Radiator Removal - is it really that difficult?

[S4Esprit]

I started last night. Got the lip, under panels, horns, fog lights, and air ducts removed - then I see what lays ahead. Really? It looks like I'm going to have to drain everything, move the oil coolers, remove part of the brake system and some of the headlight mechanicals, etc, etc. Essentially undoing 27 other systems to get to the A/C condenser. Why Lotus? Why?

Nobody has posted a step-by-step and the manual completely glosses it over with a general 'remove anything in your way'. From what I gather reading other posts it's also like a 2-man, 40 hour job.

My questions; 1) is all of the above true? 2) can the condenser be removed without draining the coolant from the rad and chargecooler? (The reason I ask is, the manual says the rad and chargecooler can be removed without opening the A/C system- so might that work the other way around as well?) 3) can I feasibly do the job myself with the clearance I have between the floor and a pair of jackstands?

Sorry 'bout all the questions. It's my first go 'round with this and my previous searches netted no answers.

Thanks!

Edited July 23, 2008 by S4Esprit

[dave excell]

The short answer is. Yes it is a pain in the butt. It took me a couple of days to cut through all the rusty bolts on my V8. The oil cooler pipe unions were corroded to the point of shearing off the cooler. The same went for the AC Condenser. BUT it was nice putting all the refurbished stuff back on in a couple of hours.

[S4Esprit]

Hmmm. I'm pretty lucky in that I don't really have any rust issues and everything has unbolted pretty easily up to this point.

Do you remember if the chargecooler rad and the condenser were bolted to the radiator in any way, or is it just the two bolts holding them into the tray?

[mr.oogieboogie]

hello i did mine by myself using only a pair of axle stands a bout a month ago . from what i can remember they are not bolted to the rad. if you havent . you dont need to remove the oil coolers, un bolt from inside the bonnet and turn them its tight (but not as tight as getting the bottom rad hose and clip on) i undid the charge cooler (will need to be bled) as will rad etc when back together

all the best can be done by yourself, but picking up the rad and fans etc and putting them in by yourself is pretty trickey (well its a bast*d of a job). bank on 2 days if doing with no aid or lifts etc took me almost 3 but weather was crap

[t70]

Same experience here.. there are two bolts that attach to the bumpers in the front corners that are really hard to get with a 10mm socket or wrench... Just move the oil coolers... You should only have to remove the rubber lines from the chargecooler rad.. and disconnect the two a/c lines... unbolt the rads from the bottom of the fiberglass undertray... You don't need to touch the headlights or the brakes... there are two screws behind the front indicator lights.. so you'll need to remove the lenses and reach in there with a phillips screw driver to remove those two bolts. You'll also need to move the ABS system out of the way in the LHD model... not sure about RHD version. I think it took Gary and I about 10-14 hours including the time we spent cleaning the radiators and combing the a/c and chargecooler rads.

[mr.oogieboogie]

forgot to mention, i found that the best way to get to the bolts from inside the bonnet was to use a flat ring spanner (shorter the better) i tried ratchet spanners but these were just too big to get in. and then use a ratchet for underneath, still very tight, but i found that a ratchet was worse.

[S4Esprit]

Thanks for the advice.

My plan is this: I only need at the condenser - so I'm gonna undo the chargecooler lines and A/C lines, unbolt the tray with a jack underneath it and lower the tray just far enough to get the condenser and chargecooler rad out. It looks like there should be plenty of room to maneuver. Unless somebody can tell me that it's not possible I think I'm going to give it a try.

I just really, really, really don't wanna have to drain and bleed the radiator if it's not absolutely necessary.

Edited July 23, 2008 by S4Esprit

[t70]

You shouldn't have to drain the rad... but it's the rest of the stuff that's the royal pain... and you're going to need to drain the chargecooler rad if you're going to pull the a/c condenser as they are the same unit. I don't know where lotus got the idea that you could remove the two pieces seperately... they are not two pieces... they are one piece with two seperate hose systems on the same fins.

As a side note.. getting the air locks out of the system is a pain in the ass... but it's not that hard... it just takes several rounds of bleeding and driving up and down hills to get the air locks out.

p.p.s. you also asked if the chargecooler/a/c rad was bolted to the main rad... it isn't.. .there are two steel clips (one each side) holding the rads together.

