rotfl Only if you are married.
anic:
Here's a writeup I did for someone else recently:
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Look at the parts list to see how the pieces mount and where the hardware is. That advice pertains to ANY repair job you do on the Lotus.
Yeah, drain the coolant...don't waste your time trying to use the 10mm drain bolt on the lower right. It's hidden by the shroud. Instead remove the large hose on the lower left. It WILL gush out and make a mess.
Disconnect all the fans and secure the wires out of the way of the rad.
Remove the other hoses, I remember doing the upper right one where it travels left-right along the frame. Note the orientation.
Disconnect the retaining clamps from the oil cooler hoses at the bottom of the radiator tray. That allows the tray to lower without pulling on the oil cooler lines. Can't remember if Lotus riveted them or not. Drill the rivets out if present, replace them with nuts and bolts on reinstallation.
Unbolt the two round brace rods from the bottom of the radiator shroud to the chassis. Again note the orientation, they are not exactly symmetrical.
Support the radiator tray to take the weight off. Then remove the vertical bolts (at least two each side) that mount the rad tray to the trunk floor.
Remove the spare tire, and loosen but not remove the two front vertical bolts.
Then the tray will pivot down (you still have something under it to support it, right?) . There are two bolts on each side that mount the rad frame to the mounting tray. Remove those and pull the fan/radiator assembly clear of the tray, towards the back of the car.
Once removed, disassemble the radiator from the fan shroud and metal frame. (Post a pic of the dirt stuck to it, <GRIN>) Drop the rad off at your radiator shop while you paint the frame and repair the cracked ABS plastic fan shroud. Buy new foams top and bottom from Home Depot (look for square foam used to seal the gaps in window air conditioners). (At the age of our cars, all the factory foam is disintegrating). This is also a good time to fiberglass the radiator tray if it is cracked from bumping into curbs or scraping on driveways.
The above removes the radiator, mounting frame, and the fans all as one unit. The "tray" that the radiator, A/C, and oil cooler sits in does NOT need to be completely removed.
I recommend having a helper present when you reinstall...as usual, it's a LOT more difficult to position the assembly when reinstalling.
Oh, and search here on LT for the recent Topic here about repairing the ABS plastic shroud.
