Ian, I had recently removed the radiator from my 85 GL. I had the joy of
doing this twice (the first one leeked as bad as the original). The bars
that serve as hinge pins for the spare tire and go up to the front of the
van were a mystery to me as well. I removed the retaining ring on the end
of the bar going through the hinge, you can then tap these out lightly with
a hammer. The other end that goes up front forms a "C" that hooks in the
hole that it is inserted in to, after some playing around with them they do
unhook. The radiator is held in place by two brackets on the bottom of the
radiator towards the ends. You will also have to unplug the fan electrical
connection as well as the  thermoswitch for the fan. The radiator and the
fan pull out together as one piece, then you can remove the fan from the
radiator. You do not need to jack up the front end for this. I did not
reinstall the bars on my van, I replaced the hinge pin with a regular pin
and cotter key lock.

Scott McFarland