Porch40

Am working on replacing the radiator in an all original 74 big block. Clutch fan is out, hoses are removed, upper radiator mounts are removed, lower small portion of fan shroud is removed and lower shroud nuts are removed. I've been trying for 2 hours to get the shroud past the indents for the A-arms. The radiator can move & the fan shroud moves freely, just not past the A-arms. Is there some special magic for this ? I've had my back against a pillar and have been able to bench press/ compress it a good ways but not far enough. Should have had some Wheaties this morning I guess. My plan was to remove the shroud and then the radiator. Thought about trying to remove them together but I think I would get hung up on the a-arms again and the lower radiator hose cutout. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks for your help!

Porch40

Got it. OOOF. Muscle and twist. Came out ok but YIKES on thinking about it going back in. Any tips would be greatly appreciated. Got a new Dewitt's to replace the 40 year old Replacement of radiator will be fun. Trying not to jack it up while installing the shroud will be the rough part. Hmmm, go shroudless ? nah, need all the cooling I can get.

Thanks for your thoughts

Hammerhead Fred

I'll say this to that...
If you don't have A/C;
Then it's FAR easier to remove the hood.
With that out the way less than 10 bolts get you the entire radiator support frame. With that out you can clean, paint, reassemble, finesse the entire frame support, radiator, seals, and shroud while standing over your work bench. WAY easier on the back - almost completely eliminates working over the fender. Once you have the assembly put together exactly like you want it it goes back into the car oh so easily in one piece.
I did mine alone but I'll say a second set of arms/hands would have been nice.

thb72

the radiator needs to come out before the shroud. unbolt the radiator support and push the top of it towards the front of the car.the radiator can now be angled out of the car.if it is an ac car there are more steps. I had good luck with painters tape holding a piece of cardboard over the fins to protect the new dewitts.

Roozstr

I yanked the upper control arms to do mine. Just removed the two top bolts and left the ball joints hooked up. I marked the shims and put it all back together. Took about 20 extra minutes.

Porch40

Thanks everyone, will let you know how it goes. Painter's tape and cardboard and some bubble wrap already saved me from some damage while test fitting it. Probably could have done without the wrap on the a-arms but was a little paranoid. Excellent idea.

redcruz1120

And I thought I was the only one that knew about that!!

Porch40

I couldn't get the radiator & shroud back in no matter how I went about it. With the shroud in, I could not angle the radiator enough to get the lower radiator hose pipe to go under and around the A-arm. I went went so far as to push 1 side of the shroud behind the A-arm. no luck. I then tried lifting the shroud high enough to get more maneuvering room to allow the lower pipe to go under the A-arm but then the shroud was above the A-arm on the drivers side. I could not get it pushed past the A-arm. Am so bummed. Am alone and wanted to finish this today otherwise the car will sit for weeks and I won't have a garage. I don't have the tools to remove to A-arms or help to remove the hood. Lotta swearing going on but I did cover up both sides of the radiator with cardboard and was careful. Think it made out ok.

Uintah

I have a stock radiator and was able to remove the shroud after removing the bolt/washer on the end of the A-arm.

thb72

Where you able to unbolt the radiator support and tilt it forward ? It doesn't gain you a lot but that little bit is needed

thb72

the shroud needs to go in first and then the radiator. Stay with it. Mine was a PITA but it did go in after I held my mouth just right.

Roozstr

The only reason I did it this way is that I was by myself and didn't have anyone to help me remove the hood. Still....It was pretty simple.

vbgod1

I rebushed my control arms, but had to take the radiator out to torque this bolt to specs.

Porch40

Maybe I was looking in the wrong place for the bolts/nuts that hold the radiator support in. I thought I saw the top two on each side as I looked through the front hood opening but I could not see the bottom ones. Is there another way to get at them ? I have AC so maybe they were hiding under the condenser ? Ahh, just went out and looked again. It looks like the two nuts I see on each side are fixed. I then looked in the wheel well and think I found the bolts that belong to those nuts. Is that right ? Am wondering if swiveling on the center 2 would allow enough clearance ? That condenser really got in my way before.

I liked the idea of removing one of the A-arms but I figured I'd have to remove the wheel to get at the balljoints. The car is on ramps right now.

Hmm, I didn't think about the nuts on the end of the arms. I'll keep that in mind. MAN I was soooo close, but no cigar so any little bit might help.

Were you all working on cars with AC ? Am thinking I would have had more room had I not bumped into that condenser.

Thanks for all of your suggestions. I quit before I got too mad. After swearing at it and not scaring it into place I figured it was time to relax before I got clumsy and broke something.

Richard81

Here's some good news for 1980 Corvette owners who are trying to remove the fan shroud. It can be done wtihout pulling the radiator. I took mine out in order to install Flex-a-lite electric fans.
What I did is:
1. Loosen the alternator and A/C compressor and take the belts off of the pulley on the water pump. Prior to doing this disconnect the negative terminal of the battery. It's really easy to accidentally touch the alternator connection with your wrench - not good!
2. Remove the fan and the pulley from the water pump.
3. Remove the fan shroud bolts. There were only two on mine.
4. Remove the mounting brackets from the radiator.
5. You might need to loosen the transmission cooling line on the passenger side of the radiator to allow it to pivot out of the way of the shroud, or perhaps even disconnect it. I only had to loosen it.
6. Remove the foam padding from the driver's side of the radiator. This will allow the radiator to move forward enough to get the shroud past the upper control arm bolt on the driver's side (but it will be tight).
7. With the right kind of wiggling and twisting you can massage the shroud out. I pushed the shroud as far as it would go to the passenger side and then wiggled it upward a bit on each side a few times until I got the driver's side of it past the control arm. You'll have to have the top of the shroud tight up against the radiator, but if you keep the pressure spread evenly across the radiator it should not cause any damage to the rad. At times you'll have to force the shroud past points where it hangs up, but it will deform just enough to get it out. At the end of its removal I actually had it rotated upside down, but it came out.
Good luck!

stingr69

Easier to depopulate the front of the engine. Leave hoses attached. Take fan off and remove the side radiator support bolts from inside the front fender wells. Tilt the radiator support forward. You might need to remove the lower crank pulley and maybe loosten the power steering pump bracket nuts to give you more room.

Radiator has never been out of mine even with engine swaps.

Tech141

I just pulled the radiator/shroud from my '80 with a SBC 350.
Removed the 4 nuts from the fan assy, and pulled the fan out.
Removed the two bolts from the top of the shroud (1 on each side), and pulled the top radiator supports.
Disconnected the top and bottom radiator hoses.
Disconnected the Transmission cooler lines, and secured plastic baggies over the open line ends.
Pulled the radiator out
Fan shroud came out easily.

( I am starting the 406 build for my '80, and have a new 3 core aluminum Radiator and Electric Fans to install, which is why I pulled the Rad.)

Now I just have to access the lower Radiator Core support bolts on both sides to remove the Core Support. Looks like someone bashed the top/middle of the Core Support in with a telephone pole. The bashed area is perfectly centered, and hopefully I can straighten/repair it, as a 'new' one costs $400 +.

vettebuyer6369

9 years later, consider starting a new thread.