S70: Best radiator

[capt jack]

The radiator in SWMBO's S70 has just given out big time - coolant all over the driveway.

Checking on various motor factor websites the choice seems to be Nissens at £125, EIS at £85 or Starline at £75.

Good sense tells me Nissens, but is the EIS product worth considering? As far as I can see it's a German manufacturer and the name seems to crop up on various MB / BMW / Porsche owners sites.

Also, has anyone attempted the DIY replacement of p1 70-series rad? The car is an auto, so has the oil cooler built into the rad. Is it likely to be as straightforward as the one I've just done on my old S90, or is it going to be a lot more complicated than that?

Any hints and advice very much welcomed.

SWMBO loves the car, and although it's old and tired and been in the family for almost 20 years, she really wants to keep it going. I'd like to think she feels much the same about me!

Thanks

Jack

[Spawned66]

Nissens are very good.
I replaced my radiator on my C70 about 4-5 years ago with 1, been perfect since.
As mine is a manual, I just needed to use the plugs where the auto lines would have been.
As for easy, not sure, as I replaced my intercooler with a do88 at the same time and kept the AC system. Doing on my own was a bit tricky, but doable. I did used to work on jets years ago, so used to pain in the arse jobs, so this was much the same wishing you had 3 hands lol.
Have fun.

[Baffler]

As Spawned66 says doing it on your own is doable if a bit tricky. If you can suspend the rad pack from above it'll make life easier.

Your biggest issue will be successfully removing the two screws holding the rad to the brackets which have captive nuts that usually break away and start spinning as you remove the screw. Before removing the two screws, from above, try cleaning back the length of thread by working on and off a suitable nut whilst applying a penetrant.

The other issue you may run into is removal of the transmission pipes where they enter the rad. The green nylon/plastic snap lock tabs (you may have a metal type sleave?) can become brittle with age so it's advisable to have these to hand for reassembly.

On my '05 C70 (auto) the original Volvo rad was manufactured by Valeo. The new replacement aftermarket rad, I can't remember the name but I think it was made in Spain, leaked where the small top hose returns to the expansion tank so had to make a repair to the thread where it joins the rad and the rad didn't come with the lower drain valve.

By all accounts, from reading reviews on here, the Nissens rad are pretty well made.

Rad examples - https://www.partsforvolvosonline.com...oducts_id=3617 - https://www.skandix.de/en/spare-part...ssion/1003745/

Seal kit - https://www.skandix.de/en/spare-part...r-kit/1059157/

[ITSv40]

Nissens are good. I replaced the original rad on my V40 with a Nissens rad 9 years ago and still all good.

[capt jack]

Thanks All

Just been watching the Robert DIY video. I think that this might be a bit beyond my scope. Clearly the rad has to drop down, so the the front of the car needs to be lifted. I don't really have the agility to work under the car in the way that Robert describes, 20 years ago maybe, but not now!

To someone with the right facilities and tools this is probably a 3-hour job.

Also, the car is 25 years old, and I'd be pretty certain that bolts, clamps and clips won't be in the best of condition.

By comparison the rad on my old S90 was a breeze. There's far more room to work, and basically you just disconnect and lift out the fan assembly, undo the coolant hoses and transmission fluid lines and lift it out. There's so much more room to work under the bonnet of a RWD Volvo!

Luckily we haven't sold the S90 yet (see my For Sale thread in the 900-series forum), so the Mrs can use that until I can sort out the S70.

I think I have just have to admit my limitations and leave this to the professionals. We are very fortunate in having Dyrdals of York twenty minutes up the road, so it'll be a phone call to them first thing tomorrow I think!

I'll leave the choice of rad up to them. We bought the S70 from the 20 years ago, my daughter's car from them 2 years ago, and just last week got my "new" V70 from them. I know that they will do the job properly.

Thanks again for the comments and advice. Some things are best left to the professionals, and I think that this is one of those things!

Jack

[Luxobarge]

Wot Baffler said, especially about the two main retaining bolts.

Very do-able at home, I did mine with no real problems, I took it out from above though, seemed by far the simplest method. If you do it in a garage, you can string some rope to something in the ceiling to help lift it out, which is what I did. Have spare cooler pipe retaining clips and O rings to hand, available from Volvo, of one of those oil cooler pipes lets go for the sake of a new clip, a leaking rad will be the least of your problems, the sudden loss of oil will probably write the engine or gearbox off.

[Dippydog]

I replaced the rad on my P1 V70 with a Nissens one some years ago.I can't say I've heard of the other brands you mention so can't comment on those,but the Nissens one is very good and I've had no problems with it.My car is a manual so I didn't have the issue of the gearbox oil cooler pipes to deal with,other than that I found it a quite easy straightforward job and I took mine out upwards so no need to raise the front of the car.

[capt jack]

Well, encouraged by the comments on here, this evening I've taken the old radiator out of the S70.

It was alll going very well until I reached the second of the two big bolts that secure the radiator to the car. After a couple of hours of PlusGas and butchery it finally gave up the fight. Shame really because everything else was actually very straightforward.

Anyway, the car is in the garage, minus its radiator, waiting for me to order a new one. I think I'll go with the Nissens - it's a bit more pricey but the brand does have a good reputation.

Thanks to all for the comments - it wasn't as difficult as I'd feared, although I've yet to get it all back together of course......

Jack

[Baffler]

Good on you, Jack! My golden rule of thumb - tackle the most difficult nut/screw first which makes the others a walk in the park.

Volvo were looking for over €300 plus something called VAT when I last checked hence why I went aftermarket...just sorry I didn't source a Nissens in time.

[capt jack]

The new Nissens rad went in yesterday, everything dropped back into place nicely. As well as the radiator, all new hose clips were used. The captive nut broke free so I had to put a nut and bolt through one of the two supporting brackets, but I managed to salvaged the rubber mounting bush, so it is all back and working as Volvo intended.

One thing I made sure of was that the two auto transmission fluid connector circlips (which were made of steel, not plastic) were each supplemented with a hose clip to make sure that they stay in place. Also, although some transmission fluid was lost, it wasn't enough to warrant a top-up. This mirrored the experience of doing the same job on my old S90 a few weeks ago. Some fluid lost, but not enough to matter.

To be honest, it was a lot easier than even Robert DIY made it look, although I think I was lucky in that all but one of the dozen or so fastenings did come undone easily. I can fully appreciate that if more fasteners had rusted and seized it could have become a really tough job. Also Robert does the job on a turbo car, whereas our S70 has the 2.5 10v n/a engine, so possibly this made things a little easier.

The radiator itself is best dropped down to remove, and replaced by manoeuvring it in from underneath, but the car doesn't need to be raised to do this. Also, it makes it a lot easier if you temporarily cable-tie the air-con condenser to the plastic cross member.

But all-in-all it wasn't such a bad job to do, and I reckon I've saved around £300 in labour costs. Total costs were £122 for the rad from Euro Car Parts and £28 for new antifreeze and hose clips. So for £150 the old girl is back on the road.

Thanks to all for the interest and encouragement.

Cheers

Jack