Well, the new radiator arrived today and it is very nice. A few problems cropped up when I did a test fit and I ended up having to cut the bottom bracket on the driver's side as with the radiator lined up it hit the outlet. The outlet on the new radiator is over towards the middle more as the original was very close to the side. The other side fits good and the pressure of the bottom radiator hose and transmission lines should hold it in place until I can find a suitable L bracket to put in on the other side of the outlet. Another problem has to do with the top bracket being too narrow to accommodate the new radiator. I've uploaded 3 images below which show this more clearly. Its' very close, but just not wide enough to work. I had to grease the rubbers with dish soap to get it on that far. EDIT: Does anyone know if the 401 radiator is the same width? I was just thinking it might be just what I need if it's wider than the 364. Anyone know about this or another possible fix?
Not having great luck with the radiator hoses. I ordered the lower one from O'Reilly's last Saturday and stopped by last night to pick it up, but apparently they ordered the wrong one as it was nothing like my old one. Different counter person this time and looked it up and said it was the wrong one. Correct one supposed to be there today, will stop by tomorrow and hopefully pick it up. Still no lead on a molded top hose though, so I may go with the flex for the time being. My brother-in-law also stopped by yesterday and said we should be able to alter the hold down support to fit the new radiator with little trouble. I did find another one on the parts list for a '63 and that is on it's way as a backup plan. At $21.90 shipped it is some good insurance.
Okay, got the broken bolt out, heat, hammer, pbblaster, very small pipe wrench=success. Problem 2, trans. lines connector too large for new radiator, need to get a couple of adapters for that. Always something. One day at a time.
Finally got the new radiator installed and all hooked up. New thermostat and hoses and the transmission lines are back on. Filled the radiator with water and poured in a bottle of cooling system cleaner to flush it out before I put fresh antifreeze back in. Went to start it to let it circulate and it would not start. No click or anything. It had been sitting since I brought it home so I thought maybe the battery was dead, but no difference after jumping it. Then I happened to think I didn't even check to make sure it was in Park, went back out and it was, but I moved the lever to Neutral and it started right up. Guess the switch needs to be aligned or something. Anyway I got to drive it around town a bit, not too far though. Funny that all of the lights work, dash, head and taillights, turn signals, brake lights, even the license plate and dome lights work! That is unreal for as long as it has been sitting. Will drain the cooling system tomorrow and run clear water through it for awhile, then drain and add antifreeze. Also noticed a small leak at the radiator with one of the transmission lines. I had to use adapters to get it to the correct size to match the fittings on the lines, should those adapters have anything on them like teflon tape or ???
Both the adapter & lines are "Flare" fittings. No tape needed unless the adapters aren't made for flare fittings at either or both ends. Try tightening just a "Little" more????
i was thinhing about ordering a rad fron that place too but seeing it seems like a pain in the butt with the hold down and ect.did you call the company and tell them it is not that sinple to install?guess i will look elswhere foe one for my 63 lesabre.buford owner from ct
Do not be surprised when bulbs and whatnot start blowing. if the car sat for a long spell, those old bulbs and flashers and such got brittle. You will probably experience a high rate of failure at first. If you have to replace an instrument panel lamp, just go ahead and replace them all to save yourself some time.
I remember once that I had a '68 Fleetwood (when I was about 21) and had to take the radiator out. Could not get the trans line loose. Was about to cut the line right at the fitting and my dad stopped me. He said, "Cut it about 3 inches back." I was asking him, "Why the hell would we do that?" He said, "Trust me". After the radiator repair, he got a piece of fuel hose, and we sleeved the now-cut line with the fuel hose and a couple of clamps, then tightened the fitting back into the radiator. Fitted and tightened the clamps and that was it. Never leaked. It's the simple things....
If your going to use this method, at least get rubber hoses specifically for transmissions. Fuel hose isn't made for that kind of line pressure. And like Tom said, you shouldn't need any type of thread sealant. Make sure they are extra tight, and if it still leaks, try a new fitting.
That's true, Andy. In our case, it was not a concern because all we really did was make a cut in the line. We did not remove a section. So the hose was not really subject to a lot of pressure, as it would be if it were actually flowing trans fluid through a substantial portion of the hose. Know what I mean?
What is being said is that fuel line hose is not acceptable, unless an emergency, to hose for any oil use. composition is different. Even fuel line hose/high pressure injection hose with today's gasoline, as Doc likes to say, "Cat Pee", is NOT AT ALL compatible. Within hours the hose gets all soft & mushy feeling. Not a comfortable feeling on a customers car. Most recently I've been using a foreign high pressure hose for fuel injection. At 8mm (5/16") & 6mm (1/4") is costly at $7.50 per foot. But appears to be holding up. Don't need any fires because of a hose rupturing, especially under pressure. Tom T.
Hi everyone, I made a hugh mistake on Sunday. After letting my car run for about 20 minutes, I thought I had the pressure released the pressure from the radiator cap, but I was wrong. I pressed down to release the cap and it exploded. I'm out of action for awhile.
Oh no! I'm sorry to hear that. Burns can be very painful. Have you been to the doctor? Hope you get well soon.
I've been trying to figure out why this happened and I think maybe I have a plausible reason. My thinking is that I have a bad head gasket on one of the cylinder banks which is pumping air into the cooling system. A couple of things happened previously to make me think this way. If this is the case, will a simple compression test show a problem? What exactly should I look for or is there a better way to find out if this is a problem?
I would think that if your leak were bad enough to cause that, then yes, you would see something on a compression test. I'd also look in the oil and coolant for swap. You would see milkiness in the oil and petroleum contamination in the coolant- swirls of oil and the telltale prism colors floating on top.
Update It's also been suggested that I let the car run with the cap off and see if the coolant bubbles out of the radiator. Makes sense to me that this would happen if air is being pumped into the coolant. The car is still sitting at my old house and I am now living in Seymour, Indiana. It will be the last thing moved, but at least here I will have a garage to put it in. I plan to do a couple of tests before we bring it here to see if I can be certain that this is the problem.
