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© 1998 Brian F. Schreurs
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We were supposed to use a new radiator from Modine but we wound up using a radiator of unknown origin made by ARS, number 9-9366. We just don't want to know.

Jack up the car.

Remove the plastic cover on top of the radiator.

Drain the radiator. There's something that looks like a spigot on the passenger side of the radiator. By loosening the hex knob a little, you can let antifreeze pour out of the nipple underneath. Ours was hand-tight; we didn't even need a wrench.

The nipple is the perfect fit for a 3/8-inch inside diameter hose. We went to a hardware store and bought some clear vinyl hose (12 cents a foot) so that we could watch the fluid drain. Put the other end of the hose in a bucket or milk jug or something -- you don't want this stuff getting loose. If you plan on reusing the antifreeze, the container doesn't matter much. Just be sure to rinse it out really well. If you're going to get rid of the antifreeze, seal it and recycle it.

This stuff is highly toxic! It will kill your dog, your cat, your kid, even you! Make sure you wash EVERYTHING that comes in contact with antifreeze; hose down any surface it spills on; keep it sealed up; don't touch your eyes while doing this job; BE CAREFUL.

Unbolt the overflow tank bracket.

Unbolt the overflow tank, disconnect the overflow tube, remove the cap with sensor, and remove the tank from the car.

Unplug the electric fan wiring and pull the two tabs off the fan shroud.

Pull the two tabs holding the electrical wiring on the passenger-side of the fan shroud.

Unbolt the electric cooling fan. It is held on by two bolts, one on each side.

While one person holds the air conditioning and electrical bundles out of the way, another person can pull the electric cooling fan out.

Disconnect the upper radiator hose from the radiator. If the weird Ford hose clamp has you worried, here's the trick: Take a Vise-Grip, clamp it onto the two tabs, then tighten the 'Grip's jaws with its adjuster until the clamp is completely opened. Then, just leave it that way until the hose is ready to go back on. If you don't have two Vise-Grips (one for each hose), be sure you have some sort of widemouth pliers or a C-clamp or something to compress the clamp ends when it's time for reassembly.

Disconnect the lower radiator hose from the radiator. Be sure to drain the hose.

Disconnect the upper transmission line. You want to disconnect it where the trans line threads into the radiator fitting, not where the fitting threads into the radiator.

Disconnect wires (top); passenger mount (middle); driver mount (bottom).

Put little sandwich baggies over the trans line and the rad fitting. This keeps fluid from pouring all over your floor, and keeps gunk from getting into the trans line.

Disconnect the lower trans line, same way.

There are two electrical connectors on the passenger-side, where the wire loom crosses over the radiator. Unplug them.

The radiator is held in place by two brackets. The passenger-side bracket is easy to see and reach; unbolt it and lift out.

The driver-side bracket is located on the radiator support, behind the battery. It has two bolts. You'll probably have to remove the negative battery terminal and a couple of ground wires to get at it. Remove this bracket.

Lift the radiator out, keeping an eye on various things which interfere, including: wire looms and air conditioning lines on the passenger-side; transmission lines on the driver-side.

Set the radiator somewhere it can be allowed to bleed to death.

Our new radiator came with new fittings. If yours doesn't, yank the fittings off the old one and install them, using threadlocker.

Drop the new radiator in, keeping an eye on the same various things.

Reinstall the radiator brackets.

Reattach and clamp the upper and lower radiator hoses.

Reattach the transmission lines, using threadlocker. Ours had trouble seating properly in the new fittings. We accomodated their needs by pounding them in with a Ford Special Tool #1, which can be found at any hardware store in the hammer section. How did we do this without crushing the delicate trans lines? Easy. Take the biggest adjustable wrench you can find, and set it to slightly larger than the diameter of the tubing. Hold the wrench flush against the line fitting and pound on the wrench. Thus the force is transmitted to the line fitting rather than the line. Even with the line threads flush against the radiator fitting, it may still be necessary for one person to push hard on the line fitting while the other wrenches away at it.

Reconnect the electrical connections.

Put the radiator fan shroud, overflow bottle, and wiring back together. This is also a good time to flush out the overflow bottle -- it can get pretty skanky.

Reinstall the upper radiator cover.

Drop the car.

Add your coolant/water mix.

Start the car and check for leaks.

After the car has run for a couple of minutes, check the coolant and ATF levels. Add as needed.

Shew! Now you have a nice new radiator and you don't have to worry about whatever it was that caused you to replace it, whether old age, burst lines, or a razorblade stab.