by 6pack » Sat Nov 10, 2012 5:24 pm
The service manual is as vague as ever and I didn't really find it worth the time to print out all the various 'go here for this' and go here for that' stuff. I did come across this on another site. It was posted by a person named pedaltroy, so he gets the credit for this point-by-point:
1 - Drop the skid plates.
2 - Using hose clamp pliers or channel locks, open and lock the hose clamp on the radiator side of the bottom radiator hose.
3 - Position your drain pan (a five gallon bucket will fit under the H3) and pull the hose off of the radiator. Let drain completely.
4 - Remove and plug radiator overflow hose and (trans?) vent line from right side of radiator.
5 - Remove radiator clamp from radiator side of top hose and pull hose off of the radiator.
6 - Go under the truck and tuck the radiator hose out of the way behind the sway bar.
7 - The fan shroud is two pieces - the larger main shroud which covers the entire radiator along with the top half of the fan but tapers to nothing at the bottom, and a bottom shroud which is wide at the bottom but only a thin ring at the top.
8 - From under the truck reach up between the radiator shroud and the engine and remove the small screw (1/4”) and the plastic crescent-shaped shroud retainer from each side of the shroud.
9 - Push up on the bottom shroud to clear the lip of the full shroud and then pull back. The bottom shroud will come free. It cannot be removed as it fully rings the fan but it can be pulled back over the fan and out of the way
10 - Pull back on the two black plastic retainer rings covering the transmission to radiator couplings. This will expose the wire retainers which hold the trans lines in. Using a dental-type pick or small needle nose pliers pull the wire retainers off (the new radiator should come with new ones). You can now pull the trans lines back and free from the radiator. Plug them as they will leak.
11 - Remove the grille. There are four bolts in the top and two which you have to reach through the grille with a socket to remove. The grille is retained by clips at the ends both above and below the marker lights. Grasp the grille above and below the marker light and gently rock the grille top to bottom to work them out. Take your time or you will break them.
12 - Remove the radiator top mount at the center of the core support.
13 - Through the grille opening remove the 10mm bolt on the driver’s side which holds the A/C condenser to the radiator
14 - Tilt the radiator back slightly and remove the 10mm bolt holding the top of the condenser to the radiator on the passenger side. You have to reach between the radiator and the core support. It’s tight but doable.
15 - Reach through the grill opening and lift the condenser slightly to disengage its tabs from the two retaining slots at the bottom of the radiator. Pull it forward slightly into the core support opening. I zip tied mine in place as it can flop around when removing and installing the radiator.
16 - You can now remove the radiator. It will not pull straight up. You will need to pull it up an inch to free its from its lower anchor points and then move it slightly towards the passenger side to clear the AC line. Once clear of the AC line it will pull straight up and out.
17 - Clean and transfer all part to the new radiator including the little nuts on the sides that are used to bolt the condenser to the radiator.
18 - Reassemble in reverse order. When hooking the trans lines back up you should hear a (slight) click from the wire retainers dropping into their slots when you have pushed the lines into the radiator far enough.
19 - Refill with fluids. Do not put the skid plates back on until after you have run the vehicle and checked for leaks.
I found this pretty useful. The fan shroud is the only thing that needs some thought. When you remove the two little screws in his Step 8 (at about 5 and 7 o'clock), they each hold in this arched plastic clip about 6 inches long that holds the upper and lower shrouds together. If your truck is as muddy as mine is, it's pretty easy to see where the clean spots match back up. If yours is clean though, you might want to spend a few minutes under there with a flashlight seeing how it goes back together.
I found it interesting that the big black thing that looks like your radiator when you look through the grill is actually the AC condenser. His Step 13 starts talking about that. I had a little more trouble with this area since my intercooler heat exchanger is there also; just a little more for me to more around.
For those perenial bone heads like me, when you pull the old radiator out, transfer the big rubber bushings from the bottom mounts to the RD radiator. I first put it in without them and the thing moves around like crazy. Slip them on and it's a nice fit. It still moves a little more than I would have thought, but I guess that's normal?
I also found out I don't have a tranmission cooler.
They seem to come out and just wrap back to the transmission. Is that really odd?
So here she is, in and running.
Another mod bites the dust!
2007 H3 5 spd, Adv/Lux, Eaton TVS 1320 supercharger, Rebuilt engine w/forged pistons, Custom exhaust, Long tube header, Custom tune, 200 Amp alternator, E-fan, Custom CAI, Coil pack mod, Ron Davis radiator, ARB torsion bars, Outfitter Design X-member bushings steering rack mounts and tie rods, Samco shackles, Fox shocks, Trail Duty bump stops, Rocky Road sliders w/Line-X, Tomp rear shock skids, 35" BFG AT tires w/Tactical Rims, Gobi Stealth Rack w/ladder, shovel/axe and Hi-Lift mount