Idle, engine surging, shuts off

Joe- thank you so much for your kind help, sir. I really appreciate it.
I was able ( I believe) to locate the obd1 self-test connectors- they were more toward the front end. Today I called the authorized Ford dealership near me and for a scan and diagnosing of the vehicle they are telling me $185.00 usd.
Are there dishonest mechanics who will try and scam me even at authorized dealerships?
Also, there are two dipsticks in the engine- a yellow one which I thought was the oil dipstick until today I found the black handled oil dipstick with the oil type engraved on the dipstick itself. I just payed a Craigslist mechanic and he replaced the radiator and put in new bushings on the front- no problem, but he didn't know how to find the obd1 and also he checked the yellow dipstick and said it was my oil dipstick(?) This money is getting too costly for me but I need a thorough trustworthy quality service of the vehicle done - I want the transmission solenoids checked to make sure the transmission is in tip top shape. The rear differential is sort of covered in grime so there may need gaskets replaced- and the solenoids requires the whole pan be removed I guess - what would you suggest because I don't have the tools or the lifts or the know-how but I also don't want to be scammed and overcharged. Do you catch my drift?

Hi Joe,

Thank you so much again. So, appreciated. No I have not performed the test for the codes. Also- the rear differential, I don't think I can get sufficiently under there without a jack or lift. Today I took the vehicle on the freeway, it has the brand new radiator in it, and when I got to my destination I noticed it was leaking, so I opened up the radiator cap and I couldn't see any fluid, and there was coolant sort of sprayed around the air intake and other areas, I could not exactly identify where it was coming out of, so anyways the craigslist mechanic who put it in said he would stop by later today and check it out.

Hi Joe- I really want to thank you for this help. This mechanic I got from craigslist, who put the new radiator and bushings in, he came by last night to check out the leak. He seemed to determine that it was coming from the transmission cooling line at the radiator. He attempted a fix, first by tightening it at the radiator. He then had me drive it around the block and looked at it again and determined that it was still leaking. He tried tightening it up more a bit and was having me start the engine, each time determining that it was still leaking. He then went to his vehicle and came back with a shiny new fixture-the one that came with the radiator he told me, and he tried to connect the hose to the radiator using this new fixture that came w the radiator- he said the reason that he did not use this new one the first time was because he could not get the hose to fit into it properly, so he just used the old one. So, he had me start it up after he finally was able to connect to the new one and it was leaking even worse. So, this is what he did, he went and got some thread sealer and connected the hose to the radiator using the old fixture or nut or whatever it is called. He said it takes 72 hours to cure not to drive it. No problem- this is my question to you- so- there was the green ish coolant liquid sort of on parts of the engine around the radiator- but when I got under the vehicle I was noticing the color of the little bit of liquid that had dripped onto the cement from the radiator and from some unknown other components right around the same area, going about a foot back, this liquid was a reddish color- initially I believed it was the coolant just mixed with some of the oil that was on the surface of some of the undercarriage. But upon researching I see it could be a rusty transmission cooling hose or transmission fluid- and this, from what I read can lead to a big problem. Would the car be leaking both reddish fluid and green coolant if the leak, or, the only leak, was coming from the transmission cooling hose at the radiator? Please let me know exactly what to either photo or check into further regarding this radiator issue. (I am working on the pics of differential) Joe, thank you so very much kind sir.
Eli

One more thing I wanted to mention is that I have no idea who this mechanic is, if he is good, he seems honest kind of I guess but I wish he had communicated with me about not using the original fixture. What I am trying to say is this guy might end up ruining my car due to his faulty diagning or fixes. He did not sufficiently address the reddish fluid I felt and he didnt explain to me whether there might be rust in the transmission cooling hose, whether the hose was new, nothing really. I had to research after he left. He also said the cap may need to be replaced but my point is he did not satisfy me with regards to clearly articulating the source and cause of the reddish fluid and if his fix was going to resolve this. Can you enlighten me maybe on this issue?

I hope some of these help. Joe, it was hard to get up under the car and take them with a decent perspective having no jack or lift. The front end has a lot of grimy oil covering different parts and so I tried to photo them for you.

