Famous German radiator leaking at the crimps between plastic header tanks and core... Happens to be on the left lower corner Surprised it has lasted this long, radiator hoses are stamped 10/4/84 even which coincides with the build date of the car..... Looking for someone with experience to let me know the good, bad and ugly of doing this.... I am not new to tearing apart and rebuilding cars, but this looks like it could be a bit interesting to get out... Obviously from the bottom right? Car is a 1985 (FN47) manual with a/c...... Anything special I may want to know wbout this job? Car is due for t-belt waterpump ect in another 15k...... THANKS GUYS!

 

There are only about 4-6 bolts holding the fans and radiator in place IIRC. First remove your cooling fans, once those are out of the way, the radiator will be fully accessable. Not a hard job by any means.

 

Unless I am mistaken Pelican should have an indepth article about this.
Indeed its not hard at all, you can have the entire job finished in a couple of hours in your driveway. Requires regular tools: Ratchet & socket, flat head screwdriver, etc.

 

If you are thininking about doing the water pump while your at it, its a much bigger job but check out the write up at www.clarks-garage.com, garage shop manual. It will cover all that.

 

Not a bad idea at all considering the age of the vehicle. Won't the S/T/2 and 951 wc's bolt on just the same? That will be a worth-while investment

 

Drain the coolant, remove the 6 M6 bolts for the fan, and get it out of the way. Remove the hoses from the radiators, and the unbolt the two top radiator supports, and pull the radiator out the bottom. Installation is reverse of removal. This should take a competant mechanic no more than a couple of hours to complete.

Don't try to fix the old radiator, it won't work. New radiators cost around $200, just bite the bullet and git r done. Many, many folks have tried to repair this things, it NEVER works.

Regards,

 

They are easy to remove You can buy a new one and have it shipped to you for about 260.00 from www.vertexauto.com

here are are Manuals
http://www.cannell.co.uk/Manuals.htm

easy job use Zertex radiator fluid it is phsopate free!