Radiator Replacement

[WarrenD]

Yesterday, I tackled the radiator replacement. I had bought a "new" radiatior from Bob Stahl (old tanks and new cores, professionally done, quite nice!) and decided with 3 weeks to go to the Veteran's Day Parade I should get it done. Turns out it was a good thing I didn't wait. First, the fan belt came off and I saw that it had very deep splits (almost 3/4 the way thru) in many places. That belt wasn't going to last much longer (visions of belt failure in the middle of the parade). The fan bolts came out very easily and a couple were just more than finger tight. After getting the old rad up and out, I looked at the lower hose and it was of a different material than the others, and on it's way out. It looked good from above while in the truck, but a close inspection showed it was in need of replacement. A trip to the parts store got me a new belt and all new hoses. Install was ok, though I'm much better at taking things apart than putting them back together. I did use the opportunity to do some rattle can painting while the radiator was out, so I ended up taking most of the day to get it done. I still need to paint the grille, so things aren't totally back together, but I've got some time. Taking the grille off really helped by allowing me to stand behind the bumper. I could have done it with the grille in, but it was only 6 bolts, made it easier and the grille was going to have to come off at some point for paint, so it all worked out.

[k8icu]

Glad it worked out for you. It's good to find problems and fix them before they become "problems"! Of course you know this threas is no good with out pictures.... Just teasing there. Good job on fixing your truck!

[WarrenD]

I'm not about to grab a camera with grubby hands!!! Besides, I thought most here have done this before....

[k8icu]

Just teasing there.

I thought the Just teasing there kind of made the point that I wasn't expecting pictures.

[WarrenD]

Yeah, I know, but some here are serious about pics....

[Gerry]

So it wasnt too bad of a job correct? Thanks again for letting me to take pictures. Any time you need a hand let me know. I am sure you will have opportunity to pay me back

[WarrenD]

@Gerry No, it wasn't bad. I did the up and tilt, coming out the front would have required a lot more removal. If the fan bolts had been locked down, I might have gone that route but they came right out. Access to the fan bolts was the worst of it, more so putting things back together as I didn't want to contact the new radiator. Took it for a test run yesterday and no leaks, so that's a good thing!
Thanks for the offer, who knows when I might need a hand! Offer good in return, I'm gaining lots of knowledge fast!