Why does Ford pinch pennies with their radiators?

DeltaMustang65 · 04-30-2006, 01:09 PM

Thanks for the reply.

Hmmm...I'm not sure if it'll come out. I already tried, but not that hard because I didn't want to make things worse. Also, when I was draining the radiator, the plastic piece wouldn't come all the way out, it would just come far enough to open the drain hole and then just kinda dangle there.The plastic part that broke is just a nut/bolt type thing that blocks off the actual drain hole as you tighten it. Ugh, this is why I hate new cars. They really don't make them like they used to.

I'm sure I could just rip the dumb thing out, but I want to make sure the part is replaceable (and available) before I do. If all else fails, I guess that when I need a coolant change again, I could just see if Ford has a combo deal on radiators, haha.

p.s. I can see why this breaking off is not that uncommon. The part that snapped is about 1/20 of a centimeter thick. Grrrr...

84LX89GT · 04-30-2006, 04:22 PM

yeah, the first time i tightened one of those plastic petcocks (lol) i broke it off on my '89 GT. Basically you have to hand tighten it then with a wrench very very slightly tighten it....retarded.
Yeah ford cuts corners EVERYWHERE.

04-30-2006, 01:09 PM	#1
DeltaMustang65 Knuckle-Basher Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Stockton, CA Posts: 249	Re: Why does Ford pinch pennies with their radiators? Thanks for the reply. Hmmm...I'm not sure if it'll come out. I already tried, but not that hard because I didn't want to make things worse. Also, when I was draining the radiator, the plastic piece wouldn't come all the way out, it would just come far enough to open the drain hole and then just kinda dangle there.The plastic part that broke is just a nut/bolt type thing that blocks off the actual drain hole as you tighten it. Ugh, this is why I hate new cars. They really don't make them like they used to. I'm sure I could just rip the dumb thing out, but I want to make sure the part is replaceable (and available) before I do. If all else fails, I guess that when I need a coolant change again, I could just see if Ford has a combo deal on radiators, haha. p.s. I can see why this breaking off is not that uncommon. The part that snapped is about 1/20 of a centimeter thick. Grrrr...

04-30-2006, 04:22 PM	#2
84LX89GT Mustangs Join Date: Jul 2000 Posts: 1,938	Re: Why does Ford pinch pennies with their radiators? yeah, the first time i tightened one of those plastic petcocks (lol) i broke it off on my '89 GT. Basically you have to hand tighten it then with a wrench very very slightly tighten it....retarded. Yeah ford cuts corners EVERYWHERE. __________________ 2005 Suzuki Hayabusa GSX1300-R 1980 Ford Thunderbird - 255 V8 ported heads, 5.0L ported stock headers, O.R. H-pipe and Flowmaster 2-chambers, dual roller timing chain hi-po Mack Truck hood emblem 1985 Mustang GT 5.0L T5, F-303, GT40p, headers, off-road h, flowmasters, MSD stuff, etc. Sold 02/06/04 1989 Mustang GT ET: 13.304@102.29 mph (5-24-03) Sold - 1998 Mustang Cobra coupe, 1/4 mile - street tires: 13.843@103.41 (bone stock)

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