I want to change radiator and heater hoses

On Mon, 12 May 2008 13:29:14 -0700 (PDT), samson
<cardsnotax.RemoveThis@gmail.com> wrote:

>I want to change radiator and heater hoses on my 99 Taurus 3.0/Vulcan.
>Normally this type thing is pretty simple, but on this car it looks
>like a
>real mess. The radiator appears to be hidden underneath part of the
>nose,
>so the hoses on that end are out of sight. The heater hoses are not
>straight forward, either. I was hoping it would be the same basic
>trick as
>on my 98 Windstar, but no luck there.
>
>Does anyone have any advice? I do everything myself except internal
>tranny
>/ engine repairs, but this has me stymied. I'd rather not have to
>dismantle
>my car, and I hate to pay someone to do something that should be
>simple.

You don't want to dismantle your car enough to change the hoses, but
you don't want to pay a mechanic to do it, either. My advice to you
is to sell *all* of your vehicles and take the bus.
 >> Stay informed about: I want to change radiator and heater hoses 

On May 13, 2:10 am, "Ted Mittelstaedt" <t....TakeThisOut@toybox.placo.com> wrote:
> "samson" <cardsno....TakeThisOut@gmail.com> wrote in message
>
> news:ed8330ad-3db3-46ce-92d6-4c786749298e@i76g2000hsf.googlegroups.com...
>
> > I want to change radiator and heater hoses on my 99 Taurus 3.0/Vulcan.
> > Normally this type thing is pretty simple, but on this car it looks
> > like a
> > real mess.  The radiator appears to be hidden underneath part of the
> > nose,
> > so the hoses on that end are out of sight.  The heater hoses are not
> > straight forward, either.  I was hoping it would be the same basic
> > trick as
> > on my 98 Windstar, but no luck there.
>
> > Does anyone have any advice?  I do everything myself except internal
> > tranny
> > / engine repairs, but this has me stymied.  I'd rather not have to
> > dismantle
> > my car,
>
> Uh, I find it very difficult to believe that you "do everything yourself
> except internal tranny/engine repairs" yet are afraid to 'dismantle your
> car"
>
> I have yet to see a car manufactured in the last 10 years that did NOT
> require extensive disassembly to perform simple operations like changing
> sparkplugs, hoses, etc.  And lacked simple things like bolt head access
> holes and such.
>
> It appears that the automakers are intent on lengthing the time needed
> for simple servicing so as to reduce the number of people who do their
> own minor service work, and steer more of that work to the dealerships.
>
> Get a factory service manual, read it.
>
> Ted

I don't know who this poster is, but I posted the original question a
couple posts down (only to be met by some smart a$$ who can do nothing
but call names.)
Please don't assume about mechanical ability. This is simply
something I've not encountered before. I've done plugs, sensors,
struts, brakes and so forth on this vehicle and they haven't been so
involved. Head gaskets don't even phase me, but having to take the
front part of the body apart JUST to get to hoses seemed absurd.
Hence my question, simply looking for the friendly advice that this
forum used to have, and seeing if there was something obvious I was
overlooking. I've found so far that it is necessary to remove the
lower radiator support just to get to the lower hose. I've not gotten
a svc manual for this car yet since I haven't needed it until now (I
have the one for my Windstar (based on the previous gen Taurus) and my
old Ranger). It's certainly on my list and I guess I'll go that
route.
 >> Stay informed about: I want to change radiator and heater hoses 

<geemach.TakeThisOut@juno.com> wrote in message
news:fa3d5a45-b010-45be-9353-96259c214d5c@59g2000hsb.googlegroups.com...
On May 13, 2:10 am, "Ted Mittelstaedt" <t....TakeThisOut@toybox.placo.com> wrote:
> "samson" <cardsno....TakeThisOut@gmail.com> wrote in message
>
> news:ed8330ad-3db3-46ce-92d6-4c786749298e@i76g2000hsf.googlegroups.com...
>
> > I want to change radiator and heater hoses on my 99 Taurus 3.0/Vulcan.
> > Normally this type thing is pretty simple, but on this car it looks
> > like a
> > real mess. The radiator appears to be hidden underneath part of the
> > nose,
> > so the hoses on that end are out of sight. The heater hoses are not
> > straight forward, either. I was hoping it would be the same basic
> > trick as
> > on my 98 Windstar, but no luck there.
>
> > Does anyone have any advice? I do everything myself except internal
> > tranny
> > / engine repairs, but this has me stymied. I'd rather not have to
> > dismantle
> > my car,
>
> Uh, I find it very difficult to believe that you "do everything yourself
> except internal tranny/engine repairs" yet are afraid to 'dismantle your
> car"
>
> I have yet to see a car manufactured in the last 10 years that did NOT
> require extensive disassembly to perform simple operations like changing
> sparkplugs, hoses, etc. And lacked simple things like bolt head access
> holes and such.
>
> It appears that the automakers are intent on lengthing the time needed
> for simple servicing so as to reduce the number of people who do their
> own minor service work, and steer more of that work to the dealerships.
>
> Get a factory service manual, read it.
>
> Ted

>I don't know who this poster is, but I posted the original question a
>couple posts down (only to be met by some smart a$$ who can do nothing
>but call names.)
>Please don't assume about mechanical ability. This is simply
>something I've not encountered before. I've done plugs, sensors,
>struts, brakes and so forth on this vehicle and they haven't been so
>involved. Head gaskets don't even phase me, but having to take the
>front part of the body apart JUST to get to hoses seemed absurd.

It IS absurd. But it's the Shape of Things To Come, apparently.

I feel your annoyance, you should have seen the permutations I had
to go through to replace a 3 inch long water bypass hose on my car
when it started leaking - and the leak was on the bottom of the hose
right up against the engine block. It took at least an hour to find the
leak. I'm similarly annoyed by what the automakers are doing.

Ted
 >> Stay informed about: I want to change radiator and heater hoses