Leaking Rad

[TheBlueKJ]

So I was at Dick's last night picking up some ammo and realized that my rad was leaking. I don't know how long it's been leaking for or exactly where the leak is at. How hard is it to replace a radiator on our Jeep's?


Sent from my iPhone using the power of children's laughter

 

[CzarKJ]

Not bad at all. But you have the clutch fan right? Removing that might be your biggest problem with the rad.

 

[TheBlueKJ]

Yup. Would i be good just taking out the shroud or do I have to take the fan of too? I don't really see why I would unless its just for space


Sent from my iPhone using the power of children's laughter

 

[CzarKJ]

Not really sure. When I did mine I didn't have the clutch fan. Did need manuvering space. I'd say try it then you can always take the fan off.

 

[uss2defiant]

well the E-rad fan is attached to the shroud.

If you already added the notch to your shroud then you don't need to remove your clutch fan.

 

[tombo_ontario]

I did mine last fall and have the mechanical clutch fan. I personally don't see how you could replace the rad without removing the fan and shroud. Extremely limited in space if you try and leave it in there. That being said it was the biggest hassle of the entire job...but a few hard blows with a hammer to the spanner i used broke it free.

 

[uss2defiant]

I notched out my shroud this morning.
7" x 0.5" notch was barely enough get the shroud out. The dimensions may vary depending on what clutch fan you have.
The goal is to notch it out enough to move it pass the clutch fan.

 

[HoosierJeeper]

To break the mech fan free, shove a bolt or two into the holes on the water pump (they'll catch on the fins on the front of the water pump). You'll see what I mean if you look at it...worked good for me.

 

[uss2defiant]

that didn't work for me.
I used a metal hanger and fished it through the holes then clamped it about the protruding thread right above the clutch fan with a vise grip.

 

[TheBlueKJ]

I'm pretty much a pro at taking out the shroud. I've had it out more times than i can remember lol. (various attempts at repairing my fan clutch and other repairs). I notched the shroud a long time ago so I have no problems with taking it out. But once the shroud is off do you really need to take the fan off? last time I had mine off I think i remember having a decent amount of room between the rad and fan

 

[TwoBobsKJ]

I'm pretty much a pro at taking out the shroud. I've had it out more times than i can remember lol. (various attempts at repairing my fan clutch and other repairs). I notched the shroud a long time ago so I have no problems with taking it out. But once the shroud is off do you really need to take the fan off? last time I had mine off I think i remember having a decent amount of room between the rad and fan

No, you don't need to remove the mechanical fan. Having it off does give you more room - which is always nice to have - but you can still maneuver the radiator enough to get it out.

You may be surprised at how easily the mechanical fan will pop off. Stick a bolt through the hole in the water pump so it engages the fin on the pump, get a large crescent wrench and POP it. Once you get the fan off put some anti-seize on the threads of the water pump and inside the mech fan's nut to make it easy to remove the next time.

To me the worst part of changing radiators is the mess I make on the garage floor. Seems no matter how many catch containers I have under the Jeep I still end up with coolant all over the place... :favorites68:

Bob

 

[CzarKJ]

No, you don't need to remove the mechanical fan. Having it off does give you more room - which is always nice to have - but you can still maneuver the radiator enough to get it out.

You may be surprised at how easily the mechanical fan will pop off. Stick a bolt through the hole in the water pump so it engages the fin on the pump, get a large crescent wrench and POP it. Once you get the fan off put some anti-seize on the threads of the water pump and inside the mech fan's nut to make it easy to remove the next time.

To me the worst part of changing radiators is the mess I make on the garage floor. Seems no matter how many catch containers I have under the Jeep I still end up with coolant all over the place... :favorites68:

Bob

Use a cooler. Works great haha

 

[dude1116]

So I was at Dick's last night picking up some ammo and realized that my rad was leaking. I don't know how long it's been leaking for or exactly where the leak is at. How hard is it to replace a radiator on our Jeep's?


Sent from my iPhone using the power of children's laughter

Not bad. Let me know if you need a hand one weekend. Was just a pain in the ass getting the two coolers and the fan all placed right...but if you don't have an external ****** cooler yours might not be too bad. You just might 2 extra hoses to worry about.

 

[dude1116]

No, you don't need to remove the mechanical fan. Having it off does give you more room - which is always nice to have - but you can still maneuver the radiator enough to get it out.

You may be surprised at how easily the mechanical fan will pop off. Stick a bolt through the hole in the water pump so it engages the fin on the pump, get a large crescent wrench and POP it. Once you get the fan off put some anti-seize on the threads of the water pump and inside the mech fan's nut to make it easy to remove the next time.

To me the worst part of changing radiators is the mess I make on the garage floor. Seems no matter how many catch containers I have under the Jeep I still end up with coolant all over the place... :favorites68:

Bob

Cardboard boxes. This is the key to keeping any garage floor clean.

 

[TheBlueKJ]

Well ladies and gents it seems to be that I jumped the gun on assuming the rad was leaking. Upon further investigation with the fan shroud out so I can actually see it seems to be a powersteering line going to somewhere behind the headlight that I can't really see.

I did some "technical" tests to see if the leaking fluid was actually coolant. I checked the ps fluid an noticed it was fairly low. I got some on my hand and noticed it was greasy like what I found everywhere on the rad. So it was actually ATF since coolant isn't greasy and doesn't smell like ATF lol.


Sent from my iPhone using the power of children's laughter

 

[twowings]

"To me the worst part of changing radiators is the mess I make on the garage floor. Seems no matter how many catch containers I have under the Jeep I still end up with coolant all over the place..."

Auto repair is like making love, Bob...sticky, messy, and there's always that wet spot....:gr_grin:

 

[tommudd]

"To me the worst part of changing radiators is the mess I make on the garage floor. Seems no matter how many catch containers I have under the Jeep I still end up with coolant all over the place..."

Auto repair is like making love, Bob...sticky, messy, and there's always that wet spot....:gr_grin:

Well.....................never mind can't even type it out without busting out laughing

 

[TNS]

To break the mech fan free, shove a bolt or two into the holes on the water pump (they'll catch on the fins on the front of the water pump). You'll see what I mean if you look at it...worked good for me.

 

[TNS]

You used the two bolts through the holes in the water pump pulley in place of the special tool called out in the service manual? How difficult was it to break free the mechanical fan nut? Thanks in advance for any advice you can give. Trying to get the radiator replaced on my '05 this weekend.