How Hard is it to Replace a Radiator?

SOB

Your mileage may vary

The OE style mounting uses two 7/16 x 1 carriage bolts which grab keyhole slots on the bottom tank of the radiator. I've never seen these come off clean. Two new ones might be in order. There is also meant to be an insulating rubber composition pad on each bolt, between the radiator and the axle mount (Ford p/n C5NN-8125-A). Oftentimes, these pads have perished away to dust. This part does not seem to be available new, but it needs to be there. I've made these out of heavy-duty conveyor belting, 1/4 thick or better. Failing that, two chunks of tire carcase would probably make a fine substitute.

There's also an insulating pad between the filler neck and the inside of the hood (Ford p/n 2N-8032) and this, or a reasonable facsimile, is available new. Suggest you install a new one as it will prevent the radiator from chafing on the hood.

As to the fan shroud - pah! Unless originality is paramount, leave the confounded thing off. As others have noted, they are nothing but a pain in the butt to install right, and to my mind, they do precisely nothing for the cooling of the motor. Use the mounting holes in the side of the radiator to mount P-clips to secure the overflow hose, and consign the shroud to the scrap heap.

HTH

llater,

llamas

There's

llater,

llamas

Its not too hard, but you do have to remove the
hood (probably six bolts and the gas line). The
hood is heavy enough, plus the gas tank is
attached, so its easier to empty it. However,
this may muck up your internal filter (all the
gunk currently suspended in your tank gets to that
filter first). Get a
friend to help remove the hood and replace it when
you're done. The radiator is easy, but the
replacement I got through this site needed lots of
custom fitting (e.g., the shroud didn't fit, and
there were no holes to screw the shroud to the
radiator; it mounted differently than the original
so I had to extend the holes in the frame so the
fan wouldn't hit the radiator; it was too short,
so I had to build spacers). If you're good at
fabricating, its not to bad, but I spent three
evenings fabricating, mounting, unmounting, and
remounting the radiator. The rebuild sounds better
to me! Then, it should slip right back on. Good
luck!

Bang!

Once you get the hood off, it's very easy to remove the radiator.