My mechanic and I discussed this. I am being charged seven labor hours for replacing radiator side tank which is cracked and need to confirm that turbo charger has to be removed. Anyone with experience dealing with radiators? (2001 V70 with 245,000 miles)

 

what is leaking - the radiator up front or the coolant overflow tank? Not sure how either relate to the turbocharger which sits on the firewall side of the engine - was he referring to the intercooler for the turbocharger which is bolted to the radiator?

 

I trust you mean you are replacing the radiator.

The radiator, intercooler and ac condenser are bolted together as one unit. You lower the unit and can unbolt the radiator from the other two leaving them still connected (to the ac and air hoses) to replace the radiator.
Below is the warranty time from Volvos' time guide. That's what techs are paid under warranty. Customer pay is usually a little more (car is older, stuff does not come apart as easy, etc.) A shop should charge about 3 hours to drain, replace the radiator, refill and verify the replacement was successful. Unless it's an R car - those are the 3.8 to 4.1 hour book times listed. Those cars have an extra intercooler that gets in the way during radiator replacement and the extra note may mean it can't be done without draining and refilling the ac system. My shop has only done a couple of r radiators - and the techs were not happy for they seemed to be much more complex than a normal replacement.

If you are being charged 7 hours to replace a radiator - your shop is not charging anywhere near standard flat rate time. I would find another shop.