How to refit the Radiator on a car with AC? (solved)

[378S2]

Hi Folks

I’ve removed my OEM radiator and got stuck last night putting the new one (from SJS) back in. The upper hose attachment point fouls the Y-Bracket and I can’t get it far enough left to locate the mounting pin in the upper grommet. I have AC which I don’t want to remove, so the condenser is in the way making the whole thing a pain.

I am considering two options, has anyone done the job with AC who can help with some good advice please?

Option 1 - shave a little off the top locating pins so the radiator is higher and the y piece there for allows it to move further left.
Option 2 - remove the Y Bracket. (I haven’t done this because it looks like it will be a living nightmare relocating the bolts.

Very much appreciate your help and advice.

Thanks
George

[TorqueHorse]

FWIW, this thread has some discussion about mounting pins having been a problem in the past, so that might be an area to compare your new rad to the old one and see if anything is out of tolerance.
viewtopic.php?f=134&t=28212&p=361963&hilit=radiator#p361951

[Simon_P]

Option 2. Because its only two screws and even if you do modify it enough your chances of getting the pins in the grommets and the grommets staying put are low - option 1 is a collection of new problems.

[378S2]

Hi Simon - thanks, that’s what I ended up doing.

For anyone else who come up against this, the WSM instructions are solid but I added to that removing the recirculating pump, top hose completely, and turbo inlet to give better access for removing the hanging bracket.

Once that was done, it was pretty much just a case of putting it in.

The sheered bolt on the thermostat was an added adventure but all done now.

[French_elans]

Hello George,

Your Rad is coming from SJS : it is the alluminium one ?

Did you remove the front bumper ?
which A/C fits your car ? R12 or R134a ?

does anyone have some experience on a car with R134a A/C ?

regards

D

[cellaway]

I've got to fit a new radiator and couldn't see how the rad would come out without droping the bumper. The mounting brackets would appear to stop that option. The car's a fed spec with air con so maybe the set up is different from the euro cars.
Chriso

[TorqueHorse]

Chriso,
Have you downloaded the Service Manual from the Manuals section?
Under the Cooling section it talks about how to remove the radiator in both Regular and USA cars. Do either of the diagrams look like your setup?

[cellaway]

I’ll have a look when the weather cools down. At the moment is damn hot. Steam heat. I’ve got the workshop manuals so should be able to compare but it looks like the bumper will have to come off.

[cellaway]

Of course there’s the fed spec air con condensor to deal with. I hadn’t started thinking about that. Hopefully the situation will become clearer after I get the fans off. More rusted captive nuts and screws. I guess Lotus hadn’t heard about stainless…….

[Tuga2112]

Of course there’s the fed spec air con condensor to deal with. I hadn’t started thinking about that. Hopefully the situation will become clearer after I get the fans off. More rusted captive nuts and screws. I guess Lotus hadn’t heard about stainless…….

your in france, i would expect your setup to be closer to the uk car.

from recollection the fed specs changed the bumper, added O2 sensor (like ROW) and airbags, its a bit of a mix and match at the end of the day when you got a ROW which are, by far, the least documented/discussed cars in this forum

[Fredjohn]

Of course there’s the fed spec air con condensor to deal with. I hadn’t started thinking about that. Hopefully the situation will become clearer after I get the fans off. More rusted captive nuts and screws. I guess Lotus hadn’t heard about stainless…….

your in france, i would expect your setup to be closer to the uk car.

from recollection the fed specs changed the bumper, added O2 sensor (like ROW) and airbags, its a bit of a mix and match at the end of the day when you got a ROW which are, by far, the least documented/discussed cars in this forum

Great in theory, but it is in fact a Fed car!

[cellaway]

I 'm assuming that most cars don't have that diagonal braces that make removing the fans so much more interesting. So far the bottom panel's 3 screws and the bottom 4 fan securing screws are corroded beyond repair. Par for the course I guess.

