96 LT1 Radiator replacement
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 459
Likes: 2
From: Hawaii
96 LT1 Radiator replacement
At 95,XXX miles on the LT1 one of the radiator tanks began leaking and obviously increasing running temps. So it was time to change the radiator. I purchased the radiator from Napa; although the Napa radiator was not OEM, it was high quality and looked great. It was made in Canada by Spectra Premium.
I also changed the upper and lower radiator hoses and dropped in a new 180 thermostat. The overall process of removing the radiator is actually pretty straight forward, but will require several alcoholic beverages to complete.
The upper fan shroud must be removed to expose both the radiator and A/C condenser for removal. The FSM proved priceless for this task and has definitely paid for itself 6 times over! The three bolts on each side of the lower fan shroud proved the most annoying and required removal of the AIR pump on the driver’s side to properly access the bolts. The passenger side bolts are easily accessible without removal of the surge tank.
The a/c lines on the passenger side have to be removed from the support bracket in order to work the top fan shroud away from the engine bay. Upon removal of the fan shroud I was shocked at how much debris were trapped between the radiator and the condenser. It looked like hurricane Katrina in there and required about 10 mins of work to remove all of the leaves and road trash that made its way in there.
Don’t forget about the XSMN cooler lines! I recommend you only use a line wrench on those fittings, you do NOT want to strip those fittings! Installation is the reverse of removal and will require additional alcoholic beverages to complete in a timely manner.
Ensure you properly pack and burp the cooling system with DEX-COOL by using the small bleed screw located on top of the water pump outlet hose. After a decent road test the engine remains between 180-195 at all times, even in stop and go traffic! I recommend performing this maintenance task to help properly cool your engine.
I also changed the upper and lower radiator hoses and dropped in a new 180 thermostat. The overall process of removing the radiator is actually pretty straight forward, but will require several alcoholic beverages to complete.
The upper fan shroud must be removed to expose both the radiator and A/C condenser for removal. The FSM proved priceless for this task and has definitely paid for itself 6 times over! The three bolts on each side of the lower fan shroud proved the most annoying and required removal of the AIR pump on the driver’s side to properly access the bolts. The passenger side bolts are easily accessible without removal of the surge tank.
The a/c lines on the passenger side have to be removed from the support bracket in order to work the top fan shroud away from the engine bay. Upon removal of the fan shroud I was shocked at how much debris were trapped between the radiator and the condenser. It looked like hurricane Katrina in there and required about 10 mins of work to remove all of the leaves and road trash that made its way in there.
Don’t forget about the XSMN cooler lines! I recommend you only use a line wrench on those fittings, you do NOT want to strip those fittings! Installation is the reverse of removal and will require additional alcoholic beverages to complete in a timely manner.
Ensure you properly pack and burp the cooling system with DEX-COOL by using the small bleed screw located on top of the water pump outlet hose. After a decent road test the engine remains between 180-195 at all times, even in stop and go traffic! I recommend performing this maintenance task to help properly cool your engine.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 5,139
Likes: 482
From: H-Town Texas
The upper fan shroud must be removed to expose both the radiator and A/C condenser for removal. The FSM proved priceless for this task and has definitely paid for itself 6 times over! The three bolts on each side of the lower fan shroud proved the most annoying and required removal of the AIR pump on the driver’s side to properly access the bolts. The passenger side bolts are easily accessible without removal of the surge tank.
