How to Remove the Radiator - 1993 Land Cruiser

[93Chewbacca]

How to Remove the Radiator - 1993 Land Cruiser




Wow.

That was about as fun as pulling teeth.




I have found that if you just buckle down and do these things in this order, things go pretty well. Maybe some of you will avoid the mistakes that I made on this job.

I got my radiator from eBay for about $127.00 with free shipping form this eBay store: http://stores.ebay.com/aeonimports

I have spent quite a few years as a mechanic and have seen a wide spectrum of quality in auto parts. The build quality on this radiator is decent, I would rate it a 7/10.




So here's MY suggestion on how to remove the radiator in your Land Cruiser

1. Remove the battery
2. remove the battery tray
3. Remove the front grille
4. Remove the 4 nuts holding the fan to the engine
5. Disconnect the upper radiator hose from the radiator, no need to remove the end attached to the engine
6. Remove the coolant reservoir
7. Remove the 2 bolts holding the fan shroud to the radiator
8. Disconnect the small skinny water bypass hose from the top of the radiator
9. Remove the fan and shroud from the engine bay.
10. Disconnect the two transmission lines from the radiator
11. Disconnect the lower radiator hose from the radiator and point it downwards into a bucket. I used a 5 gallon bucket. Some coolant will drain. About 2.5 gallons drained into my bucket while I was working.
12. Remove the two nuts that hold the radiator to the radiator support (area the headlights and radiator are mounted to). This can be done with a 12mm 1/4" drive socket with a flexible joint. No need to pull out the headlights.
13. Remove the two bolts that hold the "L" brackets on the sides of the radiator to the radiator support.
14. Remove the radiator from the engine bay.
15. Transfer the "L" brackets from the old radiator to the new radiator
16. Reassemble with new parts, fill with coolant, check transmission fluid level, etc...





At this point you may want to replace your belts for the water pump and AC compressor. They are easy to get at with the radiator out.

Make special note of POSITION of the transmission line fittings on your new radiator. If they are not pointed down as much as possible, the shroud will not want to sit in place, it will hit the transmission lines. The transmission lines thread onto the radiator, I would recommend attaching them AFTER you place the new radiator in its position to avoid banging them around, bending them or having them get caught on stuff while you're getting the radiator into position.

This is also a good time to replace the lower radiator hose if necessary.

I busted my radiator shroud in two places during removal because I thought I could get it out without pulling the battery tray. The shroud has at least a couple VERY weak areas. Honestly, the battery and tray comes out in 10 minutes, and then you don't have to spend a bunch of time repairing your shroud like I did. Having the battery tray out makes the whole job a LOT easier.

If you order a radiator online, beware of radiators that are thinner than the one you have. The core section on mine is 2" thick, it took a bit of hunting to find one that matched mine and was a good price.

Nothing about this job was hard, it just takes patience and some time.

Enjoy!




Feel free to let me know if I have left anything out and I will add it to the list. I was rather sleep-deprived as I wrote this.
***

 

[calipber]

Thanks, you read my mind, I just picked up a rad from Buyaradiator.com and the core measures about 2" I contacted the site and asked some general questions about returns and they said they would be happy to take a return if it did not fit so im pretty optimistic. Ive been reading through posts on here as well as the little book ive got and everything you said has been covered so your on the right track.

I plan on doing mine this weekend.

 

[93Chewbacca]

Thanks, you read my mind, I just picked up a rad from Buyaradiator.com and the core measures about 2" I contacted the site and asked some general questions about returns and they said they would be happy to take a return if it did not fit so im pretty optimistic. Ive been reading through posts on here as well as the little book ive got and everything you said has been covered so your on the right track.

I plan on doing mine this weekend.

How did it go?

 

[blkprj80]

Good writeup Chewy.

The great Robbie told me to remove that top metal piece across the top above the radiator. Then you can remove the bolts with a wrench. I couldn't get a wobble socket to fit in that space and ended up pulling the headlights etc. Not a big deal for me since I had to replace one headlight due to a chip hole anyway.

Got any pics of that new rad? I ended up with a Koyo and it was a nice fit. It was the C1917 I believe.

 

[93Chewbacca]

Good writeup Chewy.

The great Robbie told me to remove that top metal piece across the top above the radiator. Then you can remove the bolts with a wrench. I couldn't get a wobble socket to fit in that space and ended up pulling the headlights etc. Not a big deal for me since I had to replace one headlight due to a chip hole anyway.

Got any pics of that new rad? I ended up with a Koyo and it was a nice fit. It was the C1917 I believe.

Thanks! Just this one. Build quality is pretty good. Have a few hundred miles on it, works good, no leaks.

 

[greentruck]

How to Remove the Radiator - 1993 Land Cruiser




Wow.

That was about as fun as pulling teeth.




