Thread: RADIATOR REMOVAL ON P38'S

One of the simplest jobs to do on a P38A.

Release clips to top cowl and remove it
Remove fan (undo the nut in the direction of rotation of the fan)
Remove shroud (2 clips)
Undo hoses (the bottom one is the worst. Be careful to NOT break the nipple to which the expansion overflow connects at the top of the radiator)
Undo a bolt each side at the bottom of the radiator
Lift it out

I can remove one in around 10 minutes.

Have you the workshop manual, e.g., the RAVE CD? See Section 26 Cooling System

It is not necessary to remove the fan. It will involve a little manoeuvring of the bottom cowling as you lift the rad upwards in its slots. Still an easyish job
I was unable to undo my fan nut on the day I replaced my rad hence why I know its possible.
I would recommend breaking the seal on the fan Nut in advance so you know its not seized solid then you can plan your extraction

By the sounds of it seems pretty straight forward.

Reason for asking, i went to natrad and the guy didn't have a clue about how to remove the rad.

Just to clarify how easy it is, apart from the hoses and cowling needing detaching the rad sits in a track. At the bottom either side there are two bolts that just hold the rad down. When the bolts are removed the rad can move upward and out. A good design as long as the bottom bolts arn`t corroded

I replaced my radiator 2 months ago.
60 minutes and i had it recharged and back on the rd.
It is a goo oportunity to clean leaves and dust from out of your A/C condenser as well.

Could be a good time to do the thermostat as well.

i've ordered a thermostat along with rad from Britpart.

Anyone had any experiences between the genuine & non-genuine radiators??

Originally Posted by redandy3575

Anyone had any experiences between the genuine & non-genuine radiators??

Yes, I've bought two brand new OEM radiators in the last six months. Both scottish made and were real OEM ones. The first one got destroyed by an exploding fan. Both rads leaked from new around the seal on the bottom plastic tank. It was too much hassle in both cases to return and wait for a replacement so I took the bottom tank off in both cases - they're only crimped on with aluminium flaps. After taking off the tank there's a rubber spacer/washer - in the first one this was misaligned and crushed and in the second it just plain didn't seal. Solution to both was to remove the rubber washer and apply gasket silicone before crimping the tank back on with pliers and hammer/chisel the tabs back down.

Wouldn't recommend fixing it yourself unless you have to or are a sucker for punishment... Anyways, long story short is I'd spend the extra $50 or so and buy a genuine land rover one next time around - hopefully many years away for me. I was quoted $445 for OEM and $505 for genuine in November 2010

Right........Radiator has been replaced. I again flushed the whole system again with tectaloy mukout before taking the old radiator out. Seems to be pretty straight forward, didn't need to take the fan out ( which was seized on anyway, let the mechanic deal with that one) and replace the thermo while i was at it. Seems to run at around the same temp with the needle in the middle. Will see if she gets hot when under load or off roading. The old radiator looked ok from the outside, but looked a bit gunked up on the inside.