THANK YOU FOR YOUR VIDEO! THE RADIATOR I BOUGHT ALSO HAD THE "EXTRA" PIECE ON TOP, BUT MY RADIATOR DID NOT COME WITH ANY INSTRUCTIONS. I WAS ALMOST READY TO RETURN IT TO THE AUTO SUPPLY STORE. YOU SAVED ME MUCH TIME AND FRUSTRATION!!
Well done. Several comments and some recommendations for others: I'm glad that you did not edit-out the apparent foul-up at 12:00 because it leads to the discovery at 12:40 that will probably help others. The difficulty at 11:00 should not worry anyone - the fit needs to be precise but the car is designed with this in mind. Gentle but purposefully jiggling and careful movements will help the replacement back into the proper position. I do recommend putting the T&C up on ramps if possible. This is because you may not be able to remove the bottom hose clamp from above. The clamp on mine was placed in such a way that it was impossible to put a tool on it from above so I had to get under the vehicle and partially remove one of the plastic air shields in order to get to a position where I could squeeze the clamp open. I do need to note that the bolt removed at 3:10 broke off on mind due to rust. I'm going to have to drill it out with a left-hand drill and maybe a screw extractor. I did find that the bolts removed at 14:04 are the same thread as the broken-off bolt albeit shorter but will still work as a replacement without going to the autoparts store. As a general comment, I was extremely unhappy with the placement of the clamp on the lower radiator hose because it was obvious that the worker at the assembly plant had to go out of his way to place it in such an inaccessible position. I have to believe that it was done deliberately and maliciously. As a second general comment, my T&C is cancering away including at unusual places such as the middle of doors, on the hood, around the filler cap and other locations. My professional mechanic as advised against heavy-loading the vehicle because it may cause structural failure. My wife and I will never purchase another Chrysler product based on our experience with this vehicle. No wonder Daimler saw the writing on the wall and unloaded Chrysler.
Fantastic video!! Thank you for helping me get through my first ever radiator replacement. Everything went mostly according to form, with a very successful end result. I have almost exactly the same van as you, even the same light blue color. Two fan-unit. My condenser was actually bent a little and as a result was not attached in the right way on the driver's side. When I put in the new radiator I bent the condenser a little to get the proper fit into the hooks on the radiator. I also had an issue with the fan electrical connectors. Someone had broken out the red sliding tabs from the connectors. I thought I had different connectors, but they just had the red slider piece broken out. So, I had to press down on the little tab on the back of the connector, to cause the other side to unhook from the front, and then the connectors came apart.
This is a pretty good video overall, but Jim Dandy did not describe this part very well. The red tab is not intended to be the primary latch holding the connector together. It's called a Connector Position Assurance (CPA) tab, and basically does 3 things: you can't engage the CPA if the primary latching tab isn't completely latched; when it's engaged, it prevents the primary latch from opening; and it makes it very easy to be sure that the connector is properly engaged during manufaturing just by a visual inspection (because you can see the bright red tab isn't sticking out. Misconnected connectors are a common manufacturing defect.) The CPA is a pain in the neck when trying to disconnect the connector, because it's often hard to manipulate, and there's no way to open the primary latch while the CPA is in place without destroying it. But after the CPA is opened, you do still need to squeeze the tab for the primary latch to get it disengaged in order to open the connector. You don't just "kinda squeeze and tug" to get the connector off as Jim says. I always find it especially helpful if it's shown exactly how the primary latch sits on the connector and needs to be squeezed, because often you can't see it, they're difficult to manipulate, and they're not all the same.
Thank you, this video was perfect. That top part with the 2 rods sticking up can be removed even after its in place with the AC condensor. Like how you got to the point and no wasted time describing useless stuff like other people do.
Incredibly I had to replace my radiator again (18 months, hole in "new" radiator). I thought I'd comment that my 2004 radiator did have those studs that you did not have. I also had a split fan. Additionally, because I was unable to easily jack my car up, I started before removing the hoses and fluid. Come to find out that once I removed the cooling fans, my lower hose was easily accessible. So, I was able to remove it from above. I lucked out in that the hose clamp screwdriver slot was facing up (probably from the last time I replaced it). I hope this post helps someone.
Thanks for the video. I also had the same problem with the radiator posts. You saved me a trip to the parts store and another day to complete the job. There were no instructions in my box. I guess the manufacturer decided to not include the directions since nobody reads them anyway.
