mine looked like your pic on the right, but no contact with anything like your pic on the left......mine was not rubbing anywhere, just poor quality plastic splitting like yours in exactly the same spot.

 

This is what it took to remove the radiator from my 2007 - I5. I am not a professional mechanic, but have been turning wrenches for 35 years. I took these notes while doing the work so I believe they are complete. Good Luck!


1 - Drop the skid plates.

2 - Using hose clamp pliers or channel locks, open and lock the hose clamp on the radiator side of the bottom radiator hose.

3 - Position your drain pan (a five gallon bucket will fit under the H3) and pull the hose off of the radiator. Let drain completely.

4 - Remove and plug radiator overflow hose and (trans?) vent line from right side of radiator.

5 - Remove radiator clamp from radiator side of top hose and pull hose off of the radiator.

6 - Go under the truck and tuck the radiator hose out of the way behind the sway bar.

7 - The fan shroud is two pieces - the larger main shroud which covers the entire radiator along with the top half of the fan but tapers to nothing at the bottom, and a bottom shroud which is wide at the bottom but only a thin ring at the top.

8 - From under the truck reach up between the radiator shroud and the engine and remove the small screw (1/4”) and the plastic crescent-shaped shroud retainer from each side of the shroud.

9 - Push up on the bottom shroud to clear the lip of the full shroud and then pull back. The bottom shroud will come free. It cannot be removed as it fully rings the fan but it can be pulled back over the fan and out of the way

10 - Pull back on the two black plastic retainer rings covering the transmission to radiator couplings. This will expose the wire retainers which hold the trans lines in. Using a dental-type pick or small needle nose pliers pull the wire retainers off (the new radiator should come with new ones). You can now pull the trans lines back and free from the radiator. Plug them as they will leak.

11 - Remove the grille. There are four bolts in the top and two which you have to reach through the grille with a socket to remove. The grille is retained by clips at the ends both above and below the marker lights. Grasp the grille above and below the marker light and gently rock the grille top to bottom to work them out. Take your time or you will break them.

12 - Remove the radiator top mount at the center of the core support.

13 - Through the grille opening remove the 10mm bolt on the driver’s side which holds the A/C condenser to the radiator

14 - Tilt the radiator back slightly and remove the 10mm bolt holding the top of the condenser to the radiator on the passenger side. You have to reach between the radiator and the core support. It’s tight but doable.

15 - Reach through the grill opening and lift the condenser slightly to disengage its tabs from the two retaining slots at the bottom of the radiator. Pull it forward slightly into the core support opening. I zip tied mine in place as it can flop around when removing and installing the radiator.

16 - You can now remove the radiator. It will not pull straight up. You will need to pull it up an inch to free its from its lower anchor points and then move it slightly towards the passenger side to clear the AC line. Once clear of the AC line it will pull straight up and out.

17 - Clean and transfer all part to the new radiator including the little nuts on the sides that are used to bolt the condenser to the radiator.

18 - Reassemble in reverse order. When hooking the trans lines back up you should hear a (slight) click from the wire retainers dropping into their slots when you have pushed the lines into the radiator far enough.

19 - Refill with fluids. Do not put the skid plates back on until after you have run the vehicle and checked for leaks.

 

Just bought an 07 H3 with 60K and was concerned after reading this thread. Seeing the photos posted above, I just looked at my radiator. Just like the photo shows, I have a groove just under the top-center mount where it has contacted the sheetmetal. My groove is slight, but is is cause for concern. My Hummer does not appear to have been off-road at all. My guess is that the only time the radiator contacts the sheetmetal is when the frame is slightly twisted or torqued. Of course, with as tight as the clearance is between the two, it would probably vary depending on the individual vehicle.

I just slid a folded-up piece of cardboard about 2 sq. in. and wedged between the sheetmetal and the radiator. Don't understand why this wouldn't prevent the metal from cutting into the plastic any further. Someone please tell me why this will not solve the problem.

daveboy

 

My 07 H3 Lux looks like it was never off-road prior to me buying it and I had the exact same crack in my radiator. I don't think it has anything to do with twisting. If anyone wants to fight with GM to get it replaced for free, go for it. I would be worried about being at the whim of whatever service manager you talk to. You are going to be charged $100 for the diagnosis and if they say no you are just out. Even if they replace it, it might not be a GM radiator at this point. Find a good reputable local shop and have them rebuild your stock radiator and you will be much better off. My local shop had the tank in stock and I was in and out in 3 hours. $260 for everything including a ride home. For my way of thinking it's just not worth the gamble to try to get GM to fix it.

 

I have an 06 and I can see where the edge of the rad support can cut into the top of the radiator. I took my center support bracket off and elongated the mounting hole so that when I reinstalled the bracket I can push the radiator away from the edge. I also placed some nylon material in between the edge and the radiator act as a buffer.

 

I don't know if just placing a sacrificial layer or spacer in between the radiator and support will work for stopping the rubbing. The steel support will quickly rub a hole through whatever you put there. I JB Welded a piece of aluminum plate over the area and the support continues to eat away at the aluminum (still better than eating away the plastic tank). If you wedge something in there good and tight to take away the vibration you will put a preload on the radiator frame and possible cause cracking elsewhere. A "just right" sized piece of rubber as a dampener might work better if it's not too thick.

 

PICs!!!

 

I just can't see the area you guys are talking about, where metal is rubbing against the radiator. I've got a heavy, donut shaped grommet between the center support bracket, and the radiator, plastic locator pin, and a heavy foam strip across the entire front of the radiator, between it, and sheet metal. Pics would be great! Thanks.

 

I read where the radiator was redesigned for the Alpha, to give it extra cooling capacity.....maybe this change was part of the redesign.

Maybe this foam is available as a separate part from the dealership, that you can add?

 

Good idea. If you take off the center bracket, you can push the radiator away enough to expose the edge on the rad support. If you push the foam rubber back you can probably get a cutoff wheel in there to trim the edge back.