Follow-up: BTDT's on radiator replacement

[Steve Manning <stephenm@ix.netcom.com>]

Well, I got the radiator replaced on my '90 200tqw this last weekend.
Thanks much for the great advice received from Steven Buchholz, Dave Head,
Alex Kowalski, Frank Bauer, Steve (Sachelle Babbar), and especially Dave
Lawson (whose experiences were really close to mine).

It took me about 5 hours, taking my time.  I also flushed all coolant and
converted to Dexcool at the same time (it sure is a shocking color of pink
under the hood).  Considering the terrible shape the radiator was in at
130k, out of fear I'm going to quickly replace the 150k mile radiator on my
90q.

It's interesting that Bentley has *no* procedure for removing the radiator!

I got an all-metal, lifetime warrantied radiator from Imparts.  I liked
everything about it except I had the same problem Dave Lawson did, with the
bottom two rubber supports.  See my procedure below for what I did (I've
basically modified Dave's procedure).

1.  Remove battery ground
2.  Disconnect fan motor wires and set aside
3.  Detach wire plug from the thermosensor on the engine side of radiator;
tie plug out of way to keep from getting wet.  Remove top plastic radiator
shroud.
4.  Remove 2 bolts (8mm) connecting radiator to a/c condensor, then lift
out of bottom rail and move forward
5.  Remove 2 rubber mounts for upper radiator
6.  Remove 2 rubber mounts (13mm) at bottom, and 2 bolts (10mm) where
shroud attaches to radiator.  Do this before removing hoses or draining any
coolant, otherwise you'll get a faceful of antifreeze while you're doing
this...BTDT)  You have access to all these bolts without taking off
anything at the bottom of the engine.
7.  Remove overflow tank; check for cracks and replace if necessary;
otherwise put cleaner in it, cover hose outlets, and let it soak to remove
deposits while you're doing the rest of the job.
8.  Undo upper and lower radiator hoses
9.  Notice I did not remove the fan or shroud; I left it attached when I
pulled the radiator
10. Unslacken bolt that tightens hydraulic pump belt, remove it, remove
other pivot bolt that holds it on, and lay pump aside on valve cover (rest
of hoses can stay connected)
11. Carefully pull out radiator while avoiding wires around ABS unit, aux
cooling pump, etc.
12. Swap over fan shroud, fan switch and expansion tank hose to new radiator

Next, to quote from Dave, who had the same problem I did:
>- Now this is where mine got interesting.
>Everyone I talked to said theirs had 1 rubber mount, my 1990 has 2 on the
bottom.
>When I go to swap the rubber mounts over to the new rad, only 1 rubber mount
>fits in. The hole where the second rubber mount goes was threaded for the
shroud
>bolt. Hmmmmm. I had 2 89 200q data points and they both said 1 rubber
mount, but 
>mine had 2. It was the orig audi radiator and had a build  date of 7/89.
This difference 
>is on the fender side of the car.

13.  (My build date was 8/89).  I drilled out the incorrect hole for the
other mount (to about 3/8ths) and put another nut behind it, and screwed
the original rubber mount in.  This eliminated the other attachment point
for the shroud but big deal.
14. As they say, reinstall in reverse order!

I didn't have trouble with the plastic outlet nipple on the aux cooling
pump because it was relatively new.  I re-used all hoses and thermostat,
etc. because they were all new in the last 6 months, but if you haven't I'd
do it all at the same time.

Well, it's done....thanks to everyone who helped.  Now on to the
90q!..........SLM

Steve Manning:  stephenm@ix.netcom.com
...Physical home: Metro D.C. area, USA
.....Virtual home:  http://www.stationwagon.com