How Do I Replace the Radiator in a 1995 Chevrolet G20?

Replacing the failed radiator in your 1995 Chevrolet G20 van may seem like a difficult task, especially if you lack experience working under the hood of your car. However, most of the job will be removing a few components out of the way. You can accomplish this repair job in your garage with a few common tools out of your toolbox. This will not only help you get your G20 van back on the road but also reduce your costs.

Remove the Old Radiator

• 1

  Open the hood and position a large drain pan on the ground under the radiator. Install a 20-inch hose over the radiator drain valve and point the other end toward the drain pan. Loosen the radiator cap and open the radiator valve. Allow the coolant to drain completely.

• 2

  Close the drain valve and cover the drain pan to avoid contaminating the coolant for later reuse.

• 3

  Unfasten and remove the coolant reservoir and air cleaner assembly with a ratchet and socket if you need more clearance to remove the radiator.

• 4

  Match mark the hood latch with a white marker if it is mounted on the upper radiator support. Unfasten the latch with a ratchet and socket and remove it from the engine compartment.

• 5

  Detach and remove the fan shroud with a ratchet, a long ratchet extension and a socket if your G20 model is equipped with one.

• 6

  Loosen the clamps on the upper and lower radiator hoses with a standard screwdriver, then disconnect the hoses from the radiator fittings.

• 7

  Unfasten the cooler lines from the radiator, if your G20 is equipped with an automatic transmission. Use a backup wrench to hold the fitting on the radiator and use a line wrench to disconnect the line retaining nut.

• 8

  Unfasten and remove the mounting bolts from the upper radiator support with a ratchet and socket if your G20 comes equipped with it.

• 9

  Unplug any electrical connections from the radiator, if necessary. Unfasten the radiator mounting bolts with a ratchet, short ratchet extension and socket. Carefully look around the radiator for any other brackets and bolts that you may have to remove, then lift the radiator out of the engine compartment.

Installing the New Radiator

• 1

  Set up the new radiator inside the engine compartment and thread the mounting bolts finger tight. Tighten the bolts with the ratchet, short ratchet extension and socket, and plug in any electrical connections, if necessary.

• 2

  Replace the upper radiator support with the ratchet and socket if your G20 was equipped with it.

• 3

  Fasten the cooler lines to the radiator if your G20 has an automatic transmission. Start the line retaining nuts by hand on the radiator fittings. Hold the radiator nut fittings with the backup wrench and tighten the line retaining nuts with the line wrench.

• 4

  Connect the upper and lower radiator hoses to the radiator fittings and tighten the clamps with the standard screwdriver.

• 5

  Reinstall the fan shroud with the ratchet, long ratchet extension and socket, if your G20 model was equipped with it.

• 6

  Replace the hood latch on the upper radiator support with the ratchet and socket following the match mark if you had to remove it.

• 7

  Reinstall the coolant reservoir and air cleaner assembly with the ratchet and socket if you had to remove them.

• 8

  Refill the radiator with the coolant you removed earlier through the radiator neck using a small funnel.

• 9

  Start the engine and let it idle with the radiator cap off until the thermostat opens, to purge the radiator of air. When this happens, you will see the coolant level drop through the radiator neck opening. Add a 50/50 mixture of antifreeze and distilled water to the radiator to bring the level to the bottom of the radiator neck. Put the radiator cap on. Turn off the engine.

• 10

  Add the same mixture to the coolant reservoir to bring the level up between the "Full" and "Low" marks. Close the hood.