I'm replacing the radiator in my 1984 trans am. I'm puting in the same radiator as the original, just a new one. Any tips to make installation easier?

 

patience is key..lol..ive replaced mine 3 times for various things..
get a turkey pan to catch the coolant..
take off the rad support, unbolt the fans, un-do all hoses and lines, pull old out and put new in..
not hard, just some hard to reach places..
getting the lower rad hose off was the hardest part for me...

 

Patience is definitely not my thing but I'll try. Did you put new hoses on yours?

 

nah..no need unless there cracked

 

Don't forget the tranny cooler lines if it's an automatic - make sure to use some PB Blaster on those fittings, and use two wrenches to keep from breaking the lines.

 

Its easy to replace the hoses after you replace the radiator but new ones wouldnt hurt. Sometimes its hard to spot a damaged hose if its in a hard to see spot. This probably seems obsessive but while you have it out I would look for rust or just corrosion in the radiator support area. I would sand out any surface rust, primer that area, then paint it. I bought this stuff called Zero Rust and I am going to paint all underneath with that. This is just a suggestion.

Kevin

 

Yes definately use the 2 wrenches for the transmission lines. When I was in high school twisted it inside and I got water in the trans and tranny fluid in the radiator. It was a mess and took a lot of work to get cleaned out.