3.0L engine swap

[Farrar]

Slide a floor jack with a 2+4 to push radiator up and hold position...

Thanks. I used that technique to get the old one out. It was very wobbly, though, and fell to one side. (Didn't matter since it was already cracked.)

[opethmike]

Hug the radiator.

[Lwanmtr]

Radiators need hugs too

[Farrar]

The new radiator is so light and delicate. I don't think I should hug it.

[DMC5180]

Farrar,

Does your car not have the bleed hose nipple welded to the aluminum coolant pipe on the passenger side? I see a splice coupler with fitting sticking out of it.


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[nullset]

There was a certain person who went around saying that the crumple tubes needed to be strengthened, and wouldn't listen to anyone who disagreed.

The crumple tube is there to save your life in a collision - by crumpling. Strengthening it like that prevents it from doing it's job.

I'm sorry to see that someone did that to your car!

It'll _probably_ be fine, but it almost definitely didn't need to be done.

[Farrar]

Does your car not have the bleed hose nipple welded to the aluminum coolant pipe on the passenger side?

No. The bleed hose runs to a T-fitting which is connected to the heater core.

I see a splice coupler with fitting sticking out of it.

That is my radiator drain:

[Farrar]

Spent a few hours in the garage yesterday. Here's what I accomplished.

Cut and stuck 1/2" bulb seal material to the back of the new condenser:

condenser seal 02-20-2019.jpg

Installed it to the radiator with 7/16" spacers:

condenser installed to radiator 02-20-2019.jpg

Installed Weatherpak connectors:

weatherpak connector male 02-20-2019.jpg

Drilled new holes and installed rivnuts into crumple extension for the upper radiator brackets (forgot to get a photo).

Not enough room to lift assembly with fan shroud, so had to install it separately. Started by lifting the radiator/condenser into place. Fastened upper radiator brackets and attached hoses.

Removed driver-side lower radiator bracket to allow for installation of fan shroud.

Installed center lower fan shroud fastener and replaced driver-side lower radiator bracket.

Disconnected upper radiator brackets from radiator to allow for fan shroud installation: fan shroud uses the studs on the upper brackets, so I had to remove the nuts/washers, put the studs through the radiator flange & fan shroud, then replace the nuts/washers. I used nuts with captive conical washers rather than nylocs & flat washers because installing one tiny piece of hardware is easier tha installing two tiny pieces of hardware.

One at a time, disconnected each lower radiator bracket to allow installation of lower corner fan shroud fasteners, then replaced lower radiator brackets.

Tested fans. Holy moley do they pull a lot of air. With my hand in front of the rock screen I can feel them pulling through the condenser and radiator. (Good thing I installed that seal.) Behind the fans, the whole area simply gets bathed in a breeze. My ATF cooler will be very happy.

Attached a/c hoses to condenser. Lower fitting needed a new O-ring. Upper fitting surprisingly had an O-ring that looked quite fresh so I reused it. There's just enough room to get wrenches in there. The next time I start praise older cars for having more room to work in than newer cars, I might remember this. There was a trick to installing the lower hose: I disconnected it from the receiver/dryer, which allowed me to pull it forward to come at the fitting straight on. I'd rather do that than risk cross-threading it. Since I am replacing the receiver/dryer anyway, I didn't hesitate to do this.

Attached radiator duct. It fits!

radiator duct installed 02-20-2019.jpg

Obviously my work is not yet finished. The sway bar needs to go back on, and I have a/c work to do. I take my time with a/c work because I don't want to end up in a situation like I had with the previous owner's a/c work, which was all of the fittings torqued down so hard that taking it apart was impossible without causing damage: I ended up replacing the evaporator because trying to remove the hose tore one of the aluminum tubes open. My technique for a/c fittings is to tighten the fittings until I feel the O-ring starting to squish, then STOP and check for leaks. When I find a leak, I tighten the fitting JUST until the leak stops, and NO MORE. Yes, it takes longer, but I'd rather take longer than have stuck fittings.

For the moment I am very happy the way things have come together so far. The upper fasteners for the radiator duct are spinning in place, but for now I am willing to ignore them.

[Lwanmtr]

Alotta progress, looking good. Specially since you had quite a bit of PO damage to reverse..hehe.

[Farrar]

Not as much time in the garage today. Mostly I cleaned up from yesterday's marathon session. But thanks to a two-day soak in secret sauce, I did manage to remove the stuck-on bushings from the sway bar with two tugs of my vise-grips. Then I cleaned the rust off with sandpaper and a wire wheel, and wiped with a papertowel and some silicone spray, then chased the threads with the old nuts. I wanted to get the ends of the sway bar as clean as I can get them, to prepare for the new bushings.

Judging from the difference in size between the old bushings (which popped out of the LCAs with little effort) and the new bushings, I'm going to need a fair amount of lubricant to get the new ones to seat. I wonder if I should try to tap them in, or push them in steering-column-bushing style using the nuts and washers. I don't have anything of appropriate size to tap them in with and guarantee that they're straight, so I am inclined to try the nut-and-washer technique. Toby's kit does not provide new rear washers, but it does provide new rear nuts, so if I frig up one of the old nuts trying to push the bushings in I can toss it. I may be able to do this tomorrow depending on my work schedule. If not, it will have to wait until Saturday.

I am itching to get moving again with this car, but I don't want to hurry. The temptation is strong.