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Old 02-27-2024, 12:09 AM
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njsteve njsteve is offline
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I had to pull the radiator from my January-1993-built Viper yesterday after seeing a puddle of antifreeze under the nose.

Just a heads-up in case anyone out there mistakenly thinks you can pull the radiator from a 1992 or 1993 (with the early style dual fan set up and filler neck) by following the one-hour Gen II procedure. NO WAY!!! It's an 8-hour job on the early cars.

The first two years of production used a fiberglass front bulkhead that holds the radiator in front of it, in the space between the bulkhead and the front fascia. There is NO opening to the rear and the shroud is part of the bulkhead itself. Only the fan motors are removable. The mid-year 1993 with the removable single fan unit and the fender-mounted reservoir, and the newer 94 and 95 (and Gen II) use a front bulkhead that had the radiator mounted behind it facing the engine and a removable fan shroud. On the Gen II you can unhook the rad hoses and the top mounting nut and pull the radiator out in the space between the engine and the bulkhead in a matter of minutes, even with the hood still attached.

On the 1992/93 Gen I, cars you have to remove the hood, remove the hood latches to get the cables out of the way and then remove the entire hinge assembly, which is nearly impossible because 2 of the 3 mounting bolts are underneath the headlight pods, then disconnect and remove the A/C condensor, if so equipped. Because the early cars have that radiator filler cap on the radiator, there is no way to maneuver the radiator the required 5 inches or so to get the inlet and outlet out of their respective holes in the bulkhead while clearing the radiator filler neck around the hinge mounting point. And no, you can't pull the front fascia off to get at the headlight pods because the early 92 and 93 cars used a giant styrofoam reinforcement inside of the fascia that wraps around and over the aluminum crash bar, which wont come out either, when you remove its mounting bolts because the side edges of the front fascia wrap around the inner fenders in a way that will crack the paint and the plastic if you attempt it in anything under 90-degree weather.

So in the end, I used an insane combination of 1/4" and 3/8" drive universal joints, straight and swivel head sockets and some wooden and plastic wedges to pry the headlight pods the extra millimeter or two up, so I could get to the last hinge bolts under the headlight pods.

I then dropped it off at Fingers Radiator Hospital in North Brunswick, NJ this morning. They have been in business for over 95 years! They do amazing repair work. They will be recoring it as a 3-core instead of the factory 2 core.

https://www.fingersradiator.com/fing...tor5v1_002.htm

Just thought you might want to know.
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Last edited by njsteve; 02-27-2024 at 12:14 AM.
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