( I couldn't find that "look what I bought today!" thread, so here goes ... )

Here is my proposed sequence, with car lifted onto a Bendpak LR-60P mid-rise lift, which unfortunately has a lot of obstruction underneath the car's engine, so it's not as good there as I would like for this type of work.

I'd appreciate your corrections and suggestions for improvement.

1. Heater temp control should be on max hot from last time car was driven.
2. Disconnect battery.
3. Disconnect coolant temp sensor (MY 06-09 only) and fan connectors from radiator.
4. Remove radiator cap.
5. Disconnect coolant reservoir hose.
6. Open drain plug at bottom of radiator, with catch can underneath.
7. Remove heater bypass bleed cap next to firewall.
8. Loosen air bleed bolt on intake manifold after spraying penetrating oil on it.
9. Open drain bolt on right side of engine block, with catch can underneath.
10. (at this point, I believe the coolant should be 100% free flowing with no place for any air bubbles or excess coolant to hide )
11. Remove thermostat cover, but keep upper coolant hose connected to it.
12. Remove lower coolant hose from engine block.
13. Remove radiator with both coolant hoses still connected to it.
14. Connect new coolant hoses to new radiator.
15. Connect new upper coolant hose to old thermostat housing before new radiator is installed.
16. Move sensor and fans from old to new radiator.
17. Mount radiator onto car chassis.
18. Connect lower radiator hose to engine block.
19. Connect thermostat housing with thermostat inside to engine block with new rubber seal, and new thermostat if necessary.
20. Close radiator drain plug.
21. Close drain bolt on right side of engine block.
22. Connect wires to sensor and fans.
23. Fill radiator.
24. Tighten air bleed bolt on intake manifold once coolant starts to flow out of it.
25. Install heater bypass bleed cap next to firewall once coolant starts to flow out of it.
26. Fill coolant reservoir with new coolant.
27. Connect coolant reservoir hose to radiator.
28. With radiator cap still off, start engine.
29. Wait till engine warms up, and keep adding coolant onto radiator if coolant level goes down.

 

Snap-On Tools makes a hand operated vacuum pump that can extract all air bubbles from the engine coolant circuit by connecting to the radiator fill valve, and you don't need to run engine until hot and thermostat opens.

That makes the whole procedure much safer.