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A very good friend of mine needs to replace his leaky radiator on his long door TR2, the question is can a radiator be removed and replaced without the need to remove the front panel,he is quite happy to remove any component that's in the way at the front.

Hope somebody out there has found a way.

Thanks

Mike Walters (Staffs Man).

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Others may know better, but I believe it is pretty much impossible. Removing the front is not that bad a job, I recommend two people to lift it off, & replace though. If the bolts are rusted up, then it was probably about time to free them up (or replace) them anyway.

 

Bob.

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He could try cutting the front apron down the middle with a saw.

Seriously, having owned a TR2 for 40+ years the apron has to come off.

If it has the later chrome wing beading it is best to take them off completely as it will kink at the apron join if left in place, even loosely. If it has flexible TR2 wing beading it isn't a problem.

Disconnect the battery.

Disconnect the light wires both sides.

Put the bonnet opening stay somewhere out of the way, I put it on the horn mount where from memory it can be relatively secure. .

Undo and remove all the bolts, 6 down each side from memory as I am not with the car.

Undo and remove the four bolts at the top of the apron.

With two people lift the apron from the bottom until the top of the apron can be released from the two brackets.

Lift off.

While it is off check all your steering joints as it is easier to replace with the front off.

If not already done, and not R&P, put a Revington spring loaded top in the steering box. Adjust the steering.

If leaking from the front engine seal do that.

Clean it up while you have access.

 

When replacing use masking tape to protect the front wings.

 

It doesn't take that long.

Edited by John McCormack
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Tell them about your tip to cut a screw driver slot in the rad mounting bolts (threaded end) Tom.

Great tip. Thank you.

 

The apron removal is quite straight forward. Must be I managed it by myself. I taped the wing trims to the wings before removal. This helped.

H

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post-14544-0-32333000-1537119908_thumb.jpeg

Edited by Hamish
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It is posssible, Mike; l've done it three times, in the early years, when my 2 and 3 were suffering from fibreglassed-over wings/front aprons in 1970 - and then '81.

As l remember, the horns and rad struts had to come off, followed by the water pump (l think) and, of course, the fan and the crank dog. Possibly the support strut/tube between the front suspension towers, too. My memory of it all is a bit hazy... :) - but it wasn't too bad to do, overall.

There is then a challenge in pulling the rad up and out, without graunching any rad-tubes, in what is at that point quite a delicate and tight situation.

Good luck, if he decides to proceed with it this way!

Tim.

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Hi Mike ~

 

Here's the 'slotted screw' modification. These screws are a real pain to refit and the use of a socket is very difficult.

Start the screws by hand and then insert a screwdriver down to engage with the screw.

Turn the screwdriver anti-clockwise and bring the screw up. Finish off by inserting a socket from below to finally tighten.

 

Tom. IMG_2665 - Copy.JPG

Worked for me. A great tip that saved a lot of bad words. Especially on the steering box side.

There just is not the space to swing even the smallest socket kit more than a click or 2. Let alone a spanner

Thanks Tom.

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A very good friend of mine needs to replace his leaky radiator on his long door TR2, the question is can a radiator be removed and replaced without the need to remove the front panel,he is quite happy to remove any component that's in the way at the front.

Hope somebody out there has found a way.

Thanks

Mike Walters (Staffs Man).

Mike - have sent you a PM ( personal message) - if you are not sure what this is, go to the top right hand of this page where you will see the outline of a small envelope - that is your message box and if there are any unread messages in it, there will be a small red tag attached to it - click on it and it will open your messages,

 

You can also set the system up to email you if you have a new message.

 

Hope this helps

 

Cheers

 

Rich

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  • 3 weeks later...

I posted a question in September regarding "Was  it possible to remove the radiator from a long door TR2 without removing the the front panel" A mixed response came back some say yes most said no.

The answer is yes it can be done and it was not that difficult you need to remove the following items

 1  Thermostat housing and both securing long studs or bolts. 

2 Water pump. ( This gives you the opportunity to pressure  some  water through the block.) 

3 Remove the round bracing bar between the suspension turrets.

4.Remove the fan assembly from the front crankshaft pulley. removing the six nuts and leaving  the bolts and crankshaft pulley in place.

5. Remove the dynamo and brackets. 

6. Place some soft insulation over the front of the cylinder head to avoid damage to the radiator fins when lifting the radiator out at the acute angle ideally this is a two man job.

Total time to remove 1.5hrs. I think a similar procedure could be used to remove the radiator from later model  cars with the addition of a few extra bits like horns and the centre spring loaded bonnet pick up devise but much easier than removing the nasty front panel and all the problems that go with it.

I hope these comments will give owners with radiator problems a little more confidence if they find they have to remove the radiator , it's not a difficult operation.

Mike  (Staffs Man).

 

 

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  • 1 year later...

Thank you, everyone, for your helpful comments.  Back in the early 1980s I did remove the  front apron on my  1956 TR3, and so completely understand all the advantages people have listed, This works assuming 1) time is not a problem, and 2) bolt removal from the captive nuts etc is straight forward.  The reality is rusted bolts and  ripped out  captive nuts, then having to replace (spot weld?)  top hat casings etc, not overlooking revealed issues like inner and outer wings needing similar metal work attention. I'm not really in a position to do all that atm.

But, with the stepwise guide Mike (Staffs Man) has provided, I can see that this might work, and certainly a preferred option.  I already have some of these items removed, so  opening things up further and removing the radiator upwards and rear wards....   I'm seriously considering giving this prodcedure another run  (Monday / Tuesday next week if it's not too hot)

 Thanks Mike, and all others.  I'll keep your posted.   (Tony from Bedford).

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  • 1 year later...

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