Hi All-

Well, I finally did it. Drove my 2016 Z51 right over a 5” high, 12” wide median while making a left turn. It was dark, and there was no reason to expect it to be there as I cut the corner on the turn. Still, stupid. Sigh.

Surprisingly, the only metal that seems to have made contact is the left side of the skid bar, which got bent back awkwardly and is now pushing the plastic piece that makes up the front of the left wheel well back into the wheel well. When the wheel is turned more than about 30 degrees, it makes contact. So far, there don’t seem to be any other issues. Even the alignment seems true. (Of course I’ll have that looked at after fixing the obvious issue of the bent skid bar).

So has anyone replaced the skid bar? Doesn’t seem like it’s be too tough to do, but I’d love some guidance before I tear into it. I can’t find anything for the C7, though there are videos for older versions.

Thanks for reading. Any advice is appreciated.

 

So nothing? Nobody’s done this? I can’t possibly be the first bonehead to damage it... Or am I?

 

There have been thread detailing replacing a radiator with the newer larger radiator. These may help you replacing the radiator support which you unfortunately bent.

 

Really? Okay, cool! Thanks Elk. I’ll take a look.

 

it's pretty easy to swap out. As Elk mentioned, follow instructions on this site (https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...-radiator.html - note comments that you don't need to pull the A/C cooler out) to pull the radiator and the rest is easy. The part number is 84407036

 

Thanks for the link!

 

Thanks for the link, but it appears to cover a full radiator removal/replacement. I just need to swap out the lower radiator support. I think it’s four bolts based on some other stuff I’ve seen. Or at least I HOPE it’s only four bolts. And a few other plastic air dams and such...

 

You're correct, its four bolts to disconnect the radiator support from the frame plus a couple of bolts that connect the air dams and one bolt for each wheel well liner. You might be able to support the radiator(s) (water, a/c, and oil cooler if equipped) and drop the radiator skid plate from below. However, the water radiator has two feet that need to be set into the radiator skid. Its probably possible to do some from the bottom up but may take some trial and error to make sure the radiator feet are seated correctly.

 

Man, I’m glad you posted, SFwoc. Though it SHOULD have, it didn’t occur to me to support the radiator when I unbolt the...uh...radiator support. That could have been bad. But then again, that’s why I’m here. So thanks.

I’ll get the part in a few days (Ordered from CorvetteMods). Hopefully this won’t turn into the fecal exposition I expect it to.

 

You do this when installing centrifugal supercharger kits.

Use some heavy duty zip ties and hold up the radiator. No problem after that. The radiator probably won't move because of all the stuff bolted to it but it's better not to flex something else when you pull the support out. Here you go:

 

Do you have to remove the bumper cover?

 

I don't think so.

 

Bruno, that’s excellent info—the pictures are very helpful. Thanks. Still waiting on the part to arrive, but I’ll report back.

 

Did you ever replace the skid plate?
I went "slightly" off track a couple weeks ago and tweaked mine on the left side.
I already have the parts, just wondering if it is easy as it seems without to many gotchas!

 

I did! I guess I forgot to post a recap here. Ahhhhh, memories. Anyway, it was basically four bolts for the radiator support, and a bunch of small screws that hold the front fascia and air dams in place.

Also, be careful with the clips that hold the electrical wire bundles in place. If you break one, I would simply zip-tie it in the same place rather than worry about finding the exact same clip.

My fender liner was also tweaked out of place, and the bracket holding the bolts to the frame was bent such that getting to one of the bolts was difficult. In short, it took some persistence to get everything off that needed it, but I finally succeeded. I could see how in some extreme cases you might need a way to cut the radiator support off, but hopefully not for you. Try to have a few different types of wrenches and extensions to get at those bolts.

It also might be a good idea to secure the radiator with some (very) big zip-ties, as I think was mentioned here by someone else.

I did it in my garage with the front end up on jackstands and ramps under the wheels. Then I strutted around the house shirtless for an hour or two as an outward display of my mechanical prowess.

 

Great, thanks for the advice! I only tweaked the left 1" back, the right .5" .... little high-speed off track lol..... did you suspend the radiator from the top with zip ties? But anywho I figure it out.... I'm headed to NOLA for a quick business trip, but plan to get her fixed up this coming weekend... oh yes, I also am having to replace the left inner fender as it broke the plastic air duct.... ugh.... thanks again fir the advice, it does not seem like a difficult job at all!

 

Got her done today! Not that big of a job. Except the ONE bitch in the bunch... (There ALWAYS is) the one bolt above the coolant overflow reservoir... Then I removed the tank... Much easier lol.
She's all back together and good to go! Thanks for your tips guys