Any one replace a rad on their own?

[Cobber]

I had the intake man. done under warranty over a year ago and they also replaced the AC condenser. When they were putting it back together they did not put any bolts on the passenger side of the rad/condenser so for the last year the condenser had been bashing off the rad. This, surprise surprise, has caused a hole.

Has anyone had a rad replaced? Just looking into how to go about it ... looks like it has to come out from the top with the rad support removed. Also I noticed that the rad is not just for coolant. There are other fittings in there (like I would guess oil and power steering). Typing this out, it is sounding like a lot bigger job than I could do in my drive way.

The leak has been slow over the last month or so and I have to replace it soon(woo hoo cold weather auto repairs) because the coolant was low and I got an air bubble in the heater core so I had no heat for a few hours today. I need to have this done before I damage the gaskets.

Thanks

[discnik]

Best bet, get a Haynes or Chilton manual to aid your efforts.

[merc81]

Its not too bad a job. There are three bolts, one on each side and a long one in the center that allow the fans to come out. You need to remove the engine mount blocks entirely and there is also a wiring harness that runs between the radiator and the engine that needs to be avoided when lifting the fans out. There should only be the tranny cooler to disconnect--the power steering loops around the frame but does not enter the radiatior.

[brcidd]

I have done about 30 of those- primarily for 2001, 2002 condenser leaks- if yours is this model year (you did not tell us what year)- then you need to know that the replacement condenser do not use the lower mounting bolt - so in defense of your mechanic- there is no hole to put that bolt back in- by new design of the condenser- the radiator can be fragile- any nick, or poke into it can cause a slow leak- had this happen to me once when changing a condenser- the tranny cooler line snap clips can be a PITA to get out- and not lose- they are easy to drop when re-installing as well- put them in first and snap the lines in- this is how the assembly plant did them. Have fun- I just usually tilt the engine mounts (dog bones) back up out of the way- also remove the hood latch...