S3 Radiator Replacement
Discussion
Pomoz recently asked me for my comments on replacement of the radiator on the Esprit.
I sent him the following e-mail.
I thought I'd post a copy of it here so that anyone can comment, correct or post abuse as appropriate.
Cheers
Pat.
S3 Turbos, like mine, have a "3 fan" radiator that runs the full width of the car. I'm not sure about this, but I think that the NA S3 has a narrower "2 fan" radiator, though I have heard that this is not always the case.
Anyway, I removed my radiator and sent it to SJ Sportscars to be recored. It seems to run just at just the right temperature, but it is a lot colder here in Lancashire than in Oz... I opted not to get a 3 core replacement as I wanted to make sure it would go straight in with no problems.
Mine is a Turbo with a 3 fan radiator, so you probably can't compare it with a NA, 2 fan car like yours, but I think that a 3 core radiator is not needed unless you are in a really hot climate.
Getting the thing off the car was a bitch. It had been on for 16 years and all the fasteners were rusted solid. I had to use a grinder to get many of them off.
The radiator came off in one piece with the fans and the fan duct still attached. On the Turbo, the radiator is mounted in a big fibreglass duct. There is not enough clearance to get the rad out without loosening all the fasteners that hold the duct onto the shell and lowering the radiator duct...
This is a pretty awkward job as the air conditioning radiator and the oil cooler are mounted to the top of the duct. I was told by Steve at SJ not to try to remove the oil cooler and the air con radiator as they have ally unions that always break up if you disturb them. The oil cooler is a very expensive part....
I left the air con rad and oil cooler alone, but removed all the fasteners that hold the radiator duct to the shell. This allows the radiator duct to dangle from the oil hoses and gave me enough room to slide the radiator out complete with the fans and the fan duct attached.
The fan duct is a crap piece of equipment that is held on to the radiator by about 8 small screws. I think that most of these have broken on your car, leading to the rattles. If it makes you feel any better, mine was loose too. I think that I used a pop riveter to make sure mine was secure when refitting.
It took me a few weekends to do the whole job. It was pretty hard work and is really a two man job on the Turbo as the wider radiator is a bloody heavy thing. I hope the NA S3 is easier for you.
As I said, I had to cut off many of the fasteners, including some of the crummy screws that hold the two piece undertray on. I replaced all of the fasteners with stainless screws and allen bolts to make life easier for the next poor sod who replaces the radiator.
Bleeding was easy if the front of the car is on axle stands. There is a bleed screw on the top LHS of the Turbo radiator which is accessible by removing a big rubber grommet under the bonnet.
The procedure runs roughly as follows:
Remove undertrays.
Disconnect wiring from fans. You will need to cut the cable ties and fasten the wires out of the way. You also need to remove the earth wires from the fan mounting bolts.
Drain the rad by removing the bottom hose.
Remove the top hose.
Remove the bolts that hold the radiator into the radiator duct.
Try to remove the radiator by sliding it backwards out of the radiator duct. If it does come out, go and have a beer to celebrate.
If it won't come out, go have a beer anyway.
If you haven't managed to get the rad out, now is the time to remove all of the fasteners that hold the radiator duct onto the shell. This is quite a big job.
There are big bolts that are accessed from the wheelarch that go through the duct from the side and some that go up into the under bonnet area. There are fasteners that are under the front spoiler too... This is the worst part of the job.
Once you have the duct dangling by the oil cooler and air con hoses, you should be able to slide the rad out, complete with fans and the tatty fan duct.
You then need to strip the fans and the fan duct off the radiator.
Send the radiator off to be recored.
Buy some of that foam from SJ sportscars that runs across the top and bottom of the radiator. While you're at it, order a new top and bottom hose and some stainless jubilee clips. SJ also supply some nice stainless self tappers that replace the crap Lotus ones to hold on the undertray, together with the funny clips that go on the other side of the undertray.
I bought a load of stainless allen head bolts and nylock nuts from a local supplier to replace all those that I had to cut off when removing the duct.
Once you've got your radiator back, simply reverse the process.
Bleeding involves removing the top plastic bleed plug from the rad and filling the system up from the header tank. It helps if the front of the car is up on the axle stands to get the rad as high as possible. Then run the car to get out any air pockets whilst topping up the header tank.
