5sfe radiator upgrade? Options

[Vissi]

yesterday I was driving around and I realised that my tempature guage was a bit above normal, and rising, so naturally I pulled over to find a 2 inch crack in the top of my radiator. I filled it back up with water and it seems to hold prety well, but the water is slowly leaking out onto the radiator.

I was just wondering what radiator to get, a new toyota radiator is like 470$. Iv seen koyo radiators on the forums alot, but are they worth it? Id like to keep it under 200$ if possible. Autozone had one for 140$, but something tells me its crap. How hard are they to install, Iv never had to deal with my cooling system before.
Thanks in advance, David

Also if anyone has a carfax account I would realy apreshate it if they looked up my car and sent it to my emai, levathan1@yahoo.com. The vin is JT2ST07N3R0007256

[ExSane]

Installing a Radiator isn't hard at all. It's basically bolt off and bolt on. You need the radiator to be cool before removing it becuz you don't want to burn your hands.

1. Start by draining the coolant out of the engine by draining the coolant from the radiator. You need to look for the drain plug (It looks like a small white plastic piece shaped like a handle). I have a ST so the drain plug is located on the bottom passenger side on the Radiator. Let it drain out completely!
2. Now, tighten the drain plug again. Fill the Radiator with water. You do not have to fill it all the way full. Just enough to rinse all the dirty or used coolant out.
3. Next, turn on the car and let it run for about 20 seconds and then turn off the car. Now unplug the drain plug again and let all the coolant drain out completely.
4. Next, unplug both rubber hoses that are attached to your radiator by loosening the clamps. They are the TWO big BLACK hoses. Just unplug them from the Radiator, not the engine. There are TWO of them. One on top and the other on the bottom of the radiator. Also, don't forget the Coolant Reserve Hose which is located next to the Radiator Cap.
5. Next, unbolt the TWO Radiator Mounts on top. They are the two mounts that are holding the Radiator onto the front frame. The Radiator should completely be loose by now unless they are bolted onto something else that you need to unbolt. Just be careful when taking the Radiator out becuz it has TWO Radiator Pads on the bottom to mount it perfectly. DO NOT LOSE THOSE! YOU WILL NEED THEM FOR THE NEW RADIATOR!
6. Now, you have to unbolt the TWO Radiator Fans off of the Radiator. I think it's about 3 to 4 bolts. You should be able to take out the whole Radiator at this point.
7. Take out the old Radiator carefully. Remove the the TWO Radiator Pads on the bottom from the old Radiator and mount them on the new Radiator.
8. Now, install the TWO Radiator Fans back onto the new Radiator. Please make sure any sensor/plugs are correctly connected on the Fans. Afterwards, carefully mount the new Radiator correctly and accordingly. The TWO Radiator Pads should be resting at their original positions which should make the whole radiator mount correctly.
9. Now, mount the TWO Radiator Mounts and bolt them back onto the front frame.
10. Next, plug back all Radiator Hoses. Make sure the clamps are tightened and they are secure.
11. Now, take off the Radiator Cap and fill the Radiator up with coolant. Make sure the coolant reaches all the way to your Radiator Cap hole. Close the Radiator Cap and turn on the car. Let the car run for about 20 seconds and then turn it off. Remove the Radiator Cap and pour in more coolant if necessary.

And there you have it! Enjoy your new Radiator!!!

I hope this quick-through helps. I don't have any pictures considering that I did it two months ago. Enjoy.

This post has been edited by ExSane: Oct 9, 2006 - 1:33 AM