danielb927
Well-Known Member
I've had a nice Champion 3-row radiator sitting in my closet for going on 3 years now, and finally made time to put it in. The car had begun to overheat both at high speeds (clogged up radiator) and at low speeds (fan clutch not engaging). Not the most fun swap to do in a dusty parking lot, but the result was definitely worth it. While doing the swap I also went ahead and replaced the pulleys and belts with the correct non-AC setup. FABO's been great to me over the years so I thought I'd share some pictures!
Here's two shots of the front of the engine bay after taking out parts. If you look close you can see that one transmission cooler line had to be cut--the flare fitting was so bound up that the bung started to rip free from the radiator before I could make any headway on loosening the fitting. In the end, had to cut the line and patch a short section with hydraulic hose for the time being. Not sure whether that's the supply or return to the trans cooler?
Before putting the new radiator in I snapped one shot of the new pulleys. In order to clear the thicker radiator I also had to replace the fan clutch with a thinner unit, which was fine as the old fan clutch had seemingly lost its ability to engage.
Finally, a couple images with everything in place! Over in the electrical forum I'm still chasing a low voltage in reverse that must be related to the pulley swap, but otherwise everything seems leak-free and functional. I'm looking forward to a long drive to see how steady the temperature needle stays.
Last shot--the old radiator before being junked. Note the stub of transmission cooler line and the JB-Weld repair of a crack I made about six years ago. Not pretty, but it lasted a good ten thousand miles!
Here's two shots of the front of the engine bay after taking out parts. If you look close you can see that one transmission cooler line had to be cut--the flare fitting was so bound up that the bung started to rip free from the radiator before I could make any headway on loosening the fitting. In the end, had to cut the line and patch a short section with hydraulic hose for the time being. Not sure whether that's the supply or return to the trans cooler?
Before putting the new radiator in I snapped one shot of the new pulleys. In order to clear the thicker radiator I also had to replace the fan clutch with a thinner unit, which was fine as the old fan clutch had seemingly lost its ability to engage.
Finally, a couple images with everything in place! Over in the electrical forum I'm still chasing a low voltage in reverse that must be related to the pulley swap, but otherwise everything seems leak-free and functional. I'm looking forward to a long drive to see how steady the temperature needle stays.
Last shot--the old radiator before being junked. Note the stub of transmission cooler line and the JB-Weld repair of a crack I made about six years ago. Not pretty, but it lasted a good ten thousand miles!
