Radiator removal

[69280sl]

I have the usual overheat problems and just ordered a HE radiator.
Does anyone know if the radiator can be removed "downward" on a 280sl w/ air conditioning. I have seen that it has been done on 230sl w/o air.This seems preferable to removing and then reinstalling and aligning the hood.
Thanks
Gus

inspectorgm

[enochbell]

Gus,

Don't know about downward removal of radiator, but the hood is really not much of a problem as long as you have a helper and are careful to protect all edges.  Just remove the 10mm bolts from one side of the hood and slip the other side off of the hinge pin.  It should go back without having to make any adjustments.

g

'64 230sl, fully sorted out...ooops, spoke too soon

[69280sl]

Thanks Greg, it was the prospect of trying to maintain that very nice alignment that caused me to consider the alternate. Since what you describe doesn't change hood alignment, thats the way I will go.

inspectorgm

[TheEngineer]

I have a 69 280SL and just removed the hood, radiator and cylinder head. I have removed the hood many times. It is light, I do it by myself. There is a hole in the channel on the hood above the spring. Make an S-shaped hook and hang the spring into that hook after you have inserted the hook into the hole. Support the hood with a stick. Undo the strap. Put small pieces of heavy cardboard between the open hood and the fenders on each side and a bigger piece between the grille and the hood. Now undo the two hex head bolts on each side which hold the hinge to the hood. There are floating nutplates in the hood. It's a little more difficult to catch these nutplates when you put the hood back on. Use a nail to find them. I have always removed the radiator from the top. I have A/C, so that makes it a little more difficult. I leave the shroud in place, just move it away from the radiator by taking the screws out. Be careful not to scrape the radiator too much against the fan. The fins can be straightened out with thin flat pliers.

'69 280SL,Signal Red,007537,tired engineer, West-Seattle, WA

[Bob G]

Do not forget the rubber gasket on each side of the radiator.


Bob Geco

[TheEngineer]

Thanks, Bob: I didn't know there was supposed to be a rubber gasket. Maybe that's why the radiator bracket became unsoldered on the R.H. side

[Vince Canepa]

I've R&R'd the radiator both ways and I prefer going out the bottom.  Even marking the hinge you remove carefully doesn't ensure that you won't need to make some time consuming adjustment when the hood goes back on.  Going out the bottom saves a lot of time.

The original installation has a 1/16" rubber strip on each side.  On some cars that may not be enough so that the radiator goes in "without tension".  I had to use a thicker rubber strip on one side of mine so that the radiator is snug.  That takes the tension off the solder joints.

Vince Canepa
1967 250SL
113.043-10-001543
568H Signal Red
116 Caviar MB-Tex

[A Dalton]

I am Out the Bottom school also..
 A good rad. protection/practice is to tape  a full sheet of cardboard on the inside face of rad anytime one is working on a rad., pump or fan... they are just too $$$$$$$$ to get ruined by a sliping wrench or tool.....
 Been there replacing a viscous once....tight quarters, to say the least

[JimVillers]

Thanks guys .... From the sounds of this and the other thread, I thought that I was the only one that thought taht removing the radiator out the bottom easier (and I believe unique to the 113).

Jim Villers
190SL, 230SL 5-Speed, 190E 2.3-16 Kompressor

[Vince Canepa]

OK - I dropped the radiator last night.  Total time 30 minutes.  Most of that is removing the battery and air filter housing, then draining the system.  The only think that makes mine a bit tighter than some others I have done is that mine has the fan shroud.  It helps to have a helper to manuever it around as you drop the radiator out.

Vince Canepa
1967 250SL
113.043-10-001543
568H Signal Red
116 Caviar MB-Tex

[JPMOSE]

When removing the radiator from the bottom, does it have to go straight down or is there room the angle it at all?

Besides the fan shroud and transmission lines, what else needs to be removed?

Best Regards,

J. P. Mose
1968 250SL

[Vince Canepa]

It goes straight down - I would not try to angle it very much because of the proximity to the fan.  The battery and air cleaner housing must come out to reach the bolts holding the radiator - there are four that come from the side.

Vince Canepa
1967 250SL
113.043-10-001543
568H Signal Red
116 Caviar MB-Tex

[69280sl]

Since making the original post on this thread I had my radiator replaced by a neighborhood shop. I asked him to try to get it out "downward" which is what he did.

Book time for R&R the radiator on a 280sl w/ air is 3.5 hrs. He charged me 2.5 hours and I didn't have to worry about chipped or scratched paint or hood misalignment.

Down is the way to go.

Gus

inspectorgm

68 280sl, signal red/ beige/black softtop

[66andBlue]

Vince or Jim or Dalton,
can you tell me how high the front needs to be off ground to get the radiator out "downwards"?
I cannot get the car on a lift and have to do this job in my garage.
Thanks!

Alfred
1966 blue 230SL automatic

[JimVillers]

Alfred .... I put my car up on jack stands and dropped the radiator out the bottom.  My car is a little easy because it does not have power steering, A/C or a fan shroud.

Jim Villers
190SL, 230SL 5-Speed, 190E 2.3-16 Kompressor

[mdsalemi]

I just had to share this photo with all of you...the topic of getting the car "high enough" off the ground in order to drop the radiator made me think of it.

This is from a friend of mine, whose family used to own the Lake Minnewaska Hotel outside of New Paltz, New York, in the Catskills.  The father, since passed away a few years ago, decided to restore his 190SL when we was 89 years old.  Anyway, all by himself with just the stuff you see here he managed to get the car up as you see it.  Little bits of jacking and sticking blocks underneath repeatedly and anything is possible I suppose...

The car was never completed, and now belongs to the son.

Download Attachment: Phillips190SL.jpg
71.88 KB

Michael Salemi
1969 280SL
Signal Red w/Black Leather
Restored

[Ricardo]

Amazing what a little time and patience can do and at 89...but I'd like to point out that folks should not use concrete blocks.
Especially when turned on their sides like this, where they have considerably less strength.
Please use wooden blocks or even wheel rims, concrete blocks are not safe to support loads. They are meant to be cemented into a wall to attain any structural strength.
Be safe...not sorry.

[blairwag]

After reading most of this thread, I was about to interject that I would think that removal of the radiator from the top would be better in the end. Even though you do have to deal with the inconvenience of removing and realigning the hood (bonnet), removing the hood affords a great deal of access to everything in the engine compartment. For instance, it makes battery and ari cleaner housing removal so much easier. Not to mention no need for a lift.

But, someone asked how high the car must be off the ground to remove the radiator. I would have assumes a lift is required. I have simple jack stands and ramps. Would raising the car as little as 1 to 2 feet off the ground make enough room to remove the radiator from underneath?


--
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William Blair Wagner: blairwag@earthlink.net
Education is not always knowing the answer,
...but rather knowing where to look for it!
1971 280SL US Automatic
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