2003 Maxima.

Any advice from any of you for replacing my son's radiator?

Also, are any of the aftermarket radiators from autozone or o'reillys ok. from anyones experience here?

What should I use to plug the transmission hoses that come off the radiator? Thanks for any advice.

 

I used an AutoZone radiator for my parent's 2000 Max, fit perfectly, just remember to keep the rubber bushings from the OEM radiator because you will need to use them with the AutoZone radiator. Plug the transmission hoses with a fat bolt

Removal and Installation is very easy, I could think of a thousand more difficult things to do on the car.

 

Thanks for the fast reply gthirtymax.

When I looked it over today, it didn't look like there was much to it. But the un-known can sometimes reach up and bite ya.

Should I expect to replace any transmission fluid?

 

I used one from Rock Auto. Fit perfectly except for the fins on the sides that direct air. Lots of these don't have the fins anymore anyway so I just left them off. Runs perfectly cool and was a snap to change.

For the hoses just tilt them upwards. They don't leak. You won't need to mess with adding trans fluid either. There's only about an ounce that comes out.

It's a pretty easy thing to do. Just don't throw anything away till you get the new one in. It should be a good learning experience for your boy and a good father-son project.
Good luck!

 

i usually purchase my radiators from 1800radiator.com, they have grerat pricing and good quality radiators. They will also warranty the radiator if it leaks, etc.

changing out the radiator is a straightforward job. Just make sure the car is cool before you open up the cooling system.

Also, usually a good idea to get a new cap and might as well get new hoses. Flush the system and fill with quality long life coolant.

 

I changed mine out in less than an hour on the side of the road when the top tank on my radiator blew. Changed everything but the lower radiator hose. Couldn't find one locally on short notice and didn't want to pay for a tow. Pretty sure I got all the parts at AutoZone. Probably could have found them cheaper/better but like I said, very short notice. That was about six months ago and it seems to be holding up just fine.

 

Another good distributor is Performance Radiator. I'm lucky I have one here in Jacksonville.

I work for Napa and if our catalog listed radiator is unavailable or too expensive, I will always give them a call. I also use them for my personal vehicles and there's never a discrepancy with them, and the OE.

The inlet/outlet hose flange sizes are always correct (Unlike the three auto parts stores in town who listed radiators for my B13 SE-R with flanges 1/2" too small), no extra transmission or oil cooler lines if you don't need them, and prices are good.

The location near me also delivers same day and we're a good 30 miles out.

https://shop.performanceradiator.com...roduct_id=7560

edit: The import radiators are usually Koyo (Plastic Tanks, aluminum core)

 

Look in the group deal section a vendor gives us a great discount on koyo rads work perfect and 2 day shipping just search that section.remember leave the cap off and fully bleed the system let it run a good 45 minutes with the heat on

Sent from AznRyan's Cat Farm

 

http://www.autopartswarehouse.com/de...G&apwidDTh83xg

Or if you can get a few people together to split the shipping:
http://www.dhgate.com/p-ff8080812d27...|order007|QL||

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Fits-Nissan-...2e5129&vxp=mtr

 

get a aftermarket all-metal radiator, way better than the plastic top ones

 

go to rockauto.com
search radiators
buy the TYC Part # 2329
use code: 2794E541593B
out the door the radiator will be less than $60 depending on your zip...
THIS IS A KOYO RADIATOR, on the box you will see KOYO on the radiator you will see koyo, I just replaced mine a couple of weeks ago, perfect fit no issues works both with manual and auto tranny...

you are welcome

 

This is the best deal that you are going to find on one, I to ordered and did this about 2 weeks ago. I managed to make the original screws to the radiator fans work as well as some say they couldn't, I just screwed them in with a tad more force. Also make sure that you get some new upper rubber radiator supports.

 

i have one from oreilly's. it's made exactly like the oem and has a lifetime warranty. it's a real simple job that shouldn't take more than an hour or so to do, the most time consuming part is letting the coolant drain out. BTW it was so easy, i changed it in oreilly's parking lot.

