04 New Radiator

[unclemoe]

My 04 Mustang Coupe is at the dealer right now getting a new radiator. It has 30,000 miles and no other problems. Last week it was running hot on two seperate occasions. After the second time, I looked under the hood and noticed that the coolant was empty or at least very low. I took it to the dealer and they said it needed a new radiator.

Does anyone have any ideas what would cause this? The dealership isn't offering up much info. Is this a common problem with the 04s? Could this have caused other damage that I should be concerned about?

I'm not too good at this stuff so any information would help. Thanks alot!

moe.

 

[232Mustang95]

Hm, what color does your oil have?
Regular, dark, or milskake?

 

[Give Me TP]

Also, did you buy your car new, or used? The OEM factory gold coolant should last far beyond 30000 miles and should not cause any problems with radiator clogging, but if your car is was bought used the previous owner could have changed the coolant without flushing thoroughly and used something incompatable with that already in the system.

I have not heard of any manufacturer's problems with the radiator in the '04 V6 model.....is yours a 3.8L or 3.9L?

 

[unclemoe]

Bought it new. 3.8 L. Not sure what color oil is...

moe.

 

[Give Me TP]

The 3.8L engine had a problem with blown head gaskets in the past, but I don't know if that issue continued all the way up to '04. That's why the color of the engine oil subject was brought up I presume.

 

[232Mustang95]

The 3.8L engine had a problem with blown head gaskets in the past, but I don't know if that issue continued all the way up to '04. That's why the color of the engine oil subject was brought up I presume.

That is correct, I just want to rule that out. The issue should be fixed by Ford, but you never know.

Do you only loose coolant when driving or all the time?