02 i35 here, tryning to figure out if my radiator needs replacing. car is not running hot or anything but on cold nights or days i can see light steam coming from the hood with it closed. I look under the hood and looks to be coming from the radiator area near where the plastic part meets the metal fins. Car does not seem to be loosing coolant and warms up properly. Dont wanna replace it if nothing is wrong/ ive seen some on ebay fairly reasonable in price but dont know if they will have mounting issues with the fans.

 

Check the radiator fan if its working. Check the drive belt. Check the thermostat. I recommend the stainless radiator, someone on my5thgen group (facebook) are selling this.

 

Yes, that's where they fail. KOYO is the OEM brand and I believe TYC sells them at very decent price on Amazon:

 

+1 Buy this one and replace it.

 

Yep the crimp is where they leak. Look close enough and you'll probably see dried coolant crust along there and on your engine cover. When mine went, I saw little puffs of smoke from under the hood when at stop lights. I bought a Koyo rad from Amazon based on the excellent reviews on here. Sadly I got a dud because it wasn't crimped right and leaked right out of the box. Didn't have time to wait for a new one to be shipped so I jetted over to Advance Auto and bought a Spectra Premium using their discount codes.

https://maxima.org/forums/5th-genera...t-writeup.html
I believe Calsonic Kansei is the OE rad supplier.

 

can confirm this works. ordered this tyc and a koyo box showed up

 

thanks for the responses guys smh its always something, but the fun part is i can replace it myself and add new coolant in the system at the same time!! Will be ordering the one you all recommeded from amazon. Are there any fitment issues with the fans?

 

No, it's pretty straight forward. The fan assembly is only held by the two screws at the top and it lifts straight up.

You'll also have the two transmission cooler lines that connect at the bottom of the radiator so be ready to catch a little ATF from the radiator and lines. If you tuck the lines up high they wont continue to drip. More will come out if you tilt the radiator so keep it tilted back when moving it and setting it down. Don't lean it with the nipples pointed down or you'll have a nasty puddle.

 

thanks for that advise man.

 

You can follow my tutorial here to replace your radiator. I didn't have transmission cooling lines though.