280sel 4.5 radiator
 

I need to have my radiator "re-cored". Do you have to remove the oil cooler
with the radiator, or can you separate the two? It appears that separating in the car may be more work than it's worth.

P.

This is super easy.

Remove the radiator and oil cooler as a unit. That's the hard part.

Then break out the 10mm wrench and remove the bolts holding the oil cooler to the radiator. There will be two bolts that go through the frame of the radiator and hold the oil cooler in place. There are sometimes, but not always, some 10mm bolts that attach the cooler to the radiator frame at the top and the bottom.

Once you have the radiator out, and you have to take it out anyway, you can detach the oil cooler in about three or four minutes.

And don't forget to unscrew the cooling lines to the automatic transmission at the bottom of the radiator!

Thanks
 

Thank You For The Input,
The reason that i was hesitant to drain the oil is, I just put it in the car. I bought the car after knowing that it had been sitting for a couple of years outdoors. I had changed all of the fluids prior to trying to start it. I just wanted to make sure it ran before I got into fixing the radiator. After servicing/cleaning the entire fuel system, adjusting the valves, replacing the plugs, etc., etc, etc....... I have pretty much "gone thru" the car prior to getting into the cooling system. Considering all that i've done on this car, "pissing away" new oil is the least of my concerns, but I just wanted to check. Thank You.

Now another question. The water pump seems to be in perfect condition. I know that a lot of "new parts" are crap. Do I replace the perfectly working water pump, or take a chance on a new (maybe not as good) one?

Pat