Has anyone removed a radiator from a non-supercharged 4.2? I have the same leak problem that BlackKat had; the crimping on the radiator header on the right side was the problem rather than a crack. It's been getting progressively worse to the point I can't drive more than 10-15 miles without having to top off. The new radiator and new expansion tank arrived today (thanks BlackKat for the suggestions/link) and I got into it. I followed the service manual through the second to last step, which says to disconnect the power steering cooler and AC condenser from the radiator. Then it says to "remove radiator".

However, it is physically impossible to pull / lift the radiator straight up. The metal tubing that feeds the AC condenser blocks / hits the radiator (especially the return hose bib. The tubing actually forms a U shape (when looking from the top in the below picture.



There is NO WAY you can pull the radiator up through that U shaped pipe with the various flanges, etc. let alone the return hose bib.

Here is the clearance that BlackKat had on his (red circle). He has an intercooler, so I'm wondering if the AC piping is different (looks like it when you compare it to mine):

BlackKat (supercharged):


Here's mine from similar viewpoint. You can see that BlackKat has a ton of clearance from his tube to the radiator while I have essentially none:


And here's from the left side; here it shows that it is impossible to get the hose bib past the AC tubes.


I can't drop it to get it around the AC tubes (there are stops that the radiator rests on). I can't move it towards the other side of the car to get the hose bib around the pipe. I'm obviously missing something, but at this point, physics won't allow it to clear. So my options are to disconnect the AC and lose my AC charge to get the radiator out, bend the AC tube so I "make" enough clearance (hopefully without breaking/damaging anything (I assume BlackKat's tubes were bent differently because of the intercooler so he didn't have to bend anything), or go to the dealer and beg their service folks to give me some hints. I don't want to do the latter, especially since the only thing I'm getting from them are the o-rings for the transmission line connectons to the radiator--they were out of stock so going tomorrow regardless).

Anyway, if there is someone who knows the trick of pulling the radiator out without killing their AC condenser tubing, I'd sure appreciate a quick reply. I need to get it done tomorrow (in case I need something else I can still run to the dealer--otherwise I'm stuck over the weekend).

Thanks in advance,

 

I had to slowly let the air cond charge escape and remove the line to change the radiator no other way to get around it😕

 

Sorry about your obstacle slmskrs. Have you removed everything else attached to the radiator? Fan shroud, oil cooler etc. and all bolts?
I would disconnect and remove everything from the radiator and see if you can move the radiator forwards or backwards some.
I wish I could be of more help. Keep us posted.

 

Well, I'm finally done. Reggie's Dad is correct; there's no way to pull the radiator out on a normally aspirated 4.2 without undoing the AC tube that wraps around the radiator and connects to the AC condenser. The 6,000 page service manual is helpful (removing the reservoir, removing the fan shroud (actually, it's a bit weak), and the radiator removal process) with the BIG exception that it says NOTHING about having to disconnect the AC line. That is a $125-$200 additional expense to have it recharged. Once I disconnected the AC line, removal and replacing went fairly quick.

Thanks for BlackKat for the write up (looks like supercharged versions have different tube routing so you don't have to pull it). I got the radiator from RockAuto (and the overflow reservoir). Note, I couldn't find the o-rings for the transmission lines that plug into the radiator. $16.16 for two at the dealer (two o-rings!!!).

Anyway, it doesn't appear that the radiator fails much on this car (the dealer service advisor didn't even know how how to get the radiator out). So hopefully very few of you will need to replace the radiator. But if you do, factor in that you will need to do an AC recharge afterwards. Also, note that you do not want any moisture/humidity to get into the AC lines, so be prepared to plug or cover both ends when you pull the line (you have to bleed it first).

Thanks again for everyone's help. Hopefully this will save someone else some time and frustration...

 

Yes to all questions. The service advisor at the jag dealer couldn't figure it out (even looking at his diagrams). He mentioned that he know that were were a few models where the AC tube had to be discounnected, but he couldn't find any info on it for the XJ8. He finally did a search on youtube and found this:
At the end, you see that the tube had been disconnected to get the radiator out. The service advisor looked at me and said, "well, there's your answer"....

 

Glad to hear you managed to get it out. At least everyone here will be ready to expect that ac line.