 

Thank you all for the good advice.

I want to start taking things apart while I'm waiting for the radiator, but I'm having some issues. Embarrassed to admit it, but I'm having trouble getting the connectors off the fan motors. Haven't seen this style before. Another thing, how do those stand-offs (with the cable ties attached) that hold the wiring harness to the fan shroud come off? One last thing, I can't seem to find the air-bleeder screw. Thanks for any help.

 

Just changed my rad today. Used a Spectra Premium. Not my first choice, but I was in a jam as it was the weekend. Time will tell... it was a perfect fit.
Connectors have tabs that you have to push in while pulling up on the connector. Tabs are @ the top engine side. A small standard screw driver is helpfull to push the tabs in.
The stand-offs have a v spaded piece to them which must be sqeezed together from the back and pushed out. Bit of a pain, but not too bad.
Don't worry about air bleed. Fill the rad and leave the cap loose. Start car and let warm up. Turn heater on and feel bottom rad hose, (be carefull of fan! It could start @ any time). Once engine is @ operating temp, check level. Add as necassary. Keep an eye on the overflow bottle for the next couple of days and top off as required.

 

Seems like alot of our radiators are blowin' at about the same time.......

 

Performance > longevity? Light weight components that fail around 10 years or so. Oh well, guess that's not too bad.

 

True true, I think they fail more so because of the week upper supports that have them moving more so than other cars and that cheap plastic upper on them.

 

to fint the bleeder screw just fallow the upper radiator hose to the engine... its located on the top of the thermostat housing.... open the screw and add coolant until you see it come off the top... then tighten the screw... leave the radiator cap open start the car and wait until the fans come on... MAKE SURE YOU PROPERLY BLEED THE SYSTEM!!! IF THERE IS HOT AIR COMING FROM THE VENTS INSIDE THE CAR THEN YOU ARE OK!!! If no hot air then you have air trapped inside the system...
replacing the radiator is a super easy job on the maximas... it took me less than an hour and i had to do it outside my garage... car rampa will help you alot as you can gain more access to the bottom hose

 

Radiator will be here tomorrow. In the meantime, I drained the radiator, took everything apart, and am ready for the replacement. The only thing I still can't find is the air bleeder. Some say don't worry about it, but if it's there, I'd like to use it. If anyone has a picture of it's location, maybe you would be willing to post it. If not, I'll just wing it. Thanks to all of you for your help.

 

Maybe it depends on the year. I didn't see any bleeder screw on mine. The FSM doesn't mention anything about one either.

 

Everything went well with the changeout. Looked and fit perfectly. Only one thing that concerns me. After idling for about fifteen minutes, and at operating temperature, the upper radiator hose got nice and warm, but the lower radiator hose never did get warm. The cabin air never did get warm. Gas gage on empty, so I didn't let it run too much longer. No bleeder ever found. Told my son to get some gas and take it for a long drive and keep an eye on the temperature gage, while I'm at work tomorrow. If things haven't changed by the time I get home, should I just loosen the radiator cap and let it idle for a long time? Leave the cap off the reservoir? Both? Appreciate any help.

 

You need to "burp" it... 2 things that you can do others may know more. Take radiator cap off, turn heat to full blast giving it some gas a couple times while it idles. 2) Squeeze the hoses with the radiator cap to help get air out.

 

Some 5th gen's, not sure what years do have the bleeder valve to get air out. From a search:
"it is on the throttle body side of the engine. there is a metal tube (about 1 in) that runs along that side of the engine. thats the coolant tube. the front part of it connects to the rubber hose that goes to the top of the radiator. about the middle of the tube you will see a small metal dome. on the top of that dome is a small (8mm maybe) bolt. thats the coolant bleeder. just loosen that."

You would just unscrew it, let coolant overflow, refill, and repeat a few times. I think Nissan did this as jacking the car up in front and running with the cap off and the heat on doesn't always work. Search around. I just did the rad cap method

 

 

The thermostat has to open, (@ least some), in order to check level of coolant. That means the bottom rad hose has to get warm. Reviving the engine slowly from idle to 3k and back several times helps.

