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2004 GT1 - Radiator Removal Process

99XC600

99XC600

New member
Even after replacing the LIM's and doing several flush's. The car is still running warmer than it has in in the previous 7 years I've owned it. I attributed it to the fact that the radiator is still clogged with the clay like material from mixing Dexcool with the traditional Glycol Green coolant. The heater core was clogged as well but I managed to get that clean by flushing it out with the garden hose. Also the radiator is bent on the drivers side..... It was bent when I slid past my driveway into a snowbank and it pushed snow through the lower opening. It's been like this for 5 years...:th_thumb-up:

So I may end up replacing the radiator to resolve it once and for all. Looking at it today, I can see that I need to remove the trans cooler lines and the electric fans. However the part that I'm wondering about is the AC lines located on the driver side. I can't tell if the condenser is part of of the radiator or if it sits in front of the radiator itself.

The reason I ask is. If I have to disconnect the AC lines to remove the radiator. I will probably just bring it to my local mechanic so he can capture all of the refrigerant and then do the recharge once completed.
 


Condenser is a separate part. Sits in front. Just pull the fan assembly, disconnect the low coolant sensor (if the 04's have one, should be between the lines on the rad), and lines as you stated. Then you're good to go. Might as well check the rad hoses and see if they need to be done as well.
 
gtpeddie said:
how long did you have dex and green mixed together?
Click to expand...

A couple of weeks. The result was like clay, it's the only way to describe it. I knew something was up when I had no heat at all.

When I checked the radiator cap, it was packed with the crap and when I flushed the heater core into a five gallon bucket it was black as well. It took me 3 attempts to get it cleaned out. I know the radiator is suffering from the same condition as well. When I did the LIM 2 weeks ago. I drained the coolant into a container and when everything had settled there was some black sediment in the bottom of the container.

I believe the condition of the sediment and the bent radiator is just causing a restriction in the cooling capacity which in turn is causing the warmer operating conditions. As long as I'm moving I'm ok. But once I'm sitting in traffic the temp climbs.
 
did you notice your car to get hotter over the past couple weeks? and how did you flush the sysyem or did you before you put green in. sorry im asking alot of questions im just curious because i flushed my system i ran the green im pretty sure i got all the dex out but im not sure. i didn't use a flushing agent like i should have but i ran water through the car multiple times. i check my radiator cap yesterday morning and no clay like materiel was in there and the antifreeze was green and not like a green and orange mix.
 
Yes when I originally added the green coolant. It did run hotter and this was late spring so the temps were still reasonable. I added a LOT of green coolant though. I filled my reservoir with it. So I can just about guarantee I made the situation worse.

After I changed the LIM, I put the garden hose in the filler neck of the radiator and turned the hose on with the thermostat housing removed. I let the hose run for about 30 minutes with the engine off and just let it run until the water was clear.

Once it ran clear, I put a bottle of the flush kit and I drove it around for the remainder of the day running the water and the flush solution. I drained that and and ran the the hose through it again. I then left everything open and went to the parts store to get coolant and allow the car to completely drain.

I closed the drain in the radiator and filled up the system through the thermostat housing until coolant was visible in the filler neck of the radiator. Ran it for 30 minutes. Bled the system of air and topped of the reservoir.

After 2 weeks, I haven;t lost any coolant and when I checked it yesterday the coolant was filled right to the filler neck. No loss.
 


I think you may have air in the system. Once running and it's warm, open up the bleeder valve on the thermostat housing and allow it bleed out.

Make sure you open up the bleeder after the thermostat has opened and coolant is flowing through the upper radiator hose. If you do it before, you may wonder why you don't see any coolant. It's because the thermostat is closed and nothing is flowing through the hose.
 
its not really running to much warmer, i already bleeded the air out of my system, thanks for the info though man!
 
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