I have been trying to track down where my coolant has been disappearing to. I replaced the coolant tank cap, filled the atmospheric tank to the correct level, never see any fluid on the ground, but it’s been going somewhere for quite some time.
Finally found a spot under the car, radiator leak.
Has anyone changed theirs? Looks pretty straight forward, probably going to change the A/C condenser at the same time, just because it too is 20 years old and looks like it comes out with radiator.
Any tricks anyone’s heard doing this before I jump in?

TIA
Jack

 

Since you intend to replace your condensor also it is a pretty easy job.
l replaced my own radiator recently but did not wish to degas and regas a/c. Makes the job a little more involved but still very doable.
Depending on your make of replacement one observation l made (l used nissens) is the end plates are not as wide as OEM radiator. This does not affect mounting but the resultant gap will affect fan assembly seal and needs a strip of foam or such to seal down each side.

 

I replaced mine with a Nissen's as well. Get a mixed set of gas line caps as one port on the upper left corner of the radiator is not needed and will need to be capped (see pic below)

 

Thanks for the input. I’m using Nissen replacement parts as well.
Jack

 

A couple suggestions... Be prepared for a bit of trans fluid to leak when you remove the trans cooler lines - then there IS what's left in the little tank IN the rad. Try to give attention to how much trans fluid is lost (anyway you can) and try and accurately replace that much fluid (thru the top trans cooler line with a pump) on reassembly...

Pay attention to how tight the trans cooler lines are torqued down when removing the old rad. They've been on there a while and they may SEEM tight, but do not need to be tightened down nearly as much when you reinstall. It's the orings that seal the lines, not how tight they are, necessarily. Use new orings. Over tightening these coolant line couplers can CRACK the fittings off of the coolant tank thingy inside of the rad. The way you find out if that happened is when you finish the job, start the car, the trans fluid and coolant will mix and you'll end up with a trans full of coolant and a rad full of trans fluid. All I'm saying is,,, not tooooo tight.

Then, it may sound silly but, the trans cooler lines are old,,, unless they are not. At the end, where they attach to the rad, there is a flexible hose section... they can be fragile at the point where the rubber goes into the steel/aluminum. Try not to twist and turn the flexy ends of the lines when taking them apart or putting them together... they can crack and then there will be sweating and strange body movements... ask me about it...

And, since you are completely removing the rad just disconnect all the hoses before pulling the fan shroud. Also, lol, dont lose those LITTLE bolts with the square head that hold the shroud to the rad.... hahaha, now you got me on a rant... if you do lose one ot both,,,, JLRC just accidentally sent me 12 in an order of 2!!! Sometimes ya git lucky

 

Not sure of the car details of OP but on my 2000 XKR that radiator nipple is used. I think there are differences between the 8 and the R as well as a change in cooling system breather lines early on in production.

 

I also used a Nissens radiator and it was a little different from the OEM. I did not open the AC system so I did mine the hard way. Be aware of the "service" position for the hood. Also I would look at the workshop manual and pull the radiator, fans, and condenser out as a complete unit. That will most likely require a second set of hands to lift it out. When I put my radiator back in I intentionally left off some of the foam shields that block air coming into the engine compartment. My reason was to increase cool air in and engine heat out as much as possible. One other thing you may want to look at is the condition of you transmission fluid as you are going to have some leaks. Keep track of how much fluid you loose and just fill the transmission from the top transmission line hose. Also I would not use URO hoses.

 

Good info, thanks. Any idea where to source replacement o rings for the trans cooler lines?

 

I don't know the details of how close to capacity the X100 cooling system runs or if removing it will cause any damage but, by allowing entry via those now open "easy" gaps it actually reduces the volume passing through the radiator.

 

When I changed the radiator I also changed the condenser because it did have a leak. There is more than one version of A/C condensers and mine was no longer available.
I ended up cutting off connectors on the old one and reattaching to new with compression fittings. If it ain't broke leave it alone.
Glenn

 

Before I removed some of the foam pieces i asked Nissen that question about radiator performance. Nissen said as long as the fan shrouds are in place the shrouds seal are intact then the performance of the radiator is not altered.