Has anyone replaced the radiator themselves?

[Moulder]

I have water dripping from the front of the car which I have narrowed down to the radiator. The "Water System" fault code is also now showing.

Can anyone who has replaced their radiator themselves give me an idea on how difficult it was? What struck me when trying to find the leak was quite how awkward it was to access and look at.

Thanks in advance

[kiefh]

hi paul,when i had our tam same thing happened to me with water dripping out. so decided to have a go myself,removed bonnet-drained water etc hardest part was getting radiator out with not much room to move about.once out found the plastic sides on radiator had gone,so checked price of new then found a classic radiator buider in our town who built one in alloy and a thicker core to keep it cooler as origenal one tended to run a little hot anyway.4 days later picked it up and a little modification to make it fit,and jobs a good one.ran sweet as a nut,good luck. kiefh

[T66ORA]

Removed mine earlier on it the year and got it repaired no major problems.
My advice is to drop the radiator out from underneath, after removing the small under tray, invest in one of those long flexy telescopic tools that you stick a 6/8mm socket onto to make undoing the hose clips a LOT easier, also remove the strips of fibre glass that are stuck in with sealant and the odd self taper from the upper nearside front this will give you the requied angle to drop the rad complete with fans(don`t forget to diconnect the electrical connections)It should take you about an hour max,the hardest part will be bleeding the coolant system when you refill it. If i can be of any more help just
Good luck
Tony

[Moulder]

Many thanks for the quick response guys. I am planning to get the radiator out over the weekend and take it to be fixed, or get a new one if it is beyond help. Tony - Thanks for the heads up about the long bendy socket set, luckily I already have one as it is good for replacing the 100 Amp fuse as well.

Having searched the forum there is a lot of information on bleeding the system but none on draining it. Not having looked and at the risk of asking a stupid question, once the front of the car is up on axle stands is the drainage point still the lowest part of the system?

Thanks again.

[kiefh]

did mine all from above,after removing bonnet.much easier than laying on your back etc.if the plastic bottle ends on the radiator have gone,then you will have to buy a new one.not worth trying to weld the core as its starting to get past its sell by date you may melt the plastic ends,then have to take it all out again(not much fun doing the same job twice).go for the alloy one if you intend to keep the car,makes sence in the long run and keeps cooler.good luck. kiefh

[bobd]

Moulder said:

Can anyone who has replaced their radiator themselves give me an idea on how difficult it was? What struck me when trying to find the leak was quite how awkward it was to access and look at.

Thanks in advance

Did mine last week, replaced it with a towel rail about 2 metres high and the bathrooms a lot warmer now.