So before we get started I just want to say that I am a pharmacist by trade and not a mechanic. This is not meant to be mechanical automotive advice but simply a documentation of how I changed my personal radiator in my wife's truck. If you use this as a guide for your own vehicle YOU DO SO AT YOUR OWN RISK. There. Let's get started.

Last edited by Tubolove on 4th Apr 2017 12:36 pm. Edited 1 time in total

So, wife's truck had been leaking coolant for some time but I simply kept filling it every 2 weeks because the stealership wanted $1200 to replace the radiator. Well the other night I went to add fluid and discovered a huge puddle of coolant under the truck and the overflow tank was virtually empty. It was time to bite the bullet and get this done. After an exhaustive search on here apparently no one had done a radiator replacement ever so I decided to document the process I used.

First I removed the headlights by removing the 2 10mm bolts from the top of the housing and pushed down on the headlight removal lever while pulling out towards the front of the truck. Once far enough out I unclipped the wiring housing. There are plenty of write ups for that on here so I'll spare you exhaustive pics.

Next I removed the 4 10mm bolts across the top of the front fascia.



And then the 2 10mm nuts holding on the inner fender.



Under the bottom edge of the bumper fascia there are 2 philips head screws retaining the inner fender to the fascia.





I removed those and then pulled out the inner fender piece to get access to the bolts that retain the fascia.





Lastly I removed this bolt from the remaining inner fender trim with a flathead screwdriver.




Last edited by Tubolove on 4th Apr 2017 12:38 pm. Edited 1 time in total

I pulled back on the inner fender just enough to gain access to one of the two bolts that holds the facia to the car. Here is one but two different views. It was hard to get a good pic. See the quick clip on the left side of the photo? It's that bolt.





The other is easily accessible through the headlight hole here:

On the bottom of the fascia there are 2 giant flathead plastic bolts I removed to gain access to the two 10mm bolts that are the last two bolts holding on the fascia.







I pulled the facia off just enough to separate the electrical connector for the lights, parking sensors, etc. it's all in one connector.



Then I unplugged the hoses for the headlight fluid washer nozzles. And ran the hose up higher than the tank so as not to lose all the fluid!

Now it looked like this.

To remove the crash bumper I simply removed the 4 17mm nuts on both sides of the bumper. I removed 3 on both sides but left one loose on each side so it wouldn't fall off. Then as I supported the bumper by my knees I removed the last bolts. Be careful not to pull or drop the bumper too far as the horns are retained by a 10mm bolt in the center and the wires are attached with push clips along the driver side (in the US) and must be removed prior to completely removing the bumper.










Here is the bumper removed with the horns pushed off to the side out of the way.

To remove the plastic shroud I removed the two push clips on the bottom on the shroud:



Then I pinched the two retaining clips at the top of the shroud:



And with a firm pull popped right off:

Next up I used an 8mm socket to remove the two retaining bolts for the power steering cooler:







Once removed since it has rubber hoses I was able to swing it out of the way:

The next little bit is only required if you have a/c. But really who doesn't have a/c nowadays. I started by pushing down on the retaining clamp on the upper radiator support to open the brace that retains the rubber a/c lines. This will give some wiggle room on the a/c radiator mounted to the front of the radiator.


Then I used a 10mm socket to remove the bolt that holds the a/c hose bracket to the radiator.





Then push these clips to release the a/c radiator and lift straight up and set to the passenger side (us) of the car next to the power steering cooler.

Time to drain the radiator with the petcock valve on the bottom of the radiator. Looks like this:




Once drained, On the passenger side (us) I removed the overflow tank hose from the radiator:







Then the upper radiator hose with a flathead screwdriver by simply prying upwards on the retaining rod and pulling off the hose:



Last edited by Tubolove on 4th Apr 2017 12:42 pm. Edited 3 times in total

On the driver side (us) I used an 8mm socket to remove this silver thing and a pair of pliers to remove the hose.





Once both were loose it simply pulls up to remove the tabs from the radiator.



Finally I removed the lower radiator hose seen here with a flathead screwdriver by prying up on the retaining rod.

Last edited by Tubolove on 4th Apr 2017 2:38 am. Edited 1 time in total

Now I had to disconnect the radiator fan wiring as the radiator and fan assembly will come out as a unit. The cooling fan wires are retained to the fan shroud buy some push clips. Be sure to remove those as well.

Finally it was time to remove the radiator! Are used a 10 mm socket to remove the two bolts to hold the brackets that bolt at the top of the core support that hold the top of the radiator.










The radiator is soft mounted by rubber insulated posts in the bottom of the radiator support and once I removed the upper support brackets I simply lifted up on the radiator to take it out. It's not the greatest picture but look behind the petcock valve and you can see the rubber bushing I'm talking about.