The mechanic did not perform a cooling system flush either prior to changing the radiator. He has me buy the radiator off rock auto- sends the link, and this is directly from their page on the radiator:
"Completely drain and flush the system using Cooling System Flush prior to installation. Flushing the system is critical to prevent system contamination and failure."
could this be what the problem is?

Joe, sorry if I am overwhelming you here man- I am pretty sure this radiator problem is a result of the mechanics failure to flush out the cooling system first. What's done is done. Can you please tell me if this can somehow be remedied, is it going to really mess up the engine? What would you do in my shoes to redeem this issue? Is not flushing the cooling system a huge deal or probably no biggie or what? The mechanic won't respond to me so far. Please help if you can. Take care. Eli

Hi Joe- thank you once again. I was relieved to hear you tell me that the cooling system flush not being performed is not too big of a deal, may I ask you- can I still somehow perform this flush with the new radiator already installed?
As far as leaking goes, yes, I got under the vehicle and dried everything off. I have to wait until Monday so the Permatex thread sealer he used to have its full 3 days to cure, then I will drive the vehicle and see if it is still leaking the 'residual' transmission red fluid or leaking coolant from the radiator
As far as the differential goes can you explain to me where I can find this plug to view the level of fluid you have instructed me to? I am not seeing anything that looks like a plug, however, it is difficult getting up under there, the trunk is very huge on this vehicle, so the differential is way back there and I got no jack

can't tell you how much I appreciate this correspondence and help Joe! Thanks

Eli

Also I got under and looked at the transmission cooling line hoses and there is no rust on the outside.

Hello Joe,

Thank you for your help.
Here is an update:
I checked into the curing time on the Permatex thread sealant and ras able to determine that it cured. I drove to an AutoZone, I bought some coolant and a new radiator cap. I topped off the radiator and put a new cap on. I drove around, got it up to speed, the leak at the radiator trans cooling hose held and it is no longer leaking anywhere from that point at the radiator.
However, there is a new leak that is leaking coolant from right about at where the center console is directly below the dashboard from below the vehicle. It is cool. It drips after I park and drips for about 2 minutes then stops. It drips approximately 1 to 2 maybe table spoons of coolant.

The car does not get hot, but very curiously, there is no engine heat gauge anywhere in the car. There is only the following:
trip odometer
odometer
speedometer
check engine light
battery light
fuel gauge
seatbelt light
check oil light
parking brake light

Hello Joe,

Thank you for your reply.
Just to be clear, there is no coolant leaking from inside of the vehicle. I apologize if I made it unclear-my bad- when I said under the dashboard-around the center console - I was referring to that sort of mid-point of the vehicle-but the coolant is coming from the undercarriage of the vehicle below that area dripping onto the cement.
The vehicle has a manual A/C that I have never used in about 3 weeks I have owned it.

There is definitely no coolant leaking in the cabin of the vehicle -whew!

But with this heater core thing you mention that was one of the things that was mentioned to suffer from not flushing the cooling system prior to installing a new radiator.

Hello Joe, thank you again for your time and help. I took the vehicle to a mechanic recommended by the church I attend. He located where the coolant was leaking from, he pointed it out to me and I saw it seeping out from the throttle body. He sent me to get a throttle body. I went and was told at AutoZone it needed a throttle body gasket. I bought a gasket and went back to the mechanic. He said that it needs a new throttle body spacer. I have to special order it for about $100.00. I described all the symptoms I explained to you as well. The engine cutting out when parallel parking and shifting gears etc. I told him I thought it was the IAC, he said that it's the throttle body spacer. My question to you Joe is based on all the symptoms and in light of the coolant leaking out of the throttle body. Does this fix make sense to you? I just don't want to be told after I buy the spacer that I need a different component as well because there are about 8 different components just making up the throttle body.

Also, he does not have an obd1 device and came right out and said that he did not normally work on cars this old. However, when I drove up, he immediately began talking about Lincoln Grand Marquis which is the same Panther 5.0 v8 efi engine -lol.

Thanks for any insight you can add- hopefully this fix will make sense to you. Also, let me know please.

Thank you,
Eli