SNIP



So here's MY suggestion on how to remove the radiator in your Land Cruiser

1. Remove the battery
2. remove the battery tray
3. Remove the front grille
4. Remove the 4 nuts holding the fan to the engine
5. Disconnect the upper radiator hose from the radiator, no need to remove the end attached to the engine
6. Remove the coolant reservoir
7. Remove the 2 bolts holding the fan shroud to the radiator
8. Disconnect the small skinny water bypass hose from the top of the radiator
9. Remove the fan and shroud from the engine bay.
10. Disconnect the two transmission lines from the radiator
11. Disconnect the lower radiator hose from the radiator and point it downwards into a bucket. I used a 5 gallon bucket. Some coolant will drain. About 2.5 gallons drained into my bucket while I was working.
12. Remove the two nuts that hold the radiator to the radiator support (area the headlights and radiator are mounted to). This can be done with a 12mm 1/4" drive socket with a flexible joint. No need to pull out the headlights.
13. Remove the two bolts that hold the "L" brackets on the sides of the radiator to the radiator support.
14. Remove the radiator from the engine bay.
15. Transfer the "L" brackets from the old radiator to the new radiator
16. Reassemble with new parts, fill with coolant, check transmission fluid level, etc...


SNIP

I busted my radiator shroud in two places during removal because I thought I could get it out without pulling the battery tray. The shroud has at least a couple VERY weak areas. Honestly, the battery and tray comes out in 10 minutes, and then you don't have to spend a bunch of time repairing your shroud like I did. Having the battery tray out makes the whole job a LOT easier.

If you order a radiator online, beware of radiators that are thinner than the one you have. The core section on mine is 2" thick, it took a bit of hunting to find one that matched mine and was a good price.
SNIP

Good advice here. Thanks for the write-up. The key is getting the battery boxes loose. I have dual batteries, so double the fun. Even then, I had more shroud troubles (it was already broken and got worse].) I used aluminum foil tape to repair, with an overlay of regular duck tape along the lip. Since it was in 3 pieces, I was reall happy this worked well, so keep it in mind.

I would suggest being prepared to replace the foam, as the old stuff will be crumbly. This helps improve airflow through the radiator.

I found it easier to just remove the headlights for access to the top radiator bolts, even with the 1/4" drive.

I went with a Koyo C1917. BTW, an aluminum radiator came out, I assume but am not certain it's a factory radiator. The core is noticeably thinner than the new brass Koyo, I suspect because of the superior heat transfer capacity of aluminum.

 

[roncruiser]

How to Remove the Radiator - 1993 Land Cruiser




Wow.

That was about as fun as pulling teeth.




I have found that if you just buckle down and do these things in this order, things go pretty well. Maybe some of you will avoid the mistakes that I made on this job.

I got my radiator from eBay for about $127.00 with free shipping form this eBay store: http://stores.ebay.com/aeonimports

I have spent quite a few years as a mechanic and have seen a wide spectrum of quality in auto parts. The build quality on this radiator is decent, I would rate it a 7/10.




So here's MY suggestion on how to remove the radiator in your Land Cruiser

1. Remove the battery
2. remove the battery tray
3. Remove the front grille
4. Remove the 4 nuts holding the fan to the engine
5. Disconnect the upper radiator hose from the radiator, no need to remove the end attached to the engine
6. Remove the coolant reservoir
7. Remove the 2 bolts holding the fan shroud to the radiator
8. Disconnect the small skinny water bypass hose from the top of the radiator
9. Remove the fan and shroud from the engine bay.
10. Disconnect the two transmission lines from the radiator
11. Disconnect the lower radiator hose from the radiator and point it downwards into a bucket. I used a 5 gallon bucket. Some coolant will drain. About 2.5 gallons drained into my bucket while I was working.
12. Remove the two nuts that hold the radiator to the radiator support (area the headlights and radiator are mounted to). This can be done with a 12mm 1/4" drive socket with a flexible joint. No need to pull out the headlights.
13. Remove the two bolts that hold the "L" brackets on the sides of the radiator to the radiator support.
14. Remove the radiator from the engine bay.
15. Transfer the "L" brackets from the old radiator to the new radiator
16. Reassemble with new parts, fill with coolant, check transmission fluid level, etc...





At this point you may want to replace your belts for the water pump and AC compressor. They are easy to get at with the radiator out.

Make special note of POSITION of the transmission line fittings on your new radiator. If they are not pointed down as much as possible, the shroud will not want to sit in place, it will hit the transmission lines. The transmission lines thread onto the radiator, I would recommend attaching them AFTER you place the new radiator in its position to avoid banging them around, bending them or having them get caught on stuff while you're getting the radiator into position.

This is also a good time to replace the lower radiator hose if necessary.

I busted my radiator shroud in two places during removal because I thought I could get it out without pulling the battery tray. The shroud has at least a couple VERY weak areas. Honestly, the battery and tray comes out in 10 minutes, and then you don't have to spend a bunch of time repairing your shroud like I did. Having the battery tray out makes the whole job a LOT easier.

If you order a radiator online, beware of radiators that are thinner than the one you have. The core section on mine is 2" thick, it took a bit of hunting to find one that matched mine and was a good price.

Nothing about this job was hard, it just takes patience and some time.

Enjoy!




Feel free to let me know if I have left anything out and I will add it to the list. I was rather sleep-deprived as I wrote this.
***

Excellent write up. I had a helluva time with the top nuts between the headlight and radiator. Removing them was okay, but resintalling was tougher. Other than that, thanks for the help.

 

[pawnthatdude]

Just got done with this, honestly it wasn't too bad. If you just plan on removing everything suggested, it's straight forward. The only frustrating parts were wrangling the fan shroud out when it was stuck on something I couldn't see, and getting the old hoses off and putting new ones on.

Oh, and don't forget to attach your starter cable before you wonder what the hell you messed up when it doesn't crank! That was way more time consuming than it should have been.