 

I have a Supercharged model but ran into the same issue. The line was too close to lift it out. But I only needed a few MM, so I just bent the line out a tiny bit until it cleared. Pain in the butt and hate doing things like that but had to be done. Still no leaks from A/c to this day. I figure I'd have to recharge the system anyway if I disconnected the hose, So if it caused a leak then I'd be no worse off, other than buying a new hose possibly. But I was OK with that chance. I don't mind putting in a new hose at that point if it fails under a little bending.

 

So it is possible to just bend the AC line out of the way? Has anyone else replaced their radiator since this thread? I'm thinking about replacing mine sometime this summer.

 

In the non SC 4.2 - no...

I even had to disconnect my AC line on my 4.0 V8 to remove my radiator. I was sooo pissed cause at first it looks so simple until you actually try to lift the radiator out...

 

I had the same issue with my SC X350. I could not remove the radiator w/o removing the A/C line. Only problem was I did not realize it was the A/C line when I started disconnecting it. After I was all done, I replaced the A/C line O-ring evacuated and recharged the system and had no issues for two years now.

 

Like Muddybear (though my X350 is non SC) I got the radiator out without disconnecting the air con lines. It's a struggle and I wouldn't recommend it...besides the difficulty of getting the "bottom" (middle) hose connection past the air con lines, there is the risk of puncturing the air con condenser with the bracket on the front of the radiator (the one that the condenser pushes into).

 

I have just had my radiator replaced and my mechanic did it without disconnecting the AC. He said it was a bit of a B******* but he managed to wriggle it out and the new one in with 90 mins labour. Don't ask how he did it I don't know, that's why I pay him to do it for me. Keith

 

I know this is an old thread, but i just changed out my radiator (2005 XJ8L, 220k miles). I did not have to undo the AC lines: It took a lot of wriggling, tilting the radiator at 45 degrees, and slightly bending the AC lines to get that lower radiator inlet to clear. PITA, but got it done!

 

message deleted, wrong thread

 

Thanks all, this thread helped me navigate through removing the radiator without disconnecting the ac. I got a crack in the top right plastic hose port, just removed the old radiator some key points were i pushed the bottom of the AC hose, where the metal turns into hose over the bottom middle hose port FIRST!

So i didn't really have to bend the AC lines. Also took out the little rubber "holders" on either side of radiator gave more wiggle room.

I also used hand saw to cut off plastic "hangers" on old radiator.

PATIENCE IS KEY!

 

Good for you guys. I did this years ago and didn't see a way to pull it without disconnecting the AC lines. But it was only about $75 to recharge it, so was worth the reduced hassle for me.

 

How secure is the radiator with the lower tab removed?

 

Thanks to the above thread I also was able to remove the old radiator without discharging the A/C. The trick is basically pivoting the radiator so the obstructions move laterally to clear the A/C piping. This was on a 2005 VDP with 176,000 miles and a leak at the right side tank seam.

This all begs the question of why these cars seem to have bits of Rube Goldberg engineering scattered throughout the car. There was room to run air conditioning piping at the front without wrapping it tightly around the radiator. Why was it done this way? Why engineer a valley hose made out of perishable rubber? If there is a reason behind these bodges someone please let us know.

Regards to all and thanks for letting me vent.

 

Thank you for posting that you were also able to remove the radiator without discharging the AC. I am slowly gathering all the pieces to sort out a coolant smell and even tracking down the proper part numbers of some of the rat's nest of hoses has been a challenge. I know we used to blame engineers who were being creative but didn't work on the vehicles or "bean counters" who were going for cheaper, however I do not think that any reason can be assigned to these particular issues. I am particularly unhappy at the use of synthetic rubber, plastics and nylon derivatives in high temperature environments.

Thankfully this forum has a lot of information that helps solve the problems as they arise and at least enables one to know we are not alone. Thank you again for posting about success as opposed to failure.

 

Thank you (and your mechanic) for this. I started this project without reading any "instructions". Struggled to get the old one out, gave up and came inside to google it. I found this thread and reading the initial comments had be a bit miffed "no way to do it without draining the AC". What!!?? Then I read yours, once I knew it could be done I went right back to it and got it out. Old pizza boxes come in handy to protect the AC condenser radiator during the wriggling process.

Edit: This didn't post where I thought it would, I guess I needed to quote something, at any rate, it was in reply to Wurzel