[Tuga2112]

check the parts manual, the images there are pretty accurate.

i can only guess what part are you refering to , but in my car thre are diagonal braces between the radiator and the engine. assuming thats what you mean, i would say al cars have them

[cellaway]

No Y brackets, no towing eye. a completely different radiator mounting bracket. There’s a couple of side tie rods to hold the radiator mounting bracket to the top transverse beam assembly, It looks like even when I can get the tie rods undone, there won’t be enough space to drop the rad. I’ll have to look at the v strut, under frame to bottom transverse beam. Both of the mounting bolts look difficult, so it looks like bumper off is the easiest option. Apart from the air con condenser. Maybe I can remove some stuff to give me more room. That’s a relative term, isn’t it ?

[wayne]

Of course there’s the fed spec air con condensor to deal with. I hadn’t started thinking about that. Hopefully the situation will become clearer after I get the fans off. More rusted captive nuts and screws. I guess Lotus hadn’t heard about stainless…….

your in france, i would expect your setup to be closer to the uk car.

from recollection the fed specs changed the bumper, added O2 sensor (like ROW) and airbags, its a bit of a mix and match at the end of the day when you got a ROW which are, by far, the least documented/discussed cars in this forum

Great in theory, but it is in fact a Fed car!

FredJohn, curious about you calling this a FED car? it doesn't have the crash structure or the weird front bumper. Is fitting on a UK car any easier?

I replaced my radiator many years ago, I think it came from Arrow rads in the UK. but it fitted fine.
Was a bitch of a job to install, but didn't need modifying in any way.
My car is a 1992 ROW car with R12 Air Con.

I'm about to order new fans from SJ's and fit them after the weather cools down. Car is currently parked up for the summer here in Bahrain.
Anyone else fitted SJ's fans?

[Fredjohn]

Wayne
I was referring to Chriso's (cellaway) car, which is in fact a FED spec. See his other posts, particularly the one where he is thinking of breaking because of various issues of registering it in France.

viewtopic.php?f=130&t=29762&p=379142#p379142

[Simon_P]

Hello George,

Your Rad is coming from SJS : it is the alluminium one ?

Did you remove the front bumper ?
which A/C fits your car ? R12 or R134a ?

does anyone have some experience on a car with R134a A/C ?

regards

D

No point in removing the bumper on a UK/RoW car with A/C - Because the AC condenser is in front of the radiator. Differences between R12 and R134a are insignificant.

[cellaway]

Hey Si
The bumper is almost off, just the two bolts at the front of the headlight pods to undo and I can start the repairs. I can afford to go slow time on this because I’ll get the radiator and Samco hoses when I’m back in Blighty towards the end of September. Hopefully I’ll have replaced the rusted captive nuts, replaced the under panel securing tabs on the rusted radiator frame. I can’t see how the rad can come out without taking the chassis extension out. There doesn’t appear to be enough room. Hopefully when I’ve got the condensor out, I’ll have more space. Dave Pink thought if you have work to do in that area then bumper off is the best option. One of the M8 cage nuts securing the bumper to the quarter panel was missing and the others rusted beyond use , the bumper height adjusters were rusted. All of the rubber lip fixings need replacing. I’ll follow Jamie N, the seal king’s advice and rust proof with hydrate 80.

Chriso

[cellaway]

I guess problems in removing the bottom, through the big grommet hole, bumper mountings, is comm on. One was fine the other rusted beyond use. I’ve resorted to cutting it out with a hacksaw blade with tape on one end for a handle. Three hours so far. Is there an easier way ?

[cellaway]

Well the bumper is off and the radiator out. No pressure in the aircon system, looking at the condensers I'm not surprised, Any ideas where I can get a new one? Coolex ? One of the radiator mounting points on the transverse beam has rusted out and repairs are also needed on the front bumper mounting bracket . Apart from that, I'm making progress, I think,,,,,,,