Help! Can't get radiator out 2001 SSEi

[MKMike]

Everything that I know to remove is off;
I've got the fans off, hoses and trans lines disconnected ( and their brackets off). Unbolted the condenser and pulled it up off the radiator.
There just doesn't seem to be any way to wiggle the radiator past the metal brackets that the rubber radiator mounting bushings slide into.
The lower hose mount catches on the on the passenger side and I can't get the radiator to tilt enough to remove it on the driver's side.
Any good ideas are welcomed.
I must be missing something.
FWIW, I've changed plenty of radiators but this one is giving me fits!
TIA.

[MKMike]

What a pain...Turns out that the replacement ACDelco radiator is actually at least a half inch shorter from end to end.
Makes installation a piece of cake.

For those having the same issue removing the old one ONLY if you're installing a new radiator; break the driver's side lower inner tab off the radiator itself that the fan shroud sits in. Lift the condenser up at an angle on the driver's side and do the same with the radiator.
That was the only way I could tilt and squeeze the radiator out of my 2001 SSEi.

[Jazzy]

Did you remove the radiator support bracket, the 4 foot long metal beam running above the radiator? see my http://www.pontiacbonnevilleclub.com/fo ... 52491.html

[AnthonyK]

+1 on the radiator support brace, 4 15mm bolts to remove and you also might need to move the airbox out of the way to get to the most driver side bolt. it also eased my process to remove the fans first

[Jazzy]

Exactly right! It takes 10 minutes at the most to remove that hunk of steel brace and then everything is easy to get to replace the radiator. See my link above for how I did it, written for an amateur like me in baby steps. I did not want to have to remove that brace at first and wasted hours trying to wiggle the fan assembly out around it.

Now your supercharged engine might be different, as I have never seen one.

It reminded me of when I replaced the AC evaporator in my 2003 Lincoln Town Car. I just could not get to where I needed to get by the firewall until I figured out on my own, no thanks to Google or the factory manual, to just remove the windshield cowl over the windshield wiper motor. Three bolts, and the whole cowl and wiper motor assembly could be pulled up and laid on the driver's side of the engine, not even disconnecting the electric connector, giving easy great access to the firewall area. I did have to rent a puller to get the windshield wiper blades off to start. The point is that I am learning slowly not to be afraid to remove big pieces that are in the way of the repair I am doing, just using some common sense instead of wasting hours googling and YouTubing for an exact solution to my problem.

I was surprised how thin the radiator was for the 2000 Bonneville, compared to the one in a full size rear wheel drive V8 like the one I replaced in my Lincoln Town Car about the same time as the Bonneville. The Town Car radiator comes as an assembly including the coolant electric motor and the fan shroud, and took 30 minutes to replace (the second time I did it, after the aftermarket unit failed in three weeks, after which I got the $210 Motorcraft OEM unit). The radiator itself must be three times thicker than the one on the Bonneville.