I like to thank you Jim you were a big help helping me put my new radiator in the only problem I had was the AC core didn't quite line up with the brackets on the new radiator had to drill a hole to make it wider so it would fit in where eclipse in thank you so much you been a big help just trying to keep my 2005 Town & Country going
You should consider changing the thermostat and radiator cap. My radiator developed a leak, tested the cap and it was holding only 10 psi (supposed to be 16 psi). When i turned the vehicle off it was sending all the coolant back to the overflow tank causing it to overflow. The radiator developed a leak along the crimps. Thanks again.
Even though I did have a hole in my radiator 18 months ago, the temp was just not right with the new radiator. It was always higer than "normal". I monitored it for a while (it never over heated). Eventually I suspected the radiator cap. Once I changed it, the temp went down to "normal" - about a 1/16th of the scale and it ran perfectly (until the second radiator failed.....grrrrrr).
Great Video!!!! Ran in to the same problem with the radiator. These vehicles have dual fans/ with one or 2 separate fans. Been racking my brain, thinking i had the wrong radiator. Did not have the instructions in the box.
Jim dziękuje za pomoc, dobre video 😉👍jak dobrze że to taki prosty samochód, łatwy w naprawie...Ale dobrze że są tacy ludzie jak ty którzy to chcą pokazać, jesteś wielki ✌✌
Just change mine the issue putting it back on the driver side is a wiring loom radiator kept getting stuck on it I had the ty rap pulled To reservoir tank bolt bracket note make sure the radiator is seated on the bottom in the rubber boots hole 😉 it's not that tough you can do it Don't Force it in take your time watch the vids there is more than one on TH-cam
On earlier years of this generation of caravan there is a seperate cooler for the trans but on this guy's van it is integrated into the ac condensor. Just follow the lines coming out of the trans just above the driver's side axle and they attach to the driver's side of the condensor. My 2005 grand caravan has the 3.3 engine and it also has the trans cooler integrated into the ac condensor.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR VIDEO! THE RADIATOR I BOUGHT ALSO HAD THE "EXTRA" PIECE ON TOP, BUT MY RADIATOR DID NOT COME WITH ANY INSTRUCTIONS. I WAS ALMOST READY TO RETURN IT TO THE AUTO SUPPLY STORE. YOU SAVED ME MUCH TIME AND FRUSTRATION!!
Well done. Several comments and some recommendations for others: I'm glad that you did not edit-out the apparent foul-up at 12:00 because it leads to the discovery at 12:40 that will probably help others. The difficulty at 11:00 should not worry anyone - the fit needs to be precise but the car is designed with this in mind. Gentle but purposefully jiggling and careful movements will help the replacement back into the proper position. I do recommend putting the T&C up on ramps if possible. This is because you may not be able to remove the bottom hose clamp from above. The clamp on mine was placed in such a way that it was impossible to put a tool on it from above so I had to get under the vehicle and partially remove one of the plastic air shields in order to get to a position where I could squeeze the clamp open. I do need to note that the bolt removed at 3:10 broke off on mind due to rust. I'm going to have to drill it out with a left-hand drill and maybe a screw extractor. I did find that the bolts removed at 14:04 are the same thread as the broken-off bolt albeit shorter but will still work as a replacement without going to the autoparts store. As a general comment, I was extremely unhappy with the placement of the clamp on the lower radiator hose because it was obvious that the worker at the assembly plant had to go out of his way to place it in such an inaccessible position. I have to believe that it was done deliberately and maliciously. As a second general comment, my T&C is cancering away including at unusual places such as the middle of doors, on the hood, around the filler cap and other locations. My professional mechanic as advised against heavy-loading the vehicle because it may cause structural failure. My wife and I will never purchase another Chrysler product based on our experience with this vehicle. No wonder Daimler saw the writing on the wall and unloaded Chrysler.
Thank you for your video. Thanks for your detailed step-by-step guidance. This is by FAR the best video on this subject on You Tube.
Fantastic video!! Thank you for helping me get through my first ever radiator replacement. Everything went mostly according to form, with a very successful end result. I have almost exactly the same van as you, even the same light blue color. Two fan-unit. My condenser was actually bent a little and as a result was not attached in the right way on the driver's side. When I put in the new radiator I bent the condenser a little to get the proper fit into the hooks on the radiator. I also had an issue with the fan electrical connectors. Someone had broken out the red sliding tabs from the connectors. I thought I had different connectors, but they just had the red slider piece broken out. So, I had to press down on the little tab on the back of the connector, to cause the other side to unhook from the front, and then the connectors came apart.
