calder-cay

2001 e-320, 218,000 miles

Radiator has a tiny leak on lower portion of radiator on driver's side

I was feeling pretty good about the progress I made to remove it - took about 20 minutes to the point where all I have to do is remove upper / lower hoses and the two transmission lines and pull out radiator.
Then the challenge rose it's ugly head. Why the designers did this is beyond me.

Images at bottom

One of the transmission lines has a clamp around it and is bolted to the very bottom center of the radiator.
So I got my 10mm socket and ratchet and went to loosen the bolt - guess what - it kept turning and turning and turning.

Upon closer inspection, there is a nut embedded inside the lower radiator casing and it was turning with the bolt.
But there isn't enough space to grab the nut with a 10mm open-end wrench, so I used my Dremel and ground away the casing one either side of the nut.

Guess what #2 - now i can put a 10mm open end wrench on the nut, but when I try to loosen the bolt, it's not loosening.
The nut and bolt are welded together, I suspect, with rust.

Any suggestions?
I was hoping to have the radiator leak fixed, versus buying a new radiator (this is obviously the orig radiator - all metal construction - no plastic side caps)

Or do I need to Dremel a "slot" to pull the line, bolt and nut up and out? Thinking that's my only option at this point

Plutoe

the short answer is that you have to do what ever it takes remove the nut and or bolt

bicylindrico

Just cut it across the band portion of the clamp. Git-r-done!

bbirdwell

^ +1. This!
Then purchase and install a new clamp.

calder-cay

Yep ... I already cut the "band" portion, and radiator is out ... blue tape square shows the area of leak
Already ordered a Nissens radiator from RockAuto, which shipped about 6 hours ago.

if anyone is still lurking, would the Behr radiator be a better choice?

bicylindrico

Both were OEM vendors and good quality

calder-cay

Correct ... I got the radiator yesterday and compared to original today ... exact match

calder-cay

Well, I've had the radiator for a few days ... and I decided to buy a new lower radiator hose, since it'd be easier to replace it now, rather than later when the radiator is in place.

We had a couple of days of sub-freezing temps around here (last Wed up to 72, but dropped next day to sub-freezing for a couple of days), but yesterday it warmed up again (55), so I went out to the barn and got to work on the e320 ... installed the lower hose, then installed the radiator and buttoned everything back up !!

I'm happy to report the Nissens radiator is an exact fit in every way for this 2001 e320:
height, width, thickness, hose locations, and clips - absolutely zero fitment issues.

Only thing left to do is go buy some Zerex G05 yellow coolant, fill it, then fire it up!