L322 Viscous coupling replacement

Hi,
Am finally fed up with the fan constantly roaring away on the Rangie so have ordered a new coupling which arrived today. Upon trying to get the fan cowling off it appears the radiator will have to be removed to get access, is this correct or is there another way, as reading through other posts about airlocks and overheating I was hoping not to have to drain down.
Cheers

No need to disconnect any radiator hoses or remove the radiator.

You first need to remove the small undertray so that you can unclip the three radiator/cooling pipes from the fan cowl at the bottom.

Next, there are three plastic scrivets which hold the cowl to the radiator – two at the top & one at the bottom (just pull the centre pin out with pliers and then the whole scrivet will pull out).

Then disconnect the ‘polluted air’ sensor (on top of the cowl to the left, if fitted), unclip the cooling fan multiplug and unwrap their wires from the clips down on the left side of the cowl.

Finally, once you’ve undone the viscous fan nut, the whole cowl - including the fan - slides upwards and out. Just keep hold of the fan while lifting the cowl out to stop it hitting the radiator.

When you replace the cowl you need to ensure that its four ‘tangs’ slide into their slots, one on each side and two at the bottom

(Note – ‘left’ in this instance means your left when looking under the bonnet from the front of the car, and not the car’s left)