http://www.lincolnvscadillac.com/showthread.php?t=77940 I had noted that she had one hose pop off and lost coolant so I had to rescue her. It was mentioned by Joegr he had the same issue and the plastic nipple for that hose had cracked and lost its swaged end that holds it in place. So with the history of the LS breaking plastic coolant system parts I went ahead and replaced everything plastic as well as the hoses.
I won’t do a step by step, as it’s mostly straightforward, but will point out some of the roadblocks. The rubber hoses without plastic actually were in good shape and could have been good for another 50k or so, but while I was in there.
I started out using Motorcraft VC-1 cooling system cleaner and followed the instructions. I did so mainly from my experience of the Ford gold coolant in the Powerstrokes, where the coolant turns to gel and clogs the water to oil cooler, setting up for some expensive repairs.
http://www.powerstroke.org/forum/6-...er-still-difference-temps-20.html#post2009133
After operating the motor for the stated time to let the phosphoric acid do it’s thing it takes about 3 to 4 refills to completely drain out all the debris and be left with the 1 ½ gal of clear water that will remain in the motor. The radiator drain plug on the pass side like all of the Ford drain plugs has a bad habit of becoming brittle with thermal history, just like the rest of the plastic parts. So rather then grabbing it with an open-end wrench it’s better to use a 8mm Allen wrench that fits deep into the center. Also when closing this remember that it seals with the O-Ring, so it just needs to bottom out, not be tightened down. And since we are dealing with phosphoric acid, it’s best to wear eye protection while lying under the vehicle and draining the radiator.
Removal of the air filter housing, wiper blade arms (tapered spline mount) cowl shield, fresh air box and cross support tube between the towers and cowl are all necessary to get to all the hoses. Then it’s just mostly a matter of dealing with a few nuts and bolts along with the troublesome hose spring clamps. Although there are a few hiccups.
I replaced the multi-tube and hose pathways that run along the pass shock tower. The front bolt is easy enough to get to, but without a lift I could not get to the rear bolt. There are certain times that man’s best tool is needed to be utilized, even on an automobile. The bracket is just sheet metal so a few seconds with a Sawzall and metal demo axe blade relieved me of my problem. Not really what I like to do, but ther was no other choice here. The four hoses hold the back section very well, and by cutting the bottom of the new bracket I was able to fit it over the old bracket towds the wheel.
With some of the spring clamps the second man’s best tool, a Dremel with a reinforced cut off wheel sectioned the clamp in half so it just peeled off the hose. You don’t want to go into the hose and possibly cut one of the metal tubes that will be re-utilized.
The tube that goes across the back of the motor is held in place with two nuts. The driver’s side nut you can see but the pass side is all done by feel.
With the hoses off it became apparent that with this vehicle the hose just came off the nipple when it lost coolant, but other plastic parts showed evidence that they were going to break in the future. The coolant leaves a while residue when it dries, do it’s easy to see where it was starting to leak through the plastic.
In the other thread it was also noted by Gus_Mahn the elbow off the block would be at issue coming off, recommending a little prying. I hate doing that to the plastic intake manifold and was not in the mood for removing it and getting a gasket kit from the dealer. The screws that hold the elbow to the block are the issue, a few threads too long to just clear, and they are the same as the majority of other screws utilized in these components. They also just hold the elbow in place and since there is an O-Ring that seals between the elbow and block, only compress the O-Ring and do not provide a hard compression seal like would be used with a gasket. Knowing that in cases like this engineers often utilize the same screw no matter what the need as to reduce inventory (bean counter training) I knew the approach I was going to take.
You can see from the picture the discoloration of the screw on the right for how deep it goes into the aluminum block. Way more threads then needed to compress the O-Ring. I threaded the screws back down halfway for security, taped off the intake so debris would not go in, then cut off the top ½” of the bolts with the Dremel and cutoff wheel. The remains of the screws threaded right out. It may have been possible to back out the screws until they hit the manifold, and then cut them off at the elbow flange so new screws would have not been needed, but I didn’t take that approach.
So with a grinding wheel and a triangular file to dress the threads I ended up making screws from another connection a little shorter, enough so it went back together OK. Replacement screws from where I took the modified screws from were acquired from the dealer for a price of $1.00 each.
Another suggestion before I got in there from Joegr was to replace the belt. At 100k it’s a little early but a good suggestion since I don’t want to go back in there for another 100k. To remove and fit the new belt in you have to back off the tensioner’s mounting bolt. You don’t have to remove it completely, just back it off enough to get it between the pulley and block once you get the old belt loose.
The EGR valve was also replaced just because.....
The rest of everything went back together without issues, although if you are going to use the spring clamps you will need a combination of the spring clamp pliers, side cutter (diagonal) pliers and screwdrivers to release the clips depending on their location. I used all the factory style clamps but there are some frustrating locations due to access. Worm clamps could reduce your frustration level. Here I show on the clamp the notch for using a screwdriver to pry between the two ends to release the catch.
Attached is also the part numbers for everything I changed. Again, you don’t have to replace the rear hoses to the heater and behind the motor unless you are going all out.