 

Thanks Spock.

My son had a three hour drive today (both ways), he said he had plenty of heat in the car. So, before I could try anything, it seems that if there was any air in the system, it some-how has been purged.

Thanks to everyone for the advice and help on this. Very much appreciated.

 

Doesn't the car being on ramps make it more difficult to take out and put in the radiator?

 

Well, with 240,000 miles on the car I certainly can't complain. I'll be under the hood in the morning to take a closer look trying to narrow down the point where the coolant is coming out. No worries about replacing the radiator, been there and done that.

I do have a few questions though. When I check courtesynissanparts.com it looks like the top tank and gasket are available leading me to believe the radiator can be repaired. So, has anyone gone down that road? My guess is this would take special tools and a visit to a radiator repair shop. I'm only looking at this option because I tend to run with OEM parts when I can afford it and Nissan wants something north of $400 for a new radiator. The top tank and gasket would cost roughly $68 (shipping would be extra). But I'm guessing the bottom tank would be failing soon so maybe it would be a waste of time and money trying to repair the original radiator.

Assuming that repairing my radiator would be ill-advised that leads to an aftermarket radiator, my only concerns are that there would be no modifications required to make the non-OEM parts fit. I'll be reaching out to rockauto.com tomorrow for more info on the radiators they sell but would like to ask for feedback from others who have already purchased one. Would you say the quality and fit are at least fair or reasonably close to OEM? And any mods that were required would be appreciated too.

Thanks!

 

Maybe, if the ramps are really tall.

Seriously, if your car has A/T it might be easier to disconnect the lines from below. I'll be doing my radiator soon and will let you know.

Quick update: it looks like some of the work is going to be easier from under the car. The lower radiator hose clamp is difficult to get a hand on, much less a pair of pliers to release the tension from above.

 

I changed mine from above. No issues to speak of. Fitment was bang on. Wire harness ties were prolly the biggest pain, (where they stab into the shroud). I used Spectra Premium brand. $150 in Canada. It's been 5k miles now without a problem.

 

Yeah, I can see how it could be done from above but I have ramps, stands, and a floor jack so getting underneath isn't that much trouble. I'm also thinking of swapping out the alternator while the radiator is out, looks like that would be much easier. I picked up a new OEM alternator a few years ago when courtesynissanparts.com had them marked down for clearance. With 240,000 miles on the original one I'm sure the brushes have to be just about worn down to nothing!

I found an OEM radiator (or that's the salesman's story) for $125 shipped, it should be here tomorrow or Friday.

You mentioned the wire ties on the shroud, I'm going to disconnect the fan assembly and move it back a bit, then slide the radiator straight up and out. That will allow access to the rear of the fan shroud to release the wire ties, or that's the plan. I've seen these wire ties at auto parts stores, if plan A doesn't work.

 

Everything went well, no real issues to speak of. Also replaced the alternator while the radiator was out. Even with the car up on ramps AND the radiator out it was a challenge. I was hoping to avoid dropping the A/C compressor but couldn't find a way to get at the long bolt on the back side of the alternator. The A/C compressor isn't difficult to remove, just 4 bolts that are easy to get to and it swings over several inches.

The radiator was supposedly OEM but I'm a bit skeptical of that claim. It's made by Denso and almost everything was a perfect fit. The two small bolts that hold the fan assembly to the radiator are not the same, had to "borrow" a couple bolts from other places on the car until I can get down to an auto parts store.

I was originally thinking of slipping the radiator out without removing the fan assembly, that didn't work either.

 

The radiator on Autozone.com is about $200. You'll need coolant and probably hose clamps as well so add another $40 for those items. Most shops will charge about $100 to install the radiator. Looks like about $350 with tax.

local mechaincs are usually less than the chain stores and are usually more capable. Chain stores have a higher overhead. changing a radiator isn't a technical job so it shouldn't be too intensive.