if its anything like mine was when i bought it, then its very corroded from years on neglect. mine was so bad the same day of a system flush the coolant was rust colored again, it finally ended up plugging up and getting replaced.

if yours is that bad you may want to consider replacing the heater core too, mine needed replacing not too long after the radiator did.

 

It's a mixture of needing to be flushed, and needing to be cleaned. There is a large amount of dirt, small rocks, and pine needles (gotta love the northwest...) stuck in the fins. I understand I could just blow it out with compressed air from the other side, but this way I can do a good inspection, and if after flushing it's plugged or still full of garbage I can just grab a replacement and drop it in.

Edit: I also had another question. I was searching for the drain plugs for the block last night, am I correct in assuming that they are the large alan-headed brass bolts located just above the k-member (drivers side being also above the alternator)?

Thanks!

 

ok one of you guys with a ls1 help out here. lt1 has one on the driver side if i remember right. knock sensor is on the other side. check in the service manual. should tell you in the steps. i got markers all through my paper manual. lol.

 

Welp, managed to get the radiator out. Surprisingly not that difficult, but definitely a two person job your first time around. Popping the fans and the condenser out of the tabs on the radiator was a pain. Also there's no way on god's green earth you would remove it from the bottom without taking out the A/c. But it pulls from the top very easily.