I am replacing my radiator in the next couple of days. The shop manual shows it coming out through the front, after removing the hood latch, cross support and the front bumper cover, etc. Why the heck do I have to remove the front bumper cover, anyway? The a/c condensor is still in the way anyway. Is there an easier way to do this? Getting clips undone isn't my bag; I'm better with bolts.

Any advice?

John B.

 

They want the front bumper cover removed because the cross bar under it is what holds the radiator vibration mounts. (Step 11, page 16-14) it's the two rubber doughnut things, without removing that bar, the radiator just isn't coming out.

Really, the bumper is easy to remove, just be careful around the headlights not to crack the plastic mounting tab. After you unbolt around the fender, just take the corner and pull out and forward, should unclip easy.

The radiator pulls straight up once everything is unhooked, the A/C condensor doesn't really get touched. Good luck. If you go w/ the Mishimoto radiator, be aware it doesn't have an auto trans. cooler, you will need to run a seperate stand-alone cooler for that.