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ok, i do not have a cutoff wheel, i have all the other tools, and everything with the cross boxing looks fine...now what?
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radiator support removal, HOW?@!
- Thread starter NICE59FORDF100
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well, i manages to get the bumper off tonight...gotta take it tomorrow as a core exchange for a new face bar....but im still needing to know how to take the ^#(!%#) support out....im short of taking the torch to it...no, i couldnt do that...anyway, new parts will be here thursday, torrie had to get back to me about shipping, and stupid bank with my checking, but its all good now....
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Cut off wheel is pretty essential.
Sears has them for well less than $100.00
You might be able to use a regular grinder but a wizz wheel is MUCH easier
Okay, don't start any thing till you have your core sup sitting infront of you.
Cover your windshield, sparks from the grinder and the welder will put pits in the windshield.
Cover your engine too just to keep the mess off.
I like removing the battery too.
Unbolt every thing from the core sup. It is not necissary to remove the rad but it does make things easier.
Look at the new core sup and eye ball which spot welds hold the support to the rest of the vehicle.
Some spot welds hold the core sup components together. Now here is the tricky part. Grind the spot weld down through the top layer of metal. Do your best NOT to go into the second layer of metal. Do some practice grinds on the old core sup in other areas.
you will see a faint little line when you grind through the top layer of metal. Be careful. If you grind the second layer too thin it will come back to haunt you in welding.
Once you have all the core sup to truck welds ground pop the core sup off with the air hammer.
Grind away all the metal shards and stuff you want the metal to have a relativley flat surface. Use a hammer and dolly to flatten what ever bends and wrinkels you have made. Grind the areas where the core sup will go down to bare metal. Grab some weld through primer. Regular primer will not work. Weld through is activated by the heat of the welder. Regular primer will burn up.
Prime the bare metal.
Go to the new core sup and mark all the places where the old welds were on the old core sup.
I like to drill a 1/8 pilot hole, then go back and drill a 1/4 hole. grind all the burrs away weld through prime the bare metal. Grab a pair of vice-grips put the core sup in place and clamp it with the vice grips. Do the cross mesurement. Get that sucker dead on. I like to secure it with self-tapping screws. Mesure again. Tack it on in a few locations and mesure again. Get to the welding. Skip around a lot. Over here, then the opposite side. Up high then down low. Never do two welds right next to each other.
When you are done welding, grind the weld poop flat.
hit it with a little body filler to make it look pretty.
Prime it and paint it.
Let me know if you need any more help.
Good luck man.
Sears has them for well less than $100.00
You might be able to use a regular grinder but a wizz wheel is MUCH easier
Okay, don't start any thing till you have your core sup sitting infront of you.
Cover your windshield, sparks from the grinder and the welder will put pits in the windshield.
Cover your engine too just to keep the mess off.
I like removing the battery too.
Unbolt every thing from the core sup. It is not necissary to remove the rad but it does make things easier.
Look at the new core sup and eye ball which spot welds hold the support to the rest of the vehicle.
Some spot welds hold the core sup components together. Now here is the tricky part. Grind the spot weld down through the top layer of metal. Do your best NOT to go into the second layer of metal. Do some practice grinds on the old core sup in other areas.
you will see a faint little line when you grind through the top layer of metal. Be careful. If you grind the second layer too thin it will come back to haunt you in welding.
Once you have all the core sup to truck welds ground pop the core sup off with the air hammer.
Grind away all the metal shards and stuff you want the metal to have a relativley flat surface. Use a hammer and dolly to flatten what ever bends and wrinkels you have made. Grind the areas where the core sup will go down to bare metal. Grab some weld through primer. Regular primer will not work. Weld through is activated by the heat of the welder. Regular primer will burn up.
Prime the bare metal.
Go to the new core sup and mark all the places where the old welds were on the old core sup.
I like to drill a 1/8 pilot hole, then go back and drill a 1/4 hole. grind all the burrs away weld through prime the bare metal. Grab a pair of vice-grips put the core sup in place and clamp it with the vice grips. Do the cross mesurement. Get that sucker dead on. I like to secure it with self-tapping screws. Mesure again. Tack it on in a few locations and mesure again. Get to the welding. Skip around a lot. Over here, then the opposite side. Up high then down low. Never do two welds right next to each other.
