When removing radiator support bolts is body sag an issue?

I need to replace the radiator, well I got the old rad and shroud out. However getting the pair back in without damage seems unlikely. After looking the job over it seems if I remove the 4 upper side bolts and loosen the bottom bolt I should be able to tilt the rad support forward for the clearance I need. My concern is will the body sag once I remove the side bolts. Just worried bolting the support back together will be a nightmare. Thanks for your patience with this new guy. Thanks again, Guy

|UPDATED|5/28/2017 9:25:35 AM (AZT)|/UPDATED|

Guy, front end sag should not be an issue if everything is apart for a relatively short time, a couple of days/weeks. If it's going to be a long term repair for some issue, reinstall the side bolts while the radiator is out. The one thing you need to be careful of is not to lift or put any substantial weight on the nose with the support bolts out. One trick I've used to protect a new radiator during installation is to cover the radiator coils front and back, with cardboard. Once in it is pretty easy to remove. Tip the support forward, install the shroud leaning it forward as far as it will go, then drop the radiator in the middle. Good luck and let us know how it turns out.

John, Thanks for the quick reply. It'll be apart just long enough for the radiator swap. Thanks again. Guy

Guy, one other tip while the radiator is out is to the clean the threads of the side support bolts with a wire wheel. If possible, I also run a fine thread tap into the nuts on the sides of the support. The easier those bolts go back in, the easier your reinstallation will be. Also be careful not to cross thread the bolts, I've replaced several core supports due to broken off or stripped bolts.

Vman, Thanks for the tip! Tapping and cleaning made reassembly a breeze. Guy