This is a pretty good video overall, but Jim Dandy did not describe this part very well. The red tab is not intended to be the primary latch holding the connector together. It's called a Connector Position Assurance (CPA) tab, and basically does 3 things: you can't engage the CPA if the primary latching tab isn't completely latched; when it's engaged, it prevents the primary latch from opening; and it makes it very easy to be sure that the connector is properly engaged during manufaturing just by a visual inspection (because you can see the bright red tab isn't sticking out. Misconnected connectors are a common manufacturing defect.) The CPA is a pain in the neck when trying to disconnect the connector, because it's often hard to manipulate, and there's no way to open the primary latch while the CPA is in place without destroying it. But after the CPA is opened, you do still need to squeeze the tab for the primary latch to get it disengaged in order to open the connector. You don't just "kinda squeeze and tug" to get the connector off as Jim says. I always find it especially helpful if it's shown exactly how the primary latch sits on the connector and needs to be squeezed, because often you can't see it, they're difficult to manipulate, and they're not all the same.
Thanks for this guide. Made replacing the radiator in my mom's T&C really easy.
Glad to know I'm not the only one out there who doesn't read the instructions first! This is a good video - thanks!
Thank you, this video was perfect. That top part with the 2 rods sticking up can be removed even after its in place with the AC condensor. Like how you got to the point and no wasted time describing useless stuff like other people do.
Incredibly I had to replace my radiator again (18 months, hole in "new" radiator). I thought I'd comment that my 2004 radiator did have those studs that you did not have. I also had a split fan.
Additionally, because I was unable to easily jack my car up, I started before removing the hoses and fluid. Come to find out that once I removed the cooling fans, my lower hose was easily accessible. So, I was able to remove it from above. I lucked out in that the hose clamp screwdriver slot was facing up (probably from the last time I replaced it).
I hope this post helps someone.
Thanks for the video. I also had the same problem with the radiator posts. You saved me a trip to the parts store and another day to complete the job. There were no instructions in my box. I guess the manufacturer decided to not include the directions since nobody reads them anyway.
I like to thank you Jim
you were a big help helping me
put my new radiator in
the only problem I had
was the AC core didn't quite line up
with the brackets on the new radiator
had to drill a hole to make it wider
so it would fit in where eclipse in
thank you so much you been a big help
just trying to keep my 2005 Town & Country going
You should consider changing the thermostat and radiator cap. My radiator developed a leak, tested the cap and it was holding only 10 psi (supposed to be 16 psi). When i turned the vehicle off it was sending all the coolant back to the overflow tank causing it to overflow. The radiator developed a leak along the crimps. Thanks again.
Even though I did have a hole in my radiator 18 months ago, the temp was just not right with the new radiator. It was always higer than "normal". I monitored it for a while (it never over heated). Eventually I suspected the radiator cap. Once I changed it, the temp went down to "normal" - about a 1/16th of the scale and it ran perfectly (until the second radiator failed.....grrrrrr).
Great Video!!!! Ran in to the same problem with the radiator. These vehicles have dual fans/ with one or 2 separate fans. Been racking my brain, thinking i had the wrong radiator. Did not have the instructions in the box.
Bardzo dobrze zrealizowany opis. Gratulacje
Jim dziękuje za pomoc, dobre video 😉👍jak dobrze że to taki prosty samochód, łatwy w naprawie...Ale dobrze że są tacy ludzie jak ty którzy to chcą pokazać, jesteś wielki ✌✌
You don't take the top radiator mount bolts out. When you take the cross member off (4 bolts) the mounts come out with it.
great video got it done no problems
Great video...thanks Jim Dandy!
Just change mine the issue putting it back on the driver side is a wiring loom radiator kept getting stuck on it I had the ty rap pulled To reservoir tank bolt bracket note make sure the radiator is seated on the bottom in the rubber boots hole 😉 it's not that tough you can do it Don't Force it in take your time watch the vids there is more than one on TH-cam
Thank you for the vid
It's a pain in the ass to get the condenser and new radiator lined up.
Good video
Where is the trans cooler
On earlier years of this generation of caravan there is a seperate cooler for the trans but on this guy's van it is integrated into the ac condensor. Just follow the lines coming out of the trans just above the driver's side axle and they attach to the driver's side of the condensor. My 2005 grand caravan has the 3.3 engine and it also has the trans cooler integrated into the ac condensor.
I meant you don't take the fan mount bolts out.
You have to grind off those studs....BS is real.