S1 Radiator Removal

[tonytransam]

How do i remove the rad from my 76 Esprit, manual makes it sound so easy , but looking at those rusty nuts and bolts im not so sure, tips and pics much appreciated.

[p1renn]

I just started a restoration on my 77 Esprit and found something very strange when removing the radiator (not sure if this is normal, but it freaked me out to think that the Esprit radiator is held in this way). On my car, the radiator sits on the fiberglass airdam and nothing else. The airdam is easy enough to remove, but when you drop it from the car, the radiator will fall about 2-inches because it's connected by the flexible rubber hoses that feed it water.

Be careful when the airdam drops because your radiator will fall on the fan blades and ruin the radiator fins (it's best to have a few small jack stands handy to keep the radiator from falling).

If anyone else has experience with the radiator I'd love to hear if this is the way it's supposed to be held in. It doesn't seem right because my airdam was broken to pieces on the bottom due to the weight of the radiator over 30-years.

[Tony K]

Hi Renn, glad to see you on the forum!

What you describe sounds about right, at least on a Federal S1.

There are at least two different fiberglass front shrouds for Federal S1s, each locating the radiator in a slightly different place, with different fan mountings, too. Most (supposedly all?) have a steel strip on the underside of the fiberglass shroud for sandwiching it to the frame. IIRC, There is a length of foam channel glued to the radiator to cushion it. I don't remember if it is on both top and bottom or just one of the two. Between the foam and the steel, the fiberglass shroud shouldn't get too broken up; I have really only seen them chewed up at the corners from people backing out of driveways. Any chance someone put a jack under your car there?

On Federal cars, there should be metal shrouds around the fans.

Cheers,

Tony

[USAndretti42]

I don't remember my S2 having a steel frame around the radiator. Of course, it may have well left the factory with one. By the time I had the car the radiator was held in be 2 bolts through the shroud into brackets on the bottom of the radiator and 2 more at the top from the front compartment into weld nuts on brackets on the top of the radiator.

If you wanted, you could easily add the top 2 fittings. The radiator/fan assembly is heavy so the extra support could help. You should still fit the foam around the edge to stop air leaking past the radiator and to make it go through it.

[Mark0573]

G'day crew,

Just removed my S2.2 radiator. It was only mounted from the top. The bottom brackets had rusted away and the fiberglass under tray is broken where I would imagine the bottom bolts go. Mine has the incline radiator. Does anyone have any pics of the radiator bottom mounting brackets and what the under tray should look like.

Regards Mark.

[jonwat]

http://www.sjsportsc...ndex.php?mod=10 have some pictures of different fittings & brackets that may help.