Tried to replace my radiator today with a HD Nissens from IPD.

Lots of bad stuff happened and I am steamed/depressed . . .

It started with the radiator itself. I pulled the unit from the box. It looked very nice (well, as far a radiators go). But there was a 1 x .25 inch piece of bare metal on one of the tanks. The paint came off in a single, large chip. There were two small spots of rust at the joints between tanks and pipes (one nearly the same size as the paint chip and another smaller by about half).

I called IPD to ask about that (BTW, there is what looks like a bit of rust inside too).

That was phone call #1, yesterday.

Today I get the correct hoses. (They sent U/L for a 240, I called when I noticed this on the e-mail, but too late, so I had to pay for another set and will send the wrong ones back as per their instructions; not a problem.)

So I pull my old radiator, pull the thermostat, flush out the system as best I can, and prepare to install everything. Looks very easy (like literal "plug-and-play").

The next issue rears its ugly head at this time. The radiator is not fitting exactly "true" in its spot. When it is seated at the bottom, the raised parts that the top hooks lock over are not flush with the car. The passenger side touches the front and will lock down properly, but the driver side is/was about 3/8" away from the car. I had to use some force to get it in "properly". Then I took it out to look it over and decided to put in the heat sensor while it was in my lap rather that screw it in while it was in place. (I figured that it might take a little effort to tighten it down and the easier access was attractive.) Well, it only goes in about halfway and then becomes impossible to turn. Let me point out that it is not cross-threaded! I had to booger up the outside with some channel lock tooth marks to get it in any farther. As far in as I can get it, with the washer in place and taking up room on the threads, there is still about a 1/8" gap before the washer would even touch the radiator surface.

Call #2 to IPD. After a long talk, it is decided that I will call and "keep them informed of the situation, maybe sending some digital photos of the problem tomorrow . . . "

Then I realize that my ATF lines will have to be bent to get them to seat properly and at an angle that will allow me to screw down the fittings. Frustrated, I bend one line a little and loosen the radiator tie-downs to give me some jiggle room. I get them connected. I tighten down the radiator.

Then I notice that my 740 lower hose (remember, I have a 240 set that came with the radiator . . . ) is over 1" longer than my old hose and will not fit without a slight kink. DANG IT! (Can you safely cut these guys?)

Then I notice that there is no room for the hose between the car frame rail and the lower radiator inlet pipe. The space available to shove on the hose was about one half the thickness of the hose itself. I loosened the radiator yet again and attached the hose (clamp left loose) and start to tighten the radiator once again. The hose gets pinched enough to worry me about it splitting. I loosen the radiator and remove the hose.

Call #3 to IPD. I try to describe this to the phone person, who needs photos because he can not visualize what I am trying to describe. I have no earthly idea where my digital camera is. I am told that I must buy another radiator, send back this one, and get a credit. Well, I blew the whole bankroll on all of this neat stuff and will not have that kind of money (even for a week or so) to make another purchase. I tell them that I will try very hard to make it work.

I go back outside and futz around with the parts and attempt hopefully to make some chicken salad (if you are familiar with that phrase). The freaking replacement fan shroud screw clips do NOT fit the Volvo screws at all. I waste over an hour of my life getting these to fit when I finally notice that the Blackstone corpse in my driveway has the same clips . . . thank you, up there, thank you.

I swap the thermostat and have a HELL of a time getting the old rubber gasket and the old unit out of the housing. I do some very light scraping on the head and the housing to get rid of the nastiness left over from the old gasket (and some sort of sealant). The nuts were VERY, VERY tight, so I torqued them back down FAIRLY tightly, but looser by a good bit. The rear nut/stud came off in my hand level with the winching eyelet. damnitdamnitdamnitdamnitdamnit . . .

Final, exasperated call to IPD. I explain that, since Katrina, our finances have been quite bad. I am only spending this much time with my old brick because my wife needs it. Her car hydro-locked and will be in the shop for eternity, it seems. I explained that I had no more money, the holiday break was ending, and that I needed to get this thing rolling again soon. IPD agreed to let me send the whole radiator/heat sensor mess back to them and they would send me a new unit. Doing it this way will prevent another big charge to my debit card. (Thanks Jerrad and Shayne!) I will have another radiator someday, boys and girls. It will not cost me another charge and credit back to my account. I learned via the phone how to fix my busted thermostat stud. Everything will be just fine. Really.

But no one at IPD, in all of my calls, documented my complaints/reservations/disturbing questions regarding this radiator. I had to start over with each call, which wasted everyone's time and my daylight.

After being told repeatedly how wonderful these Nissens units are, I feel like I must have done something wrong. But I know that I could not have done EVERYTHING wrong. I know darn well when I have cross-threaded something. I know when something is seated properly. So how could I have messed this up so badly?

Could this aftermarket Nissens radiator really be that far out of whack? The heat sensor? The out-of-true body? The paint/corrosion? The improper right-to-left alignment?

I am ready to give up!

WHAT GIVES??????

(Oh, and the broken, rusted stud was just icing on the cake for me today . . . )

Thanks for reading to the end of my tirade.

WR

1990 740, B230F, Cam-driven distributor, regina-free
250,000 miles and still a strong runner!
--
Mama always told me to eschew obfuscation . . .