Mission accomplished!
Ok...the factory service manual was worth diddly-squat for this task. I will post the FSM steps along with what I actually had to do to complete the install.
There's plenty of unobstructed space beneith that drain to put a container to catch the coolant.
I would say getting the coolant drained was the hardest part of this whole operation (mainly fighting with the hose clamps). Other than that it was really straight-forward. I can't think of anything that I need to warn you about during installation. You would have already wrestled through these 12 steps to get the thing out, so you should know what to expect when you put it all back together.
GETTING YOUR TRUCK RUNNING AGAIN...
If you didn't already know this, after you fill your radiator back up with coolant, run the engine for a few minutes with the radiator pressure cap removed. Doing this will cycle all the air out of your cooling system (with all those hoses disconnected and a new, empty radiator installed there's A LOT of air in the system). If you don't do this your truck WILL overheat (and the radiator will still be cold and you'll think that your thermostat is bad and you'll change it and it won't fix the problem and you'll really be confused why your truck is overheating).
Ok...the factory service manual was worth diddly-squat for this task. I will post the FSM steps along with what I actually had to do to complete the install.
Sure, why not.FSM said:
F%&* THAT! You need to drain the radiator, not the block. The radiators for the 3rd gen 3.7, 4.7, and 5.7 motors have a drain plug on the lower-driver's-side of the tank. I tried (for about 20 minutes) to remove the draincock from the block and it just was not going to happen.FSM said:
There's plenty of unobstructed space beneith that drain to put a container to catch the coolant.
If you don't already have a pair in your toolbox I HIGHLY recommend a pair of hose clamp pliers! I actually went out and bought a pair after about 10min of fighting with a pesky clamp. Also, be ready to do a lot of swearing. Even with the right tools those clamps can be a b*#&@ to get free. Put a bucket under the lower radiator hose. You'll still get quite a bit of fluid out of that hose even though you drained the radiator. This fluid will end up with junk in it because it splashed on chassis bits on the way down.FSM said:
This only takes a second to do and frees up quite a bit of space in the part of the engine bay you're working in.ME said:
Yup, do that.FSM said:
This is pretty straight forward. There's two bolts on the shroud that come out, then the whole thing pulls straight up. Leave the wire pigtails and washer hose connected. There's enough slack that you can put these tanks where the air cleaner was.FSM said:
Again, pretty straight forward.FSM said:
First off, you don't need to disconnect anything and you already did that in step 5.FSM said:
Do just like they say.FSM said:
HELL NO! After you read step 10 I'll tell you what I did and it will save you a ton of headache.FSM said:
INSTEAD, get some big zip-ties and run them between you trans cooler and radiator support. Pull them tight enough that they take the weight of the cooler BUT NO TIGHTER. Then take a couple more zip-ties and tie the power steering cooler to the trans cooler. Now, remove the one bolt from the trans cooler (passenger-side) and wiggle the ears free of the driver's-side. This is when you should also unclip the lines from the radiator (passenger-side). Next go under the truck and remove the two bolts from the bottom of the radiator that hold the power steering cooler in place. The two auxillary coolers should now happily hang out in front of your radiator.FSM said:
Yup, do that.FSM said:
That's all that's left!FSM said:
I would say getting the coolant drained was the hardest part of this whole operation (mainly fighting with the hose clamps). Other than that it was really straight-forward. I can't think of anything that I need to warn you about during installation. You would have already wrestled through these 12 steps to get the thing out, so you should know what to expect when you put it all back together.
GETTING YOUR TRUCK RUNNING AGAIN...
If you didn't already know this, after you fill your radiator back up with coolant, run the engine for a few minutes with the radiator pressure cap removed. Doing this will cycle all the air out of your cooling system (with all those hoses disconnected and a new, empty radiator installed there's A LOT of air in the system). If you don't do this your truck WILL overheat (and the radiator will still be cold and you'll think that your thermostat is bad and you'll change it and it won't fix the problem and you'll really be confused why your truck is overheating).
