It's been a few tough months for me and my 03' X-Type. The week before Thanksgiving I dropped $400 on the front right wheel bearing. Then the day after Thanksgiving on the drive with my kids in the car in a snow storm the water pump belt tensioner pulley shattered and I was forced to drive her HOT to a safe location. Well even in 20 degree weather it couldn't handle the temps and end up with a blown head gasket and a rattle from the lower end. So I was forced to either junk the car or do an engine swap. At the time I felt it was to good of a car to just junk( only 130,000 miles)so I went ahead and told the shop to do it. All said and done we replaced the engine, all coolant hoses($380),power steering flush, clutch replaced( was down to the rivets so a GOOD time to do it while the car was apart, 17hours of shop time saved since the engine was already out). It was heart breaking looking at her torn apart like that. The complete front sub frame, engine, tranny, transfer case etc. all out and on the floor while the body was in the air on the lift. I think the total was $5800. Really starting to think I made a mistake.... now the radiator is leaking at the top drivers side mounting post! I picked up a new radiator off eBay and got to work this afternoon.

Here are a couple pointers for those needing to replace theirs.....

-A regular pair of jack stands work just fine.

-Take out the battery as it gives you a little more room.

-There is not a hose clamp on the bottom hose. You remove the hose along with a plastic fitting from the radiator. The locking spring on the BOTTOM hose just pulls down, you can remove it all the way if you want just don't lose it. The hose fitting in tight and will take a little work to wiggle off the radiator.
You may need a screw driver to help wiggle it off.

-There are 4 electrical connectors you have to disconnect. All are on the side by the battery. 1 is a O2 sensor,2 are for the fans and I don't recall the 4th.

-Take off the belly pan under the bumper.

- Pull the center "bar" the lower grill in the bumper, also pull the small plastic insert out of the lower grill both ends. This will make getting to the small bolts that hold the AC condenser so much easier. Sadly I didn't realize it came apart like that till I was fighting putting the radiator back in.

-You dont have to pull the power steering hoses a part like I had read else where.

-Unbolt the AC condenser from the radiator and the power steering cooler( looks like a giant pipe cleaner). The condenser will drop on you so use a few zip ties and tie it off to the top radiator support.

- There are 4 bolts on each side of the lower radiator support that need to come out. After they have been removed you can fish the support out from under the car. Just watch the power steering and AC hoses on the passenger side.

- With a little wiggle the radiator/fans will drop out of the car all as one unit.

- There are 3 or 4 metal clips that you have to swap from the old radiator to the new one. They are for the AC Condenser and power steering cooler to bolt to.

-It was a little sucky putting the new radiator back into the car. You have to swap the fan unit from the old radiator to the new one and it goes back up into the car as one unit.

- This is where it gets tricky... You have to push the radiator/fans up into the car and hold it there while you get the lower hose back on. Then you have to fish the lower support back through the steering and AC hose and try to get 1 bolt on each end into place to hold it.

- From the lower grill in the bumper get the AC condenser mounted back to the front of the radiator. There is 1 tab on each side of the condenser that locks into the radiator. Make sure they are in place before you bolt the bottom bolts to the radiator.

-Pull the rubber mount that are on the top radiator mounting posts as high up as you can. This will help guide the radiator into place while you finish bolting the bottom support up.

-Replace the top hose and overflow hose.

- Plug the connectors all back in and replace the bottom belly pan and lower grill parts.

All said and done I think I spent 3 hours dealing with it. I admit I lost time having to put the battery back in after I realized I didn't take my tool box out of the trunk before removing it the first time and I missed the whole AC condenser mounting tabs so I had to unbolt the bottom support and all of that then realized the lower drill came apart to get to the small bolts. So I am sure I killed a good 30 minutes with those trip ups!

So I hope some of this helps someone else in the future!

Enjoy!

 

Man brother sorry to hear about your X having issues...that truly stinks. Good information though just in case anyone needs to replace their radiator! Thanks!

 

after following the directions to replace my radiator in my 2003 x-type, I filled up be over flow reservar with 50 50 coolant. I started the car found no leaks, engine heated up to temperature, but I had no leaks.but there was no heat coming through the vents nor the defrost. Additionally there was no loss of coolant in the reservoir. am I missing something like burping the system or does it do it on his own?
could it be a bad thermostat or a screwed up water pump?

 

That does sound like air trapped in the heater core - if you search the forum for "burp" Thermo has a very clear description of how to do so.

 

I truly appreciate a guy who loves his " X " that much !! And this lazy old Brit , doesn't even change his own oil or filters ......

 

Wow, your story is awe inspiring.

If ya knew then what you know now, would ya spend the dough on another ride or go thru this again??

 

Loved reading this post and realize that kat lovers are all unwilling to let it go......