flyweed

Hey Guys....we were up visiting the in laws over Christmas, and notice my radiator was leaking coolant...I am pretty handy, and figured when I got home I'd order up a new radiator and replace it...since we were so far from home, I decided to buy a small bottle of Bar's radiator stop leak.....trouble is....I think it either clogged up my radiator itself or the thermostat..as my van now will slowly overheat. So.......looking to see if anyone knows of any DIY videos or step by steps on replacing the thermostat and radiator on this. Do I need to take the front grill of the van off to get the radiator out?

Any help or tips would be great. Thanks much

flyweed

Oops...should add some pertinent info.

2002 CHevy Express 3500 with 5.7L V8.

canucklehead

To remove rad on that van you have to pull the top half of the fan shroud out, and the fan itself. Which is a biatch. The ac hose gets in the way, but its doable. To get the fan off, you need to hold the flange with the 4 small bolts and turn the big hex shaft. It a threaded shaft which will be tight. Once the fan and top part of shroud is off its downhill from there.
dont forget to check the 2 idler pulleys, as the bearing go on those, and put in a new thermostat.
You may want to flush your engine first thought and get that goop crap out.
The rad is alluminum so it will cost more than you think it will.....and you need the red coolant, not the green.
If you pick up a Haynes repair manual it has some handy info in there.

flyweed

thanks for the info...where is the thermostat located on this particular vehicle/engine? I would assume that would be a fairly easy changeout.

canucklehead

Front of the intake manifold....