While I haven’t labeled or organized photos from this project as yet, you can see them in one of my facebook photo albums. Just Google “ facebook toomanytoys ”.
On edit - Could a mod go in and correct the spelling on the thread title. I forgot to change that before publishing.
I won’t do a step by step, as it’s mostly straightforward, but will point out some of the roadblocks. The rubber hoses without plastic actually were in good shape and could have been good for another 50k or so, but while I was in there.
I started out using Motorcraft VC-1 cooling system cleaner and followed the instructions. I did so mainly from my experience of the Ford gold coolant in the Powerstrokes, where the coolant turns to gel and clogs the water to oil cooler, setting up for some expensive repairs.
http://www.powerstroke.org/forum/6-...er-still-difference-temps-20.html#post2009133
After operating the motor for the stated time to let the phosphoric acid do it’s thing it takes about 3 to 4 refills to completely drain out all the debris and be left with the 1 ½ gal of clear water that will remain in the motor. The radiator drain plug on the pass side like all of the Ford drain plugs has a bad habit of becoming brittle with thermal history, just like the rest of the plastic parts. So rather then grabbing it with an open-end wrench it’s better to use a 8mm Allen wrench that fits deep into the center. Also when closing this remember that it seals with the O-Ring, so it just needs to bottom out, not be tightened down. And since we are dealing with phosphoric acid, it’s best to wear eye protection while lying under the vehicle and draining the radiator.
Removal of the air filter housing, wiper blade arms (tapered spline mount) cowl shield, fresh air box and cross support tube between the towers and cowl are all necessary to get to all the hoses. Then it’s just mostly a matter of dealing with a few nuts and bolts along with the troublesome hose spring clamps. Although there are a few hiccups.
I replaced the multi-tube and hose pathways that run along the pass shock tower. The front bolt is easy enough to get to, but without a lift I could not get to the rear bolt. There are certain times that man’s best tool is needed to be utilized, even on an automobile. The bracket is just sheet metal so a few seconds with a Sawzall and metal demo axe blade relieved me of my problem. Not really what I like to do, but ther was no other choice here. The four hoses hold the back section very well, and by cutting the bottom of the new bracket I was able to fit it over the old bracket towds the wheel.
With some of the spring clamps the second man’s best tool, a Dremel with a reinforced cut off wheel sectioned the clamp in half so it just peeled off the hose. You don’t want to go into the hose and possibly cut one of the metal tubes that will be re-utilized.
The tube that goes across the back of the motor is held in place with two nuts. The driver’s side nut you can see but the pass side is all done by feel.
With the hoses off it became apparent that with this vehicle the hose just came off the nipple when it lost coolant, but other plastic parts showed evidence that they were going to break in the future. The coolant leaves a while residue when it dries, do it’s easy to see where it was starting to leak through the plastic.
In the other thread it was also noted by Gus_Mahn the elbow off the block would be at issue coming off, recommending a little prying. I hate doing that to the plastic intake manifold and was not in the mood for removing it and getting a gasket kit from the dealer. The screws that hold the elbow to the block are the issue, a few threads too long to just clear, and they are the same as the majority of other screws utilized in these components. They also just hold the elbow in place and since there is an O-Ring that seals between the elbow and block, only compress the O-Ring and do not provide a hard compression seal like would be used with a gasket. Knowing that in cases like this engineers often utilize the same screw no matter what the need as to reduce inventory (bean counter training) I knew the approach I was going to take.
You can see from the picture the discoloration of the screw on the right for how deep it goes into the aluminum block. Way more threads then needed to compress the O-Ring. I threaded the screws back down halfway for security, taped off the intake so debris would not go in, then cut off the top ½” of the bolts with the Dremel and cutoff wheel. The remains of the screws threaded right out. It may have been possible to back out the screws until they hit the manifold, and then cut them off at the elbow flange so new screws would have not been needed, but I didn’t take that approach.
So with a grinding wheel and a triangular file to dress the threads I ended up making screws from another connection a little shorter, enough so it went back together OK. Replacement screws from where I took the modified screws from were acquired from the dealer for a price of $1.00 each.
Another suggestion before I got in there from Joegr was to replace the belt. At 100k it’s a little early but a good suggestion since I don’t want to go back in there for another 100k. To remove and fit the new belt in you have to back off the tensioner’s mounting bolt. You don’t have to remove it completely, just back it off enough to get it between the pulley and block once you get the old belt loose.
The EGR valve was also replaced just because.....
The rest of everything went back together without issues, although if you are going to use the spring clamps you will need a combination of the spring clamp pliers, side cutter (diagonal) pliers and screwdrivers to release the clips depending on their location. I used all the factory style clamps but there are some frustrating locations due to access. Worm clamps could reduce your frustration level. Here I show on the clamp the notch for using a screwdriver to pry between the two ends to release the catch.
Attached is also the part numbers for everything I changed. Again, you don’t have to replace the rear hoses to the heater and behind the motor unless you are going all out.
While I haven’t labeled or organized photos from this project as yet, you can see them in one of my facebook photo albums. Just Google “ facebook toomanytoys ”.
On edit - Could a mod go in and correct the spelling on the thread title. I forgot to change that before publishing.
Last edited by a moderator:
