Removing my Radiator

[Jim Stoltz]

I finally bit the bullet and started the radiator removal today. I posted earlier that it didn't look like I could access the rad support bolts on the left side, thus requiring the entire rad support to come out with the radiator. Thankfully I was wrong.

After accessing the aforementioned bolts through the wheel well with 2-feet in extensions, the top part of the rad support is free. If you look in the top right of the pic, you can see I've gotten it up enough to tip the radiator out after chipping away some of the factory foam insulation.

[img]http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/ii636/jestoltz/radiator-1_zps6p...[/img]

I've drained it but still need to disconnect the trans and oil cooler lines before trying to remove it. That's going to require I take the fan shroud off, and therefore the fan....so there's quite a bit more work to do. All in all it's going better than I had thought (knocking on wood here).

Other observations:

- There's the remnants of something bolted to the top front of the radiator (very top, on the rad support in the middle). I'm thinking that was a baffle that kept air from going over top of the radiator. I'll have to rectify that.

- The trans cooler is taking up 1/4-1/3 of the front of the radiator. I'm going to relocate it.

- I'll probably have to remove the air horns to get the radiator out - hopefully that won't be too much of a hassle.

It looks like it will come right out the front without any problems once I get the rest of the stuff unhooked.

[Jim Stoltz]

Oops - did the picture thing wrong. Here it is.

[Jim Stoltz]

Found this in my manual too. Good information. It looks like Allegro has adhered to all of this advice from GM. I was going to put baffles underneath, but they specifically say not to do that. So hopefully a re-core will do it!

As I mentioned earlier, it looked like there used to be a baffle installed at the top of the rad support. According to the literature, this is to help idle cooling (prevents hot air recirculation). I'll have to fabricate something there.

[Jim Stoltz]

So it does indeed come out the front, though with some gorilla tactics. I'm going to have to use a lot more finesse putting the new radiator in. I think I'm going to have to remove the power steering fluid reservoir. It protruded just enough to make things difficult to remove the radiator.

I'm going to try to find time to get it to the rad shop this week. I'm really looking forward to ending the nail biting when driving in hot weather....

[Jim Stoltz]

Just got back from dropping the radiator off. Like everything else, it was an adventure and there's a story....

So when I was young, there was a Roxbury Radiator and Glass and a Roxbury Transmission in my hometown of, well, Roxbury. Both are long gone but I noticed still in business 10-15 miles away. I knew that out by the race track where I used to drag my GN there is a Roxbury something or other - it caught my eye because it's nowhere near Roxbury. So in my head that must be Roxbury Radiator and Glass. What are the chances that Roxbury Radiator and Glass and Roxbury Transmission are in the same town but not in Roxbury? Pretty slim, but they are. So when I called Roxbury Radiator and Glass I thought I knew exactly where they were. 

I let the navigation guide me there and when it said I had arrived, I knew I hadn't. I knew that the place was several miles down the road on the other side. So I drove there. To Roxbury Transmission, not Roxbury Radiator and Glass. Then the panic set in. Where the hell is Roxbury Radiator and Glass then?! I had talked to the guy earlier in the day and he left his gate unlocked for me and made it clear that I was to lock it on my way out. If I don't find the place it's going to be open all night.

I let the nav take me back to where it said it the place was, but it wasn't. It was a guns, ammo and shooting range. And it was closed. I pulled into the parking lot anyway and noticed a woman in an upstairs window looking at me. I asked her if she could help me and she said "he'll be right out". I didn't know who he was but I waited.

Turns out "he" was the owner of the gun shop and a really nice guy. He knew where Roxbury Radiator and Glass was, and thankfully it was only about a mile down the road. It was VERY well hidden with no signage (okay, there was a sign on a fence but decades of sun had faded it into nothing). 

I dropped the radiator off, locked the gate and went home. 

Tomorrow I get to find out how much this re-core is going to cost me.....

[Russell E Johnson]

This whole radiator thing is turning into quite an adventure, can hardly wait for the next installment.

[Jim Stoltz]

Also had an ah-ha moment. After I removed the radiator I tipped it upside down to empty it. What came out was black as tar. I thought it was oil at first but it was black coolant. It was then I recalled that when the engine blew the water, oil and shrapnel mixed. The radiator is probably clogged with debris from the engine failure. Wonder how much circulated through the new engine?

[Rich Thomas]

Hi Jim, If you haven't already you might try to back flush the engine block and see what comes out of it. If nothing else it may give you some confidence that it's all clear. 

[Jim Stoltz]

Thanks I might try that. I have a Prestone kit that I can use to backflush it. It's interesting that when I pulled the lower rad hose, the coolant that came out was totally green and clear. I dumped it from the catch pan to a few 1-gallon containers and it looked good. But once I took that radiator out and turned it upside down, it was ugly. I doubt much coolant was really passing through it. Hopefully the clog meant it wasn't getting into the engine block either. Backflushing with the radiator installed might have been bad. Could have forced that gunk into the heater core and block. 

[Rich Thomas]

For sure Jim, you may have dodged a big bullet by not trying to do that. 

[Lakota Wolf]

Hope ya dont mind if I throw in my 9 cents worth?  With the radiator off, You can do a preliminary flush with your garden hose by running water through the top port and see what runs out the bottom,,, Of course you will have to turn the water pump and hopefully no GUNK or crud comes out,, meaning that the goo and gunk and zombie fluids did indeed stay inside the radiator and not circulate through the engine.  Looks like ya did a good job wrestling it out, and hopefully the new one goes in easy.. Good info with that Owners manual article about the cooling.

[Jim Stoltz]

Thanks! I'll absolutely flush it with the radiator out. And I hope no crud comes out. Everything that came out the lower hose was squeaky clean so we'll see....

[Russell E Johnson]

Not to split hairs here, but just because crud does not come out only means that none came out.  It does not mean that there isn't some in the block.  Personally I think you should hope for crud to come out so that you can repeat the steps to get it all out.  Even if none comes out, I would still back flush the block a half a dozen times just to make sure and check for sediment each time.  If no sediment appears you may be OK, but if you see some, then you have an indication that something is still in the block and it needs more cleaning.  Just my humble opinion and I bow to those who are more sage in this area of expertise.