Job done.
I sent him the following e-mail.
I thought I'd post a copy of it here so that anyone can comment, correct or post abuse as appropriate.
Cheers
Pat.
S3 Turbos, like mine, have a "3 fan" radiator that runs the full width of the car. I'm not sure about this, but I think that the NA S3 has a narrower "2 fan" radiator, though I have heard that this is not always the case.
Anyway, I removed my radiator and sent it to SJ Sportscars to be recored. It seems to run just at just the right temperature, but it is a lot colder here in Lancashire than in Oz... I opted not to get a 3 core replacement as I wanted to make sure it would go straight in with no problems.
Mine is a Turbo with a 3 fan radiator, so you probably can't compare it with a NA, 2 fan car like yours, but I think that a 3 core radiator is not needed unless you are in a really hot climate.
Getting the thing off the car was a bitch. It had been on for 16 years and all the fasteners were rusted solid. I had to use a grinder to get many of them off.
The radiator came off in one piece with the fans and the fan duct still attached. On the Turbo, the radiator is mounted in a big fibreglass duct. There is not enough clearance to get the rad out without loosening all the fasteners that hold the duct onto the shell and lowering the radiator duct...
This is a pretty awkward job as the air conditioning radiator and the oil cooler are mounted to the top of the duct. I was told by Steve at SJ not to try to remove the oil cooler and the air con radiator as they have ally unions that always break up if you disturb them. The oil cooler is a very expensive part....
I left the air con rad and oil cooler alone, but removed all the fasteners that hold the radiator duct to the shell. This allows the radiator duct to dangle from the oil hoses and gave me enough room to slide the radiator out complete with the fans and the fan duct attached.
The fan duct is a crap piece of equipment that is held on to the radiator by about 8 small screws. I think that most of these have broken on your car, leading to the rattles. If it makes you feel any better, mine was loose too. I think that I used a pop riveter to make sure mine was secure when refitting.
It took me a few weekends to do the whole job. It was pretty hard work and is really a two man job on the Turbo as the wider radiator is a bloody heavy thing. I hope the NA S3 is easier for you.
As I said, I had to cut off many of the fasteners, including some of the crummy screws that hold the two piece undertray on. I replaced all of the fasteners with stainless screws and allen bolts to make life easier for the next poor sod who replaces the radiator.
Bleeding was easy if the front of the car is on axle stands. There is a bleed screw on the top LHS of the Turbo radiator which is accessible by removing a big rubber grommet under the bonnet.
The procedure runs roughly as follows:
Remove undertrays.
Disconnect wiring from fans. You will need to cut the cable ties and fasten the wires out of the way. You also need to remove the earth wires from the fan mounting bolts.
Drain the rad by removing the bottom hose.
Remove the top hose.
Remove the bolts that hold the radiator into the radiator duct.
Try to remove the radiator by sliding it backwards out of the radiator duct. If it does come out, go and have a beer to celebrate.
If it won't come out, go have a beer anyway.
If you haven't managed to get the rad out, now is the time to remove all of the fasteners that hold the radiator duct onto the shell. This is quite a big job.
There are big bolts that are accessed from the wheelarch that go through the duct from the side and some that go up into the under bonnet area. There are fasteners that are under the front spoiler too... This is the worst part of the job.
Once you have the duct dangling by the oil cooler and air con hoses, you should be able to slide the rad out, complete with fans and the tatty fan duct.
You then need to strip the fans and the fan duct off the radiator.
Send the radiator off to be recored.
Buy some of that foam from SJ sportscars that runs across the top and bottom of the radiator. While you're at it, order a new top and bottom hose and some stainless jubilee clips. SJ also supply some nice stainless self tappers that replace the crap Lotus ones to hold on the undertray, together with the funny clips that go on the other side of the undertray.
I bought a load of stainless allen head bolts and nylock nuts from a local supplier to replace all those that I had to cut off when removing the duct.
Once you've got your radiator back, simply reverse the process.
Bleeding involves removing the top plastic bleed plug from the rad and filling the system up from the header tank. It helps if the front of the car is up on the axle stands to get the rad as high as possible. Then run the car to get out any air pockets whilst topping up the header tank.
Job done.
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