With a certain skill, you can replace the radiator on your favorite car without resorting to the help of auto repair shops, which will significantly save both time and money.
Instructions
Step 1
Dismantle the cooling radiator before replacing the old radiator with a new one. To do this, place the car on a horizontal platform, fix it with a brake. Open the hood and disconnect the battery. Disconnect the wires from the radiator fan and temperature sensor. Remove anything that you think will interfere with the removal of the radiator. Depending on the car model, this can be a sound signal, a bumper, a decorative grille or trim, an air conditioner radiator, etc. Drain the coolant after the engine has cooled down - it will still be useful to you for future use. If there is no special drain valve, this can be done by disconnecting the lower branch pipe, having previously released it from the clamp. Remove the clamps and hoses from the remaining radiator taps and disconnect the expansion tank. Unscrew the nuts securing the frame and remove the diffuser with the fan. And only then carefully remove the radiator.
Step 2
It is much more difficult to dismantle the radiator of the air conditioner, because a substance that passes from a liquid state into a gas is used as a working fluid in it. So get ready for more time consuming work. All connections are made with pipes with reinforced sealed connectors. Disassemble the assembly using special keys or cut the tubes with a special circular knife, which, during further installation, solder with hard silver solder. Before starting dismantling, free the system from freon, for which open the special pipe on the compressor. To install a new or repaired old air conditioner radiator, use the reverse algorithm of work. Fill the air conditioner system with freon at a special stand.
Step 3
To install a cooling radiator on a car yourself, make sure you have a clear understanding of the device and features of the engine cooling system. In addition, in solving this problem, get ready to purchase many unique parts. This is due to the fact that, working in difficult temperature conditions, rubber tubes become less elastic and become unusable. Keep in mind that you will have to replace almost all metal clamps that fix the hoses to the outlets of the radiator, water pump and thermostat. During repair work, check the cab or passenger compartment heating system for leaks, since it contains the same coolant as the engine. Please note that the complexity of the check also lies in the inaccessibility of the heater elements. When installing the radiator in place, strictly follow the plan used for dismantling, using the reverse order of work.
