I recently had to replace the water pump and fan clutch in my '99 Dakota. Not long after I found a leak in the radiator, so ended up ordering a new radiator, hoses, and thermostat. The problem I've run into is that if I install the new radiator sitting the way that it's supposed to, it stands a little bit taller than the old radiator did. If I try to set it in in such a way that the top of the radiator is where it was when the old one was in, the whole thing sits at an angle with the bottom kicked out towards the crankcase slightly. Just enough so that the fan shroud won't fit. So my question is this.

If I install the new radiator sitting the way it ideally should, standing up perfectly straight, will the top portion of the radiator sitting higher than the old one present a problem at all? Mainly with regards to clearance to close to hood without banging the top of the radiator/the radiator cap up?

EDIT: The reason it sits higher when it's placed correctly is this radiator has feet on the bottom that the old one didn't have.

 

Did the old one have rubber 'feet' that went around the tank seams to sit on on the bottom?

Can you compare the two radiators, and make sure all the holes are in the right place?

 

The old radiator did not have rubber feet at the bottom. When I pulled the old radiator everything looked like it was the same as the new one. The holes at the top to secure it with two small bolts are in the same places and the holes for the fan shroud bolts are in the same places. So the two main differences with the new one are that it has the rubber feet at the bottom that the old one didn't, and the new one also has a small... heat exchanger... I guess... that the old one didn't as part of the auxiliary trans cooling system it has to have. The fittings for the hoses, the placement of the fitting for the cap, they're all the same as the old one in terms of location.

 

Install it, and close the hood CAREFULLY. See what happens.

 

There is a bit of room above the core support. So the new one has feet that sit on the bottom of the core support, in addition to the feet that go inside the core support?

 

My overflow cap is about 1/2-3/4" over the core support.

 

You may have a modified setup