Fitting new radiator - any tips?

[Robbo149 0]

Got a new radiator to fit on my VR, never done one before. Anyone got any tips to make the job easier?

 

Cheers,

Robbo

[Critical_Mass 10]

Funny cos i did mine only a few weeks ago.

 

Take the front of the car off, seems daunting but really it isnt and it will make like so much easier. Also the fan switch - on mine the rubber seal had desintigrated so had to nip out and get some rubber O rings. Other then that there's not really much you can go wrong.

 

I also found once it was all back together that the water wasnt circulating so the engine was over heating and the water in the reservoir was clap cold, after messing around i finalyl got all the air locks out. Until i found that there was no hot air in the cabin, again needed to get more air locks out - be prepared for the air locks as they're prone to air locks. Have plenty of coolant/water mix as the water will boil over due to the process of getting air locks out.

 

Where in W yorks are you mate?

[CazzaVR 0]

When you refill the coolant, use a 2l Coke bottle with a hole punched in the cap. Stand it up in the expansion tank so it fills up really slowly. Done this a couple of times and didn't get a single airlock. you can also fill up via the top rad hose, but I prefer the first method.

 

It's one of those jobs that seems daunting, but it's actually very straightforward and self explanatory once you get started. Take all the lights out, then the bumper off, then slam panel. It's prob worth getting new bolts for the lot as you're in there.

 

Should take an afternoon. Just make sure you support the engine.

[moneypit23 0]

Don't make as much mess as we did..

[Jon_vr6 1]

What was the hammer for in the bottom left of that picture?X

[Critical_Mass 10]

Good tip on te coke bottle. Forgot to say i filled rad up before putting hoses back together and topping up from reservoir

[moneypit23 0]

What was the hammer for in the bottom left of that picture?X

 

Getting the cap off the expansion tank probably x

[Robbo149 0]

Thanks chaps! Good tip about the coke bottle - I'll try that when refilling. When you say support the engine, do you mean from underneath or the front?

 

Also got all new stat housing, crack pipe & thermostat to fit while it's all in bits :-)

 

Critical Mass - I'm in Dewsbury mate.

 

Cheers,

Robbo

[Critical_Mass 10]

You dont have necessarily have to support the engine, the subframe will still be in place. But if you want to, put the jack under the sump, with a bit of wood between the 2. Dont try jacking the engine up, just pump the jack up enough to apply a small amount of pressure on the engine.

[Jon_vr6 1]

Getting the cap off the expansion tank probably x

 

Haha yeah or when something would round off "Lets hammer it out" X

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Don't make as much mess as we did..

 

Yes it's wise to drain the coolant OUTSIDE of the garage first :D

[dannyboy 0]

X2 as above!

[Furno 0]

Don't mean to hijack your thread but I'm also fitting a new radiator at the moment. I'm a bit worried re the comment about supporting the engine (because I haven't) - surely the engine mounts are strong enough to hold it aren't they?

 

Also, I've a couple of other queries which hopefully someone can answer. In the 2 hoses that go to and from the airconditioning compressor there are some screw cap valves which look like the valves on cycle wheels. I pressed one briefly and air came out. What are these for and when should they be used?

 

2nd question - when removing the passenger side headlight I came across this, what is it?

 

[fla 9]

the valves are for regassing the system - if you want to refill the system you put the canisters (or cylinder fill lines) into these. I believe one if to evacuate the system the other to fill, but i'm not sure on that.

[dannyboy 0]

Don't mean to hijack your thread but I'm also fitting a new radiator at the moment. I'm a bit worried re the comment about supporting the engine (because I haven't) - surely the engine mounts are strong enough to hold it aren't they?

 

Also, I've a couple of other queries which hopefully someone can answer. In the 2 hoses that go to and from the airconditioning compressor there are some screw cap valves which look like the valves on cycle wheels. I pressed one briefly and air came out. What are these for and when should they be used?

 

2nd question - when removing the passenger side headlight I came across this, what is it?

 

 

That is the old headlight dim-dip resistor when sidelights are turned on before starting the car it would bring the dipped beams on dim. Think it was a legal requirement for uk in 1987 or around that time.Dont think their needed anymore as lighting regs have changed.So long as your side works,dipped beam and full beam with a correct beam pattern and correct wattage there is no reason why it wont pass without it! Dont even think MOT inspectors check it anymore as i think its obsolete.

