Classic Ford Mustangs - How To Install An Aluminum Radiator

Aluminum radiators have a different tube configuration than copper/brass radiators, and fewer rows and wider tubes are the norm. The result is greater heat transfer. This is a two-row core, but it yields the cooling capacity of a standard four-row core.

Drain the radiator at its lowest point via the petcock or by removing the lower hose. Always recycle antifreeze, and never allow it to leak on the floor. Because animals love the sweet taste, they will drink it. However, antifreeze can kill your pet.

Automatic-transmission-cooler lines are next. Disconnect the lines as shown, and protect the fluid by capping the lines.

Disconnect the upper hose. This is a good time to consider new hoses for your cooling system. Remember, you need an anti-collapse coil spring in the lower radiator hose. Without it, the lower hose can collapse at higher revs, closing off coolant supply from the radiator, causing overheating.

Remove the fan shroud next, using a 3/8-inch socket in most applications. This one, however, used bolts with 7/16-inch heads.

Next, remove the radiator's upper retaining bracket using a 1/2-inch socket.

The radiator is free once the top bracket is removed.

Before you can remove the radiator, disconnect and remove the fan. In this application, it's a clutch fan. Use a 1/2-inch box-end wrench to unbolt the fan from the water-pump hub.

Lift the fan and shroud out as an assembly to clear both pump and radiator.