DB9 Radiator

[ian448]

Just found that my rad is leaking , pretty hacked off to be honest as only had a new one fitted under warranty in 2016 / 9000 miles ago. Would have thought a 1k part would last more than 9k miles !

have a quote from the stealer for £1675 for replacement ( rad £906 + vat)
Had a look on the forum and looks like a bit of a pig of a job ( airboxes , headlight removal etc) Im not too bad with the spanners but am just after some advice ie let the stealer carry out the job and get the 12 months warranty or buy the rad myself for circa 1k have a go at the job myself and save the £600.
Those that have done the job is the £600 worth the grazed knuckles and flustration ?
thanks in advance

[David Ramsbotham]

Did mine myself about a year or so ago.
First buy rad from AMPerformance in Macclesfield, great product and good price, talk to Mark Holden.
Second prepare for a b***h of a job require lots of time, patience and other jobs you find to do along the way such as rusty bumper brackets, air filter renewals, while you have everything apart etc.
Third, after considering the Second above, ask AMPerformance for a quote!

[N7GTX]

Fairly sure the NAR group in Northampton make all the radiators for AM. Worth a call as the ones I got were substantially cheaper than an AM dealer. 01604 684850.

https://www.nargroup.com/

https://www.nargroup.com/contact-us/

Edited by N7GTX on Thursday 14th April 18:18

[paulrog1]

It is quite a job, make sure you go to a garage to first de-pressurise the aircon system, then after changing out your radiator go back and re-pressurise, as the aircon condenser needs to come out. Drop both lights as you'll need to slightly move out the front wings to remove a cross-brace.

Undertray, wheel liners and air boxes need coming out also.

It's a good time to replace the aux belt with the pulley wheels & tensioner, engine thermostat and all large radiator hoses, make sure you get 4 new foam sections.

I think NAR group do manufacture them still, mine was £700 for a all metal job.

Good luck and take your time.

This was mine a few years ago -

[paulrog1]

.

[ian448]

thanks for the advice , going to give it a go on monday. Depending on the state of the radiator will be contacting NAR for either a full replacement or I believe they carry out repairs ie re cores.

Do the headlights need removing completely or just lowering slightly in order to pull the wings out to get to the cross member bolts ?

[paulrog1]

ian448 said:

thanks for the advice , going to give it a go on monday. Depending on the state of the radiator will be contacting NAR for either a full replacement or I believe they carry out repairs ie re cores.

Do the headlights need removing completely or just lowering slightly in order to pull the wings out to get to the cross member bolts ?

The lights just need to be dropped slightly to get the cross brace out, there is a bolt either side which you undo through the front light unit hole.

[ian448]

Well the radiator is out , took about 2hrs, a job which could have been done in 30 mins if it wasnt for removing the 2 bolts either side for the crossbrace which are very conveniently hidden behind each headlight, how the aston designers must have laughed when designing this !!
Also spent some time trying to locate the rad drain plug - there isnt one !
The rad is marked up with the Nag label and batch number , what has hacked me off even further is the big dent on top of the RH corner of the rad ( looks like its been hit with a mallet) , and low and behold its leaking at the bottom of the rad directly below. looks like its been given some gentle persuasion during instalation when sliding it into place.

will be re filling the system with Halfords OAT pre mixed unless anyone suggests otherwise.
Will be taking the rad to my local radiator specialist for repair

Edited by ian448 on Monday 18th April 19:29

[8Tech]

That just goes to show you dont get the best service from a main dealer. They probably have a way of fitting it quickly with a bit of gentle persuasion with a hammer to save time and increase their bonus.

[David Ramsbotham]

ian448 said:

Well the radiator is out , took about 2hrs, a job which could have been done in 30 mins if it wasnt for removing the 2 bolts either side for the crossbrace which are very conveniently hidden behind each headlight, how the aston designers must have laughed when designing this !!
Also spent some time trying to locate the rad drain plug - there isnt one !
The rad is marked up with the Nag label and batch number , what has hacked me off even further is the big dent on top of the RH corner of the rad ( looks like its been hit with a mallet) , and low and behold its leaking at the bottom of the rad directly below. looks like its been given some gentle persuasion during instalation when sliding it into place.

will be re filling the system with Halfords OAT pre mixed unless anyone suggests otherwise.
Will be taking the rad to my local radiator specialist for repair

Edited by ian448 on Monday 18th April 19:29

Wow, 2 hours is amazing going, almost super human! Drain system, undertray and wheel arch liners out, slam panel off, etc, etc, my head is spinning - any way glad you are making progress.
Surprised no drain plug in radiator, and with that damaged locator pin on top of rad, how on earth did rubber seating grommet go over it?
I am sure you’ll make a much better job of putting in new rad than stealer did and won’t be crossing his threshold again.
Good luck with your endeavours.

[ian448]

Only dropped the front of the arch liners and bent them back just enough to give access , and the millwake electric wrench saved a load of time with the countless torx bolts

[ian448]

radiator back from the specialists fully repaired, they stated they were not impressed with the overall build quality of NARs work which suprised me somewhat due to the prices they charge ( even though cheaper than aston directly)
I asked how much a replacement rad would be and if they could scource one, they stated they use a Rad manufacturer in scotland and for a direct replacement rad for a Db9 would be £500 including vat . I confirmed if it was a direct repacement , fixing points etc and they stated it was and was a lot better quaility than the NAR one.

If Id known that I would have gone for the replacement instead of the repair as didnt expect it to be that cheap.

Kempston radiators in kempston Bedfordshire if anyone ever needs a new Rad or repair in the future.

[N7GTX]

The NAR group sent me a copy of the original Jaguar drawings for the oil cooler radiator on my DB7 so that I could confirm the size and mounting points. In email exchanges they were very helpful and much cheaper than AM.

I would be very wary of a supplier dissing another. Unfortunately the motor trade is full of experts.

[ian448]

Appreciate that and im no welder but the quality of the welds on the end tanks was not the best , thankfully now rectified

Edited by ian448 on Friday 22 April 13:59