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I started removing radiator this week end.I have it loose.I removed upper and lower hoses and trans cooling lines and the over flow.Loosened the a/c evaporator bolts. I removed all the bolts screws from the top/under hood and the plenum/black bow cover is loose but it seems that it is still attached? Are there bolts under the nose that im missing? Do i need to remove electric fans? The book i have dosent cover it that well. When i get radiator out to clean im changing the power steering pump while i have room. Thanks for any help.Dave
Yes there are 6 6mm (I think) bolts on the lower 1/2 of the rad. shroud, 3 on each side that also need to be removed. They are easier to get to from underneath the car. I can't remember for sure but I also think it is easier to remove the shroud if you first remove the fans. Good luck and hope this helps.
Thats great it gives me more information. I had a feeling there was something else holding it back.Now if this was years ago and one of my clunkers i would have already yanked and tugged on it. Dave
yes, there are 3 bolts on either side and they really suck. when/if you put them back in,put them in reverse. You will see why. actually, I think I only put 1 in on each side and it has been fine for over a year. sorry I can't remember how I got at them but its all in crawling around and finding the right angle and extension. Really, thats the only hard part. The rest is easy. I know that there are tons of threads on this so you could probably find one with everything you need. good luck and I would recommend a Dewitts radiator
I have it up about 12 inches so i can get under no problem. Any thread i found said it was a 30 min job i thought what the hell are my doing wrong? The radiator is good just loaded with leaves and who knows what else. Dave
You'll need to remove the air pump from the L side to get at those 3 bolts.
Once you have them out, you'll wonder if you have to remove the AC lines, because the shroud will not simply lift off. You don't have to remove the lines, but it will take some fenangling to get the shroud off past those lines on the R side of the rad. Patience, my son. You may need to stop for a beer.
To late i got into the beer and spent the day Rock fishing on the Chesapeake bay took my frustrations out on fish! Ill get back into vette this week i hope. Air pump too?
Ok ive got all but 6 screws removed from the shroud that some evil person at GM covered the radiator with.There are 3 on each side,how the hell any normal sized person can get a wrench on them i dont know! I understand that when or if i get them out to reverse them that makes sense! I put the radiator cleaning on hold to replace my power steering pump THAT i know is bad. I found that removing the pulley while the pump was still attached to engine allowed me to get a wrench on the hose/pipe fitting much easier.The lower pipe has a small 4 in rubber hose conecting with hose clamps. I cut the hose and will use new section with new clamps. One question when i press the pulley back on the new pump how far on do i go? I know i needed to look before i pulled it off bad pump.Also old pump had at least half inch play in shaft so im sure that was causing the noise.Ok back to radiator on the driver side there is a black plastic box 6inx 3in looks like some kind of air sensor? This is covering the 3 screws on that side of the shroud any ideas can this be moved? So i CANT get at the 3 screws?? Thanks Dave
If you can't or don't want to remove all that you need to access the screws from up top then just know that the clips that hold the six screws on are cheap and sold at most any parts store in the help aisle. You can reach up under the front of the car with a big flat head and pop them off possibly breaking them in the process.
Yep thats what im going to do! I came close to giving up and just cleaning out what i could reach but i hear horror stories about all the crap that gets in between. Any suggestions what cleaner to spray it down with to clean fins? Dave
Glad to hear you are making progress, everything on these cars goes like this. I only put one of the lower screws on each side back since they are so hard to get to. I just used the garden hose to spray out the fins of the rad. When you reinstall the pulley on the PS it goes back on the shaft until the shaft just protrudes about 1/16", but you had better look down the alternator pulley and AC pulley to make sure it all lines up, there may be slight differences between cars. As for the box beside the rad. on the drivers side, it is probable related to the AIR pump, mine is gone on my car.
Yeah i can see where it had better line up with other pulleys and the belt but now i have a place to start.I bought the pulley tool on line and it paid for itself!Dave
Any trick to getting fitting to line up on power steering pump? Also the pipe on bottom of pump is a little off half inch? Than the original pump. This rebuilt pump is identical otherwise the lower return pipe on pump is attached with small 3/4 in hose to pipe coming from rack. I guess im just wondering if anyone has done this? Thanks and it is a 93
I had to unbolt the power steering reservoir box and the tube on that side from the block completely, then you can move the tube that runs under the crank pulley and over to the PS pump and line the little hose up so you can attach the hose clamps. They all seem to be off, it was on mine. It will be a job then to align up the bolt holes in the tube with those in the block back on the side with the reservoir so get a pry bar and pry it over until you can start the bolts. It's a bear getting to all that with so much stuff in the way and so little clearance but it can be done.
Ya know i forgot that its coming from the reservoir! That seems like it will help.I had to cut the small 3/4 in connector hose. And the only 3/4 in hose that advance has is for heater hose and not sure if that will hold up to the power steering fluid? I found fuel line on line that was 3/4 in. I was thinking if i had to i could make that small hose a little longer to help line things up as long as i dont kink it.Im also thinking ill replace idler pulley and tensioner while im in here. 50$ or so is worth the insurance.Thanks again Dave
Ill check with NAPA,advance didnt have 3/4 in except in the heater hose. Thanks
The Advance in KILMARNOCK shows that they have P/N 71350 in stock. Four foot length of power steering return hose. Cut to fit - 22 inches from cooler to resevoir. ($11.99)
They showed me that hose but it isnt the right size to join the 2 pipes it has to be 3/4in. Its just a 4 or 6 in hose with clamps. I think the pipe that goes under the crank pulley may have been part of a recall way back when? Anyway the hose you are refering to wont join these 2. How did you know i live 4 miles from Kilmarnock? The wonders of the internet,im just an old dinosar!