When you are done welding, grind the weld poop flat.
hit it with a little body filler to make it look pretty.
Prime it and paint it.
Let me know if you need any more help.
Good luck man.
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ok, the only thing i am unclear on is the grinding the old support. the 1st layer of metal? am i using the grinder on the support or the metal that is the truck body? this through me off....sorry monmix, i know you know what you are talking about.
maybe it is because i am having a headache, but im confused on that...sorry, but thanks a lot, that was a lot of help on that!
maybe it is because i am having a headache, but im confused on that...sorry, but thanks a lot, that was a lot of help on that!
dogfriend
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I think he is saying:
Have the new support in front of you so you can tell which part of the truck is the part you will be replacing and which part you want to leave for the new support to attach to.
The object is to grind through the old support, but leave behind the other sheetmetal so you will be able to attach the new support to it.
The less damage you do to the part you leave behind, the easier it will be to weld the new support on.
Have the new support in front of you so you can tell which part of the truck is the part you will be replacing and which part you want to leave for the new support to attach to.
The object is to grind through the old support, but leave behind the other sheetmetal so you will be able to attach the new support to it.
The less damage you do to the part you leave behind, the easier it will be to weld the new support on.
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thanks for the assist dogfriend. Very good job.
Yeah. Lets look at just one part. The top right where the core support ends. The core support is the top layer of metal, but if you look under that, the metal you see on the bottom is the apron ( side panel )
This is the toughest part of the process, and also the most crutial. ( next to alignment I guess )
Like I said practice on some of the welds on the core sup not attached to the apron.
Yeah. Lets look at just one part. The top right where the core support ends. The core support is the top layer of metal, but if you look under that, the metal you see on the bottom is the apron ( side panel )
This is the toughest part of the process, and also the most crutial. ( next to alignment I guess )
Like I said practice on some of the welds on the core sup not attached to the apron.
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Nice write up guys... I was wondering (MONMIX) what kind of $$ is it to have a shop do this work? I have all tools except a MIG (which I would like to get), but my biggest prob is No garage space. Working in my snow covered drive way this past weekend was not fun. I was in the process of replacing all my Body mounts when I discoverted the radiator support to be competely rusted out. I mean it is barely on. I removed the front body mounts bolts, (chased them) and reinstalled them after seeing the actual amount of rust damage to the Radiator support.
jimbo74
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the whole front clip is tacked on... the radiator support will come off by itself, however, you will need to drill or grind out the spot welds and make sure to leave room for reattachment of the new one as it will need to be rewelded on....
jimbo74
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i do know that some body shops use drills and drill through the spot welds so that only the welded area is gone and no surronding area.. then the surronding area is where they place the new welds, or they fill in the old holes and reweld
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A core suport remove / replace will not be a cheap job.
Removal of the fenders, grille, bumper, header pannel, radiatior and condenser will add up quickly.
Doing that stuff your self will deduct the cost, but with no garage you are kinda stuck.
I can look in the books tomorrow and see what the going rate should be.
Removal of the fenders, grille, bumper, header pannel, radiatior and condenser will add up quickly.
Doing that stuff your self will deduct the cost, but with no garage you are kinda stuck.
I can look in the books tomorrow and see what the going rate should be.
jimbo74
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i brought my own front clip, fenders, and a hood to a shop for replacement and they threw it on the frame machine and strightened the frame, installed my own headlights and put everything together for $1100 no paint... did a top quality job, but i got a deal because the owner was a friend of a friend of mine...
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I shopped around and the average price was just over $1K to replace the radiator support in my 1st gen. I tried to knock the price down by doing all the disassembly work myself, but it didn't really help (I'm guessing it all depends on the shop and how busy they are at the momement). Anyway since I'm always looking to expand my repair knowledge I picked up a Lincoln MIG welder (135P). I always wanted a welder and will be needing one to replace the rockers and dog legs anyway. As I previously mentioned I don't have a garage so my rad support repair will have to wait until spring. In the meantime I will have the opportunity to practice welding and get up to speed with it...
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