How do you remove and replace a 90 Nissan 300zx radiator support?

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1031045

2026-03-16 11:10

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I am doing this same thing right now, almost done actually. first you take off the bumper/fenders/hood of car, then start stripping down all of the accessories and pipes and bolts and tabs from the rad support. remove all the intake piping, air filters, maf, etc. then u must start drilling out all the spot welds, there are like 20 on each side to drill out, then there are some more that attach it to the frame rails(really hard to get at the rear ones, i used a long pry bar with a sharpened edge and a big hammer to get the ones that are tacked to the tops of the frame rails.

you will also have to make some cuts in the new one and the old one unless u plan on pulling the entire wiring harness from the front (which i did not want to do) u will see where the wiring harness weaves in and out of the rad support(make sure u dont damage this!!). once all the spot welds are drilled out and you made your small cuts in the lower portion to get it out without touching the harness it should just come out, if it doesnt keep looking there are probably more welds. (THERE ARE TONS OF THEM)

before you reassemble the new rad support and weld it back onto the car make sure you clean up all the areas where you drilled out the welds sand them smooth to metal and then get some Weld-thru primer. coat all the areas you are going to weld so no rust starts later inbetween the unibody layers. then weld it back in and re assemble. make sure you take a lot of measurements there should be a guide in the factory service manual to give you front end measurements for body shops to use.

i just used the fenders/bumper/headlights/hood as a reference point and there are a couple line-up holes in the rad support and outer apron pieces on the edges. make sure it is all straight and square before you start welding it back together or the car will look all goofy when the fenders/bumper/lights go back in !!

p.s. i swear this is the hardest rad support job ever done lol.

hope this helps.

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