Technical How easy is it to change the Radiator?

[symonh2000]

Hi All I am looking to buy a Coupe 16VT and it may need a new Radiator as there is a very small leak. How easy is it to change the radiator? The car does have air con. And I have knocked the cost of the rad off the purchase price..
Thanks,
Simon.

 

[custard]

dont know about fitting the rad on a 16vt but i assume its not too bad as its only a 4 cyliner in a 5 cylinder size engine bay.
however i would check the service history and state of the cooling system.if its been overheated previously you could end up with big problems

 

[symonh2000]

Hi the cooling system looks otherwise fine. The leak is where a small hose is attached at the bottom of the Rad and is barely visible, unless you know where to look. It may not even be the rad that is at fault to be honest maybe just a split pipe. Coolent loss is not too great. The car has a full service history, with around £5000 spent in the last 3 1/2 years. Belts, clutch, and front wishbonbes have also been done recently.

 

[custard]

yeah probably a hose problem then.
from other members posts the coops are fairly high maintenence.
i know on the 20v the manifolds crack so maybe on the 16v its worth a check?
though with FSH theres not much else you can do bar the usual checks.buy the best you can for your budget

 

[hmallett]

Right, it's the 20VT manifolds that crack, not the 20V ones.
And my experience of changing a radiator on a 20VT with aircon isn't great. The 16V may be different, but on a 20VT w/ aircon it goes like:

Remove the undertray - the radiator has to come out the bottom as the aircon pipes are in the way at the top.
Drain the cooling system by pulling the bottom hose off the radiator. Remove the other hoses too.
Remove the fans from the radiator. Thease can come out the top.
Remove the 2 bolts at the top of the radiator.
Then to actually get the rad out, the easiest way I found was to unbolt the 4 bolts that hold its supporting strut on. You'll see what I mean when you're underneath! The rad and supporting strut come out together. To actually get it out, you need to jack the front of the car up.
The rad fits into the strut with 2 rubber grommets, which were very stiff on my car.
Replace the old rad with the new one, and reverse the process to refit.
Fill the cooling system, and bleed it using the bleed points on the radiator, thermostat and on the front of the block.
Then run the engine til it's hot, and refill the coolant if needed.

Like I say, that's for the 20VT - the 16V might be completely different (and much easier!)

H

 

[Hellcat]

I guess the manifold cracking is due to the extra heat with the turbo? I'd say the 16v has no such problems but coupled to the turbo I don't know. Grey area for me currently.

Any queries about the 16v parts though feel free to ask the Tipo lot as many of us are 2.0 16v owners. I know lower arms go quite often and the belt change/clutch can be expencive. Keep an eye on the oil usage too.

The radiator removal sounds similar to the work needed to get a Tipo radiator out, only with the exception of the air con pipes. Still needs to come out the bottom though so a high set of ramps can be useful here.

 

[hmallett]

I don't think it's due to the heat, it's just a poor design. It looks like the 4 cylinder manifold, with the extra branch added as an afterthought! It's usually this branch that cracks. Over the years, they added some strenghtening ribs, and cut a slot in the face that mates to the engine. They still crack though.
H

 

[symonh2000]

Well I just won the car on e-bay, and will be getting it tomorrow. The seller says that it takes about a month for the coolant to drop from the max mark on the expansion tank to the minimum, and there is hardly any leak visible, just a stain where it is leaking.
I'll let you all know how I get on with it. It does need 2 tyres soon as well as some front brake pads. I have a set of brake pads here that will fit as according to shop 4 parts they are the same as the Alfa 146Ti... So that was lucky.

 

[hmallett]

Got a link to the auction?
Sounds like changing the radiator is the right thing to do
H

 

[symonh2000]

here is the link http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=4636815780&rd=1&sspagename=STRK:MEWA:IT&rd=1

The car is fitted with 18 wheels and they appear to be rubbing a bit, they are fitted with spacers around 1/2" thick, I was thinking I might get them machined down or remove them all together. The wheels are the correct offset and the tyres are 225 in width. can anyone help me on this?

The car also needs a rear wheel bearing/hub but I think I can manage that.

 

[custard]

make sure the wheel bearing is fitted properly as sammi(H's better half) had her coop written off in a really bad smasth through a rear bearing failure.
cant see the images on that auction cheap buy though

 

[symonh2000]

Here are some pics I took earlier. I have found some other info on Fccuk, and I need 215/35 18 tyres, and without spacers I should be ok... I am really pleased with the car, the radiator is hardly leaking, it is quite new but there is a white stain on the matrix.. maybe it was not a very good quality one. The leather looks better for real than in the pics, it seems the flash has shown up all the cracks..

 

[custard]

lol i wonder how long you will keep that sig

 

[Hellcat]

Until he has to visit his friendly fuel station glug glug glug!

 

[symonh2000]

I didn't actually choose that myself, it seems pretty fitting though. I agree it might be a bit thirsty, as well as chewing tyres, especially as its making around 250bhp at the moment with lots of torque...

 

[pinin__prestatyn]

Cheap as chips

Hope she's good to you, remember to treat her with respect, or she will suck you of your money like a hooker on rent day.

 

[cars.robertsaerospace.com]

How easy is it to change the Radiator? On a 16v or vt - very easy...

Be careful of the plastic mounts at the bottom though. You have to be a bit physical to get the lugs to go in them properly without distorting them.

Mike.

 

[EliteR33]

So I have got a 20v turbo the owner has done a lot of work to but needs a radiator if the Airton is out of the way is it possible to get it from the top. And also what coolant would be needed and how to bleed it correctly.