[rogerch]

Draining the radiator is probably the least of your problems, that said it's not that hard, the one thing on reflection I'm pleased I did was get the whole thing high enough, I had mine on fully extended axle stands 21 inches, plenty of room for me, go higher if you're bigger.

It is much easier with 2 people some to hold nuts under the bonnet while your under the car, (or the other way round) yes rachet is handy, when you come to put it all back use 2 inch bolts it makes linning everything up much easier.

[t70]

Gary wasn't around when I put the bumper back on... WOW WAS THAT A PAIN IN THE ARSE!!!! It can be done.. .but yes... it's a lot easier with two people..

[S4Esprit]

Okay, while the forum has been down I tackled it. I went back to leak testing to be sure that the condenser was the problem before I pulled it. Interesting things happened - I absolutely could not find the source of the leak. I used a stethoscope, vacuum and then compressed air. No dice. There was no dye anywhere to be found except for the spray on the underside of the nose in front of the chargecooler rad - and it had no easily discernible source. Here's where it got weird:

Using a Halogen leak detector (sniffer) I determined that the dye on the nose was in the R-12 family. I then drained the chargecooler and found that the sniffer also went nuts anywhere near the coolant (which was more fluorescent than usual when hit with the UV light). I also found a small hole (or what I think is a small hole) in the upper coolant hose for the chargecooler. The CC springing a leak was either total misdirection or the luckiest moment of my life. I may be out of my mind BUT I think what's happened (and it may be totally impossible) is that under pressure my condenser was somehow leaking freon into my CC rad. I can't imagine that's even possible, however....

I'm gonna have the condenser gone thorough before I have a new one made to see if it's salvageable (or even damaged to begin with).

As for the removal: total walk in the park. Dropped all the stuff in the way, unbolted the radiator from the tray, drained the chargecooler, undid the A/C lines, pushed the oil coolers outta the way and just dropped the condenser and CC rad. Other than the 2 bolts holding the radiator to the fiberglass under tray I never even had to touch it. Easy breezy. Putting it back together may be a colossal pain but disassembly wasn't anywhere as near as bad as I'd imagined it. Kinda easy actually. Even did it all by myself.

Edited July 28, 2008 by S4Esprit

[t70]

Wow!! Congrats on having an easy time of it! Putting it back together is more difficult.. but it can be done alone.. there are only 6 points of extreme difficulty... the 2 front bumper bolts in the corners (really hard to get the nut started unless you have 12" fingers) and the 4 bolts that go into the boot.

[mr.oogieboogie]

taking it all off is the easy bit

[rogerch]

taking it all off is the easy bit

Are you always so cheerful? I actually found it easier putting it all back than getting it out, that may have had something to do with rust, and the fact I used all new stainless steel fittings to put it back, but it was a lot easier than I had expected.

[mr.oogieboogie]

yep im always cheerful well know for it

(english weather makes it a pap job) ,the rad on mine was replaced about 3 years ago. i had a ba$$ard of a job on a grass verge using one set of axle stands and a trolley jack and only one pair of hands. 1/2 the time it was pissing down with rain. should be a trophy:- the golden testicle award for this. i hope it all goes back together easy for him. but i would not bank on it mine came off very easy, but a pain trying to lift it up by hand and wooden blocks if i have to do it again i may use an engine hoist with a couple of ropes threaded through the body holes and attached to the rad and lift it that way. still now i know what to do it will be a lot easier the next time

[rogerch]

Ah, so what your saying is that it was a good desission on my part to check out the radiator whilst the car was already on stands in the comfort of my own home so to speak, rather than on the side of the road half way to Perth (desert, no petrol no water no mobile coverage)

[mr.oogieboogie]

yep. when mine when pop i managed to roll it into a mcdonalds. so phone coverage food and water were not too much of a problem (apart from the rad not holding water) just the towing the people at the drive through taking the piss etc

[S4Esprit]

Actually, my car has only been wet once to my knowledge - so everything is pretty clean and none of the bolts are rusty. Taking it apart was cake.

My initial theory about the systems leaking together is improbable if not impossible.

Having a new CC Rad and a condenser made. They're upgrading my CC Rad from two cores to three. I'm pretty excited about it.