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radiator replacement difficulty

L

Lifespeed

New member
It looks like I have a leak in the vicinity of the driver's side radiator tank below the upper radiator hose. The engine got up to 240F for about 5 minutes before I noticed, although I don't think the engine has been damaged.

I am debating hiring a shop to replace the radiator vs doing it myself. I have the ability, but have found myself less inclined to tackle these jobs over the years unless they are on my hot rod. This car is just a driver for me, although a decent one. But I live in San Jose, and prices to have things done at a shop here are absolutely through the roof. I have asked for an estimate from a local shop, but I will not be surprised if they quote $800 - $1,000 for the job. Thermostat included, of course. :)

How ugly of a job is this? I see the upper motor mount dogbones probably need to come out. Any other gotchas or general assessment of the time and difficulty involved?

Thanks,

Lifespeed
 


They are easy to replace if you know how to wrench even just a little bit.

Remove the dog bones and the mounts on the rad support. Disconnect the fans and hoses and remove the fans themselves. Only a couple bolts holding those on. Transmission cooler lines are clipped to the fan shroud or the bottom of the rad but I forget and you'll be able to see them.

Disconnect the transmission cooler lines and don't lose the jesus clips, unbolt the radiator and it moves forward and slides right up out the top.
 
Takes about 2 hours. Can be completed with simple hand tools. I would suggest you get the special tool or a pick to remove the transmission cooler clips. Be careful losing those springs/clips by having them fly out when trying to remove them. You will have a bad time.
 
Thanks guys, sounds like an ordinary radiator replacement. I'll see if the local NAPA has the tool for those clips, glad I asked. I have some picks just in case the tool isn't available, but I know what you mean about those things going airborne. Sure enough, the local shop quoted $930 to install a $170 radiator and thermostat. They're entitled to make a living I suppose, but that is pretty high for a 2 - 3 hour job. I'll replace it tomorrow morning after the parts arrive at the local NAPA.

I was thinking about flushing and ditching the infamous Dexcool for G-05. Presuming the cooling system is completely flushed and compatibility issues removed from the picture, is this a good idea? Also I have heard about bleeding the system, something I know is necessary on my 2004 Mercury Marauder due to trapped air above the level of the radiator cap. Is this car an air trapped too? The car is a GTP 3.8L SC.
 


Easiest way to me is to once the radiator is removed, remove the thermostat housing and upper hose and stick a garden hose straight into the hole, then let-er rip with water for a few minutes to flush the block of coolant. Pop off one of the heater core hoses to flush the core and that's pretty much it to flush the whole system with the rad already removed.

Then once the radiator is installed again, fill the radiator and fill the motor through the thermostat housing to get like 90-95% of the air out. Then install the thermostat again and fire it up and let it burp with a cap off.
 
Here is an interesting article about coolant types by the SAE. G-05 is low silicate, not silicate-free like DexCool. DexCool has 2-EHA organic acid which is incompatible with silicon seals. There are newer organic acid coolants (OAT) that don't contain 2-EHA, specified by Chrysler and some others.

Might just be safest to stick with fresh DexCool.
 
I just replaced mine this past Sunday. It was leaking in the same spot as yours. Went on Ebay and purchased one of those OEM Delphi radiators for $120. It is exactly like the old one. Every single thing is the same. As far as taking only 2 hours i don't know about that. Maybe for some people but it took me 3 1/2 hours. The old one must have been pretty clogged up with rust or whatever because the new one definitely runs cooler. In the past with it in park and the AC on it would soar past the first big line on the gauge now it barely touches it. It's like i can sit there for hours and it won't budge.
 
Last edited:
CBWhite said:
I just replaced mine this past Sunday. It was leaking in the same spot as yours. Went on Ebay and purchased one of those OEM Delphi radiators for $120. It is exactly like the old one. Every single thing is the same. As far as taking only 2 hours i don't know about that. Maybe for some people but it took me 3 1/2 hours. The old one must have been pretty clogged up with rust or whatever because the new one definitely runs cooler. In the past with it in park and the AC on it would sour past the first big line on the gauge now it barely touches it. It's like i can sit there for hours and it won't budge.
Click to expand...

Wish I had known about OEM Delphi radiator availability, I bought a Spectrum from Napa, although I got it next day so the car isn't down for the slow boat on UPS wait. I was fairly annoyed with the cheap sheetmetal upper fan mount vs. the factor cast aluminum piece. The aftermarket should work, but . . . aftermarket :mad:

Should have it back in by this evening, had to break for lunch. I bought the Mopar OAT anti-freeze, similar to Dexcool but without the nasty 2-EHA organic acid. It seemed sticky inside the cooling passages and thermostat.
 
By the way, is that a low coolant sensor on the upper driver side tank? That would have been great if it worked, rather than finding out about the leak from engine overheat. But the connector in the harness near the battery was dangling with a broken catch!!!
 


You mean the passenger side don't you ? That's where it sits in the radiator. Another thing as far as those clips you don't need no special tool to get them out i just used a regular pic. The new radiator comes with new clips so all you have to do is just plug in the transmission lines. They just snap right in. So there's no need to worry about losing the old ones. I'm glad i went with the Delphi (RA1209) because i started to get one of those oversized radiators or one from Rock Auto and even called local parts stores. Seeing the quality on this radiator makes me glad i purchased it.
 
Yeah, passenger side. The Spectrum radiator I got is the proper 1 inch thick core for the supercharged car. It is okay, but the fan mount clip is stupid.
 
If you haven't already go on Youtube and in the box type in Grand prix radiator and you'll see various videos on how it's done. Or did you install it already ?
 


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