I have a friend with a 2015 F150 XL 3.5L EcoBoost with a leaky radiator. I'm looking into replacing it for her, and I'm trying to figure out some of the details. Particularly, does the condenser need to come out, or more to the point, does the A/C system need to be opened? The shop that provided the staggeringly high estimate said it does, but a couple quick scans of YouTube indicated that may not be the case. Can anyone who's done this job verify whether it's necessary? Thanks!

 

No, the radiator can be changed without disturbing the condenser. These are generalized but likely would apply.

Unbolt the fan shroud and situate it towards the engine.Drain the radiator. I would pull the lower hose off the radiator to drain. It's much quicker. Make sure your drain pan can handle 2-3 gallons. Pull the upper hose off at the radiator. Disconnect the transmission cooler lines off the radiator, if equiped with an auto trans.Disconnect the small hose for the expansion bottle. Remove any fasteners holding the radiator. They are usually two at the top.The bottom area usually sits in a cradle..Reverse to reinstall and refill with the appropriate coolant mix... It's not a big job to do.

If any hoses need changing, now is the time to do it. If there is no temperature problems, I would propbably leave the thermostat alone. If you do change it, go OEM only.Aftermarket stats are junk.