radiator replacement

Just pulled the radiator out from the bottom of my RV. I have a 1996 Ford F53 chasis with the hydrolic leveling system. After chocking the wheels I placed 2 3 inch blocks under the front jacks. I lowered the rear Jack's just enough to to touch the ground. Then I fully raised the front. This brought my front wheels about 3 inches off the ground. I then place 4 jack stands under the frame.
From the dog house I removed the two upper bolts holding the fan shroud on. Then I rocked the fan shroud side to side with upward force to release it from clips on the bottom of the radiator. Hang the fan on the water pump pulley.
Then from the front engine access I unscrewed the two upper bolts holding the AC condenser in place. Don't try to fully remove these bolts. Once they feel loose pull on them. They screw into tips that insert into the upper radiator mounts that are rubber. BTW those rubber mounts are no longer available for sale so try to reach up and remove them from below the vehicle. Put them in a safe place.
From the underside of the vehicle remove the lower radiator support bolt. 2 on each side. Leave radiator support in place.
Remove stabilizer bar and order new bushings for the reinstall as yours have probably disintegrated like mine. One nut on each side and 2 bolts in the middle if I'm not mistaken.
Remove fan from water pump by removing 4 bolts. Good time to replace fan clutch as well.
Loosen alternator tension bolt and remove belt.
Remove lower pulley from wat I believe is the air pump. 1st device counter clockwise from alternator. I removed 2 of the hose from the air pump as well in order to push the lines out of the way
Remove upper and lower radiator hoses.
Remove all transmission lines and coolant lines.
Remove fill pipe from front of vehicle by loosening inner hose clamp.
At this point I carefully pulled the bottom of the radiator towards the rear of the vehicle making sure to watch for any lines that may still be connected. Once pulled back I pushed up on the radiator and slid the bottom radiator support towards the front of the vehicle. I secured it vertically in place against the AC condenser.
Then I returned the radiator to its original vertical position. Radiator should stay vertical for the rest of removal. I pulled the passenger side of the radiator all the way back to towards the alternator and air pump then lowered it out through the frame rails. Be careful not to bend any of your transmission lines.
Honestly it took me about 3 hours to figure out how to get the radiator through the frame rails. There was only about .25 inch of clearance. Removing all but the lower air pump bracket bolts may help significantly. Loosening the lower bolt so you can manipulate the air pump where you need it may help.
I also replaced the water pump while I was in there. I don't know how you all did that from the dog house. You have to move almost everything with a pulley out of the way to access the water pump.
My lowest quote for the radiator alone was $3k including an aluminium radiator and 10-12 hours labor. I called 10 radiator shops and all but 2 wouldn't touch the F53 radiator saying it was too labor intensive.
I ordered a custom copper and brass radiator from Radiator Supply House in Oregon for $1300. I guess they build them frequently for the F53. They gave me a 12 day build time. It was supposed to be delivered Friday and its Sunday now. I called them on Friday. They said it would ship out that day by end of business and they would email tracking info. I never got an email. So far no good. Going to call tomorrow to see if they'll expedite shipping. I just hope it's no bigger than the stock copper plastic one or I'll be struggling on the install.
I'll post how the install goes
This project all started after a trip to the Sequoias. Motor was running warm on the L of normal all of the way home at highway speeds. Yet dropped down to the N and O while stuck in LA traffic for 3 hours. In hindsight it was probably the lower radiator hose collapsing at higher RPMs. Upon removal it looked like the inner spring moved to far back in the hose allowing collapse just before the radiator.
Anyways day after the trip I started up the RV to turn it around in the driveway and the coolant was dumping down both sides of the radiator. I'm pretty sure I blew the rubber gaskets on the plastic radiator tanks. Just thankful I made it home safely.




Append

thanks for your info

I took mine in for a recore about 8 years ago. The engine was always running hot. When I went to pick it up, they showed me the old core. It was so heavily coated inside with this white hard substance there was no way it could effectively cool. They also increased the tube cores from 3/8" to 5/8" diameter. It took care of all of my overheating issues.

Chum lee wrote:
What your radiator looks like on the outside may or may not have anything to do with what it looks like on the inside which is what counts. Your Ford F53 chassis came with a very durable heavy duty truck radiator in it. If your cooling system has been properly maintained, meaning, changing the coolant regularly and using the recommended coolant, there is no reason that it can't last 30 years or more. Obvious leaks and road damage excepted. Before I dropped the kind of cash you stated, I would have it inspected with a borescope and pressure tested. Without additional information other than "it looks bad" I would leave it alone and spend the money elsewhere. (hoses, expansion tank, coolant flush, etc.) Those items are much more likely to go bad first. That said, no one can see your radiator but you! IMO it's highly likely that you are pulling a perfectly good OEM radiator and replacing it with an aftermarket part with significantly less quality.

Chum lee

thanks Chum lee for your help, its never seen winter use, pressure test next

thanks everyone, if and when I do this I will replace hoses etc as well

If it is not leaking or overheating now an easy way to check it is to bring it up to temperature and take temp measurements with an IR gun in a grid pattern from the inlet to the outlet if it is clogged or has started to clog you will see colder readings where the clog is forming, for some reason they seem to clog in the center where the fan clutch is. Also you should see a drop in temperature of greater than 30 degrees F from inlet to outlet. When I checked my 23 year radiator there was a temperature difference of 50 degrees with no cold spots. As Richard said it is the inside that counts.

If I was replacing the radiator, I'd be replacing ALL the hoses as well.

Your radiator has more that enough capacity to cool your MH under the worst conditions. Ford didn't cheat in that area. I'm running a 460/528 stroker with OEM radiator core, in my 95 Bounder and don't have a cooling problem. You probably don't have a radiator problem. But if you do decide to change it, beware of the copper replacement radiators offered on the internet. They don't cool properly. The replacements only have 15 fins per inch, where as your OEM radiator has 20 fins per inch. That's 25% difference in surface area. There are aluminum replacements that look like they should cool properly.
Your radiator comes out the front. Remove the AC condenser, unbolt the tranny cooler, move the PS reservoir to the side. Two screws in the top hold the radiator and condenser in place. From inside, remove two screws in the top of the fan shroud (hard to see). Remove upper radiator hose from the thermostat housing and leave it attached to radiator. It a bear's a$$ to remove it from the radiator while in the MH. Remove lower radiator hose, tranny cooling lines and ¼" coolent hose, from left end tank. Pull that rascal out the front.

Richard

Antifreeze coolant can keep the inside of the radiator looking great. Since the OP is in Canada, where they have Winter and probably use some salt on the highways, there is a good possibility that the fins of the radiator have corroded away and the cooling capacity of his radiator is compromised.

What your radiator looks like on the outside may or may not have anything to do with what it looks like on the inside which is what counts. Your Ford F53 chassis came with a very durable heavy duty truck radiator in it. If your cooling system has been properly maintained, meaning, changing the coolant regularly and using the recommended coolant, there is no reason that it can't last 30 years or more. Obvious leaks and road damage excepted. Before I dropped the kind of cash you stated, I would have it inspected with a borescope and pressure tested. Without additional information other than "it looks bad" I would leave it alone and spend the money elsewhere. (hoses, expansion tank, coolant flush, etc.) Those items are much more likely to go bad first. That said, no one can see your radiator but you! IMO it's highly likely that you are pulling a perfectly good OEM radiator and replacing it with an aftermarket part with significantly less quality.

Chum lee