FJ60 Radiator removal/replacement (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter ndcruizer
- Start date
This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.
Thanks for the illustration concerning removal of radiator very helpful. i am planning on getting down and dirty soon. my radiator sprung a very serious leak. i am definitely not looking forward to doing the job, but i don't like seeing her sitting around. anyway thanks
Yes, NLA. Get a good brass and coper aftermarket, $400 or so. Stay away from the $200 aluminum ones.
Yep, no longer available. however, i would recommend you try and have your existing radiator repaired/recored before purchasing an aftermarket. If unsuccessful then purchase an aftermarket. there are several threads within forum about best type of aftermarket radiator for your cruiser.
Put a large flat screwdriver through the grill openings and wedge the bolt head that connects to the square sleeve nut at the rubber rad mount. That way you can remove the square nut without removing your grill. I had to remove the fan shroud and fan together to get it out, then cut the shroud making it much easier to replace everything. No disconnecting or venting ac system or lines. leave the brackets on and pull it out.
To those of you who've cut the shroud in half, I'm assuming you're re-installing
both halves but only pulling the top for future belt replacements?
both halves but only pulling the top for future belt replacements?
yes...thats what some people do to make accessing the belts and front of the engine eaiser. Many OEM's have their plastic/fiberglas shrouds setup in the same manner....
The belts and fan clutch can easily be replaced without removing the fan shroud. Splitting the fan shroud would only make replacing the water pump easier.... but how often does that need to be done? Every 20 years? I'm not in the split fan shroud camp. I'd never cut mine in half.
I've split mine after a field (literally) water pump replacement. While it is possible to change fan belts without it being split, it was easier for me afterwards and out here in AZ belts go out a helluva lot more often than waterpumps. While waterpumps should in THEORY last a long time, I'm not looking to ever again go through that particular level of misery if I can avoid it.
YMMV but the one caveat I would give you is if you are going to split it, find a good method of reattaching the top and bottom to each other that you can find and release from the top end. There are a fair amount of pictures of that mod with folks who have simply screwed it together with a strip of metal with two holes and self tapping sheet metal screws, but I think I would try to make it more like a hook and eye with a little bit of tension. Also, I left my edges sharp...the first time. Don't do that. Really.
Also, if you ever need to change your fan clutch, being able to pull the top shroud gives you a bit more room to get to the bolts at a more comfortable angle.
$.02
Glenn in Marana
YMMV but the one caveat I would give you is if you are going to split it, find a good method of reattaching the top and bottom to each other that you can find and release from the top end. There are a fair amount of pictures of that mod with folks who have simply screwed it together with a strip of metal with two holes and self tapping sheet metal screws, but I think I would try to make it more like a hook and eye with a little bit of tension. Also, I left my edges sharp...the first time. Don't do that. Really.
Also, if you ever need to change your fan clutch, being able to pull the top shroud gives you a bit more room to get to the bolts at a more comfortable angle.
$.02
Glenn in Marana
It’s a nice aspect of working on the old FJ60 that ten year old threads are still just as useful as if they were written yesterday. I replaced the radiator on my 87 FJ60 in 2013, iirc. It was a lot easier to do thanks to the many knowledgeable folks here on mud that immediately weighed in with tips and advice.
The only screw up I made was I forgot to put the shroud back. My bad! And even though the aluminum rad I installed has worked fine mostly, it now seems to be sweating, not really leaking, fluid from the bottom, where the finned piece intersects the lower cross piece. Since I noticed this problem I have read here that the aluminum rads have a chemical reaction with the coolant. And I also read that the fix is to connect a wire from the rad to the frame of the cruiser. Well, it’s down in twenties in the daytime here in NW Colorado and my barn isn’t heated, so I am nursing my rig along until the weather is warmer. I also got a new t-stat, water pump, hoses, and I think the fan clutch is shot, so I’ll be getting one of those too. It’s kind of a big job for me as I’m a mostly “ fix it when it breaks “ kind of mechanic. After that job is done I’m planning to replace all the vacuum hoses and look into desmogging as it is exempt here, 200 miles from Denver. Well this is probably the wrong place to post this, but I just wanted to leave my comments, since I’ve reading here for the last few hours.
The only screw up I made was I forgot to put the shroud back. My bad! And even though the aluminum rad I installed has worked fine mostly, it now seems to be sweating, not really leaking, fluid from the bottom, where the finned piece intersects the lower cross piece. Since I noticed this problem I have read here that the aluminum rads have a chemical reaction with the coolant. And I also read that the fix is to connect a wire from the rad to the frame of the cruiser. Well, it’s down in twenties in the daytime here in NW Colorado and my barn isn’t heated, so I am nursing my rig along until the weather is warmer. I also got a new t-stat, water pump, hoses, and I think the fan clutch is shot, so I’ll be getting one of those too. It’s kind of a big job for me as I’m a mostly “ fix it when it breaks “ kind of mechanic. After that job is done I’m planning to replace all the vacuum hoses and look into desmogging as it is exempt here, 200 miles from Denver. Well this is probably the wrong place to post this, but I just wanted to leave my comments, since I’ve reading here for the last few hours.
