dmilamj

iTrader: (3)

I replaced the radiator in my '97 this weekend. The original was leaking along the plastic to metal seam along the top. Not a big leak, but slowly getting worse.

I bought the replacement from radiatorbarn.com, about $150 shipped. The rad shipped quick, and is an all metal, two-row replacement so it is better (in theory, we'll see if it lasts for 10+ years and 130k miles) than the OEM (1 row, plastic-metal).

I bought new upper and lower hoses from O-Reilly's (Gates hoses) about $40 for both.

The install went pretty smoothly. Only trouble I had was that I couldn't find a drain plug on the original rad, so I had to unhook the lower hose and drain it that way.

Otherwise it's
1) remove first part of intake / remove 2 plastic covers under front of car
2) drain rad
3) unhook 5 hoses (upper and lower water, overflow, and two auto-tragic trans cooler hoses),
4) unbolt two top brackets, and
5) disconnect the two fans from wiring harness (squeeze the tab on the harness side in, and then pull)
6) pull out rad
7) swap fans, rubber grommets/feet on the bottom of the rad, and reinstall.

Seems like it's working fine, and no more burning coolant smell.

heynow

iTrader: (1)

Good to hear Dude!! Congrats.