Hello Roverers, Happy Holidays!

Hear ye, Hear ye! time has come to consider replacing the radiator on my Disco S2 2002, so please come forth ya'll with your replacement buying recommendations, as well as any tips for the swap, which I don't think will be difficult, thanks in advance! ;-]#

 

Ebay or Amazon have em from 100-175 all day long. I've used an Ebay Radiator with no issues and it was an exact OEM replacement.

Removal wise do yourself a favor and remove the grill. I've heard a lot of people complaining about the D2 Radiator being a PITA to remove/install, but the fact is vs other vehicles out there a D2 is very simple.

1. Remove upper fan shroud via the 4 Phillips Head Screws
2. Remove the Entire Fan Blade/Fan Clutch Assembly with a 36mm tool.
3. Remove lower shroud after removing two screws on radiator (I highly suggest cutting them off by 5mm to prevent them from cracking the radiator & leaking).
4. Remove the Grill (99-02 will require lights being removed to properly remove headlight finishers, 03-04 D2 = remove 3 plastic Phillips Head Screws).
5. Remove Horns via 13mm nuts
6. Remove foam inserts behind the horns.
7. Carefully remove the overflow hose, SAI Temp sensor plug if equipped, Upper/Lower Hoses, and drain the fluid
8. Remove the bolts holding the Radiator Support brackets into place
9. At this point you should be able to gently lift and pull the radiator back exposing the bolts securing the oil cooler and trans cooler to the radiator.
10. Hardest part is carefully getting the radiator separated from the coolers, but it can be done. Then lift the radiator free and drop in the new one.

I'm sure I'm missing a few small details but that is the jest of it.

I removed one from my parts truck (03 D2) and the hardest part was getting the fan clutch to break free. After that it was a 30min job. The owner had replaced it 2 weeks before I bought it thinking that was going to fix his 4.6L V8, to bad it was mochachino city.... My 99 had started leaking thru one of the lower fan shroud screw holes (screws went to far and caused it to crack internally), so now I cut all those screws 5mm shorter to prevent that from happening again. Flushed out the Ebay Radiator and slapped it in my 99. Whole process on both D2's for me was 1.5hr.

 

Hello Roverers!

Finally got around "the radiator situation".

Best4x4's removal process is pretty much on point; I must add that separating the radiator from the oil cooler is tricky, since after you loosen up all possible screws, and you try to lift the radiator, it won't be free; you actually need to slide the cooler a bit to the left (towards the truck's battery) to free the radiator; the cooler has a metal "thingy" that slides into a plastic groove attached to the radiator; so sliding it a bit to the left will separate one from the other, then you'll be able to lift the radiator without a hitch, you have to slide it back in when reinstalling.

You can also follow the RAVE, there you'll have diagrams for reference as to where the screws are, etc... it'll be much easier.

I'm sure next time around it'll take me under 2 hrs, now that I know exactly what to loosen up. This time around took me almost all day, from the point I popped the hood open; but I took beer breaks and casual rest, keep in mind that I'm an overweight DIYer! ;-]#

Overall, I did a pretty good job, it isn't rocket science; just make sure you retrace your steps when putting everything back together, and make sure all hoses and clamps are well connected.

I've bled the system a couple times, following RAVE procedure, and finally today very little to none waterfall sound could be heard, but I'll bleed it again Sunday or Monday and hopefully won't have to for a very long time.

Supposedly I ended up buying the "Nissen" radiator for $220; I say "supposedly" since it arrived in an "All Makes 4x4" box and the radiator itself does not have a label or logo anywhere to identify it. Fortunately, I bought it from a local vendor (Miami British), so I took it there and they assured me it was the "Nissen" brand, it just comes boxed in a generic box from , but if I waited a day they could get me the Nissen-boxed one, they would have to overnight it. They even opened up a box with the $175 All Makes 4x4 to show me the differences, and these could be seen, the one I got sure seems better built, plus one year warranty!

I'm not too happy with the "radiator to expansion tank" hose though; even-though is pre-molded and has the curves and whatnot's, it just don't follow it's path naturally... works ...but not flawlessly.

At the end of the day, radiator is replaced and issues seem to be solved, now onto the next project! ;-]#