So long story short. I got home the other night and heard dripping from under the hood. With my flashlight I was able to see a small crack near the top front of my radiator, where the coolant was spewing from. Now I tried plastic weld epoxy but it isn't high temp and only temporarily holds. Anyone have any helpful tips on replacing the radiator? I purchased one and have a co-worker coming over to help me at 10am to replace the old one. How long and difficult a job am I heading into?
Replacing radiator on the Geo
- Thread starter 97prizm
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On that particular car, it's easy as pie. There are to hold down brackets on the top you remove, disconnect the 2 hoses, unplug the fan connections (1 fan is in front, the other on the back, tilt the assembly towards the engine (so the front fan clears the core support) and the entire assembly will pull out of 2 rubber grommets on the bottom. Install the fan assemblies on the new rad and reinstall the assembly in reverse.
Radiators are typically easy to replace. Often about as easy as an oil change. Anyway, don't buy the replacement at Advance Auto Parts. You want the Spectra Premium that Autozone sells. I would not expect the plastic weld to hold for more than a few minutes.
I put epoxy on an old radiator, and it lasted me 2 weeks, enough to sell the car.
In most cars, you have 2 tabs holding the radiator down. take them off, remove all hoses from the radiator, and you can pull the radiator out easily. Consider buying new tabs if you can get them, usually the rubber on the old tabs has dried out, and that causes the radiator to sometimes rub against things.
When working with Japanese cars, I prefer to get a radiator from an OE supplier, because they are usually more durable than generic replacements. Sometimes they aren't much more expensive than the bare minimum radiator.
be ready to replace hoses, as they are probably brittle at their age, and have permanent marks from where the clamp held them in place.
In most cars, you have 2 tabs holding the radiator down. take them off, remove all hoses from the radiator, and you can pull the radiator out easily. Consider buying new tabs if you can get them, usually the rubber on the old tabs has dried out, and that causes the radiator to sometimes rub against things.
When working with Japanese cars, I prefer to get a radiator from an OE supplier, because they are usually more durable than generic replacements. Sometimes they aren't much more expensive than the bare minimum radiator.
be ready to replace hoses, as they are probably brittle at their age, and have permanent marks from where the clamp held them in place.
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