[VWVW 1]

Don't mean to hijack your thread but I'm also fitting a new radiator at the moment. I'm a bit worried re the comment about supporting the engine (because I haven't) - surely the engine mounts are strong enough to hold it aren't they?

 

If you have taken the bumper off (4 big bolts). You really should support the engine incase it drops....The engine mount rests on the cross member and the cross member is now supporting the engine held up by only 2 small bolts(inbetween the 4 big bolts). The chances are these two small bolts will be quite rusty and could fail. Best to support it for safety.

Edited July 22, 2011 by VWVW

[dannyboy 0]

Don't mean to hijack your thread but I'm also fitting a new radiator at the moment. I'm a bit worried re the comment about supporting the engine (because I haven't) - surely the engine mounts are strong enough to hold it aren't they?

QUOTE]

 

You shouldnt need to touch engine mounts when changing the rad,just take bumper and slam panel off with headlights. bumper is two M12 bolts.Just dont touch the single M8 bolt either side or your crossmember+engine will hit the deck

 

---------- Post added at 09:59 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:57 PM ----------

 

VWVW...you bet me to it :lol:

[tony_ack 0]

Make sure you don't snap the captive nuts when unfastening the bumper bolts!

 

May be worth changing the thermostat, housing and crack pipe while the front end is off - if a system has been losing pressure for god knows how long, you'd be surprised at how many new leaks can develop once it's up to pressure again.

 

Definitely pre-fill the rad before connecting the hoses, it will save a lot of time.

[Robbo149 0]

Right, new rad's in - phew, what a job! it's all the piddly little unexpected things that take for ever - ended up taking me over 5 hours! Sheared a bolt in one of the rad top mounting brackets & then the little screw that secures the bonnet cable rounded off, so I had to leave it attached to the slam panel & just move it over to the side. (I also tidied up some of the rusty paintwork on the chassis crossmembers & fanshroud while everything was in bits, so that added to the time too).

 

Once the old rad was out, it wasn't too bad - just swapped the fans, switch & top hose elbow onto the new one. New one went straight in - perfect fit. If anyone wants one, I got it from 'The Radiator Shop' in Hartlepool - £81.

 

Filled the rad up first (thanks for the tip - took ages!), then filled up from the top hose & finally the expansion tank, connected everything up & refitted the slam panel & bumper (it certainly goes back together quicker, when you know what you're doing!)

 

Still need to run it up to temp & bleed out any air, but sadly it's now leaking from the top hose elbow - where it mates to the radiator. Have I missed something? Should I have used some sealant on the elbow? There didn't appear to be any on when I removed it from the old rad :-( Please help!

 

Cheers,

Robbo

[CazzaVR 0]

Well done mate- next time you'll be able to do it in half the time ;)

[Robbo149 0]

Hopfully there won't be a next time! Any advice on the leaking elbow?

 

Cheers,

Robbo

[VWVW 1]

Hopfully there won't be a next time! Any advice on the leaking elbow?

 

Cheers,

Robbo

 

There should be a rubber washer inside the elbow...Is that still there ? or has it fallen away or you may have created a hairline crack on the elbow when you undid the 2 screws.

[Furno 0]

Robbo - know how you feel re one job leading to another. Got round to fitting my new rad today, but not convinced it the right one - probably better to splash out on the VW one. I've attached 3 photo's showing old and new rad. Couple of questions:

 

1. There is a big difference (32mm v 26mm) in the depth of the 2 rads. Are new rads that much better than their 16 year old counterparts which makes this nothing to worry about, or is this just another economy measure to keep the cost down that will ultimately make it inferior to the real thing?

 

2. What are the brackets circled in green on the new rad for? They stop the fans fitting properly.

 

Cheers.

 

 

Cheers. Steve

[Robbo149 0]

TBH I didn't measure the new one I got, but it looks the same as yours. I did have to do a bit of tweaking of those brackets to get them to sit inside the fan shroud, but once that was done & the fans were on, it fitted perfectly. My old rad had the brackets on too.

 

HTH,

Robbo

[tony_ack 0]

I'm pretty sure the replacement VW rad I used was the same size as the original. Genuine rads come with the top elbow already attached, but I think they're now obsolete