radiator deterioration?

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Leo99

Leo99

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The cooling fans in my Rav4 make quite the racket at full speed so I thought the bearings were going bad. Replaced the fans today but they still sound loud. In order to remove/replace the driver side fan, needed to remove the upper radiator hose. Upon inspection, the outer bottom half of the upper radiator hose nipple is gone. Didn't hear anything break or fall when I removed the hose. Seems like the plastic nipple just disappeared. Guess it's in the radiator, now. Put the hose back on and cinched the clamp down at the base of the nipple. No leaks!

Do plastic nipples just start to fall apart? I'd swap in a new radiator but what with all the ATF connections and what not, I'm sure it won't go smooth.
 
Yeah, stupid plastic.

Is the whole radiator on a short clock or can I get a few more years out of it? That's the $30,000 question.
 
Originally Posted By: Leo99
Do plastic nipples just start to fall apart? I'd swap in a new radiator but what with all the ATF connections and what not, I'm sure it won't go smooth.


There seems to be a wide variety in the quality of plastics. Some plastics can be very durable, others can crumble apart. RockAuto has an aftermarket radiator for about $100. Why are you worried about the ATF connections?
 
Originally Posted By: Leo99
Yeah, stupid plastic.

Is the whole radiator on a short clock or can I get a few more years out of it? That's the $30,000 question.


It really is, isn't it? My thoughts are that the next crack could happen in an area that would dump your coolant and leave you stranded. In your place I'd replace as soon as the funds were available.
 
Originally Posted By: Merkava_4
Originally Posted By: Leo99
Do plastic nipples just start to fall apart? I'd swap in a new radiator but what with all the ATF connections and what not, I'm sure it won't go smooth.


There seems to be a wide variety in the quality of plastics. Some plastics can be very durable, others can crumble apart. RockAuto has an aftermarket radiator for about $100. Why are you worried about the ATF connections?


I'm worried they're going to seize, strip or somehow leave me in a pickle. I don't want to have to make up compression fittings or deal with tubing.
 
Originally Posted By: Leo99
I'm worried they're going to seize, strip or somehow leave me in a pickle. I don't want to have to make up compression fittings or deal with tubing.


Are the ATF fittings full of corrosion? I see you live in NJ so that could be a possibility.
 
ATF connections are usually some form of relatively ductile material. I wouldn't worry that to death. Try to loosen them. Might be real easy. Just don't go Lou Ferrigno on them until you have a replacement ready to go.

I'd look at a quality brand (Denson, Koyo, etc) for a radiator. Too many times I have seen the aftermarket radiators have ATF cooler failures that resulted in contamination of the transmission with coolant. If that happens, you're going to be out whatever you saved. Personally, I ditch those things where I can and run a straight external cooler. Worst that can do is leak.

Some plastic tanked radiators get so bad over time that they brittle to the point of wafers. I also dump those whenever I can to run all aluminum.
 
I've been surprised by the rusty ATF lines that came loose. See if the transmissions side has quick connects or even just less rust so you can take the lines out with the old rad then really work them on your workbench.

As for the missing nipple, take care of this pronto. Imagine being in some horrid traffic jam on a hot day three states from home worrying about that letting go.
 
After careful inspection, I can't even find the transmission coolant lines. Did remove the front grill and see how the radiator bolts in. Looks easy enough....
 
Originally Posted By: Merkava_4
Originally Posted By: Leo99
After careful inspection, I can't even find the transmission coolant lines.


You can see the lines in the link below:

http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/moreinfo.php?pk=499794&cc=1434113


Thanks. I don't see any hoses going from my AT to the radiator. I see them in my Corolla but not in the Rav4. In the Rav, there are lines that go from the AT into a round thing that also has heater lines going in it.

If my Rav doesn't have AT cooling lines, I'll just use some tubing to connect the two tubes coming off the radiator.
 
Originally Posted By: Leo99

If my Rav doesn't have AT cooling lines, I'll just use some tubing to connect the two tubes coming off the radiator.


Sounds like you have a "better" ATF cooler that warms it up faster (via the heat/ hot-side-of-the-thermostat water loop) and not the less controlled, could-be-20-below-all-day-in-winter radiator loop. If so just leave the radiator cooler fittings abandoned in place. That rad could be for an older model RAV that used it or even something else entirely.

When fitting an aftermarket rad to a stick shift they almost always include ATF fittings to reduce part numbers in inventory.
 
I'm not surprised. Most Japanese cars have a radiator that could crack anytime after the car is about 9 years old. I'd recommend getting a new one from an OE supplier, such as Denso or Koyo.
 
I'm heading to Asia for business tomorrow night and was torn to change it out now or change it when I get back in 2 weeks. Got up a little early this morning and installed the new radiator. Ordered a Denso radiator from autopartswarehouse ($120) and ordered Gates hoses, Stant thermometer, and new Gates cap from Rock.

The thermostat is in a housing behind the alternator and AC compressor. Had to pull off the alternator to get the thermostat out. This meant battling with the serpentine belt to get it back on. After 20 minutes of fighting with it, I jacked up the passenger side and pulled the wheel off.

Took me about 4.5 hours. About 2.5 hours spent dealing with the alternator and serpentine belt.
 
Originally Posted By: Leo99
I'm heading to Asia for business tomorrow night and was torn to change it out now or change it when I get back in 2 weeks.

Took me about 4.5 hours. About 2.5 hours spent dealing with the alternator and serpentine belt.

which part of asia. Its ok to take that much time, It took 4 hours to replace my radiator, including grinding one riveted nut from the radiator, bending the tab a little to get it to fit. In fact I had to redo the lower hose 3 times because i installed it wrongly. I only noticed it was wrongly installed when i drove the car and tried to shift my stick, it felt like the mechanism was being restricted by some of kind of rubber, sure enough the hose was the wrong way and interfering with the gear change mechanism. Then also had to deal with the hoses slipping off from the aluminium radiator on the bottom end. Had to pull it off, put some sealant and put double clips...Phew tiring.
 
Last edited:
Heading to Taiwan and then China. I've been to China before but never thought I'd be going back. At leas this time I'm flying business class.

Went to Pep Boys, AAP, and AZ looking for Valvoline Max Life coolant. The guy at AZ told me they haven't sold it for about a year. The guys at Pep Boys and AAP said they never heard of Valvoline coolant. Settled on some Auto Zone "universal" coolant.

If I had known I had to remove the serpentine belt and alternator, I would have bought a new belt and re manufactured alternator.

One of the fan bolts sheared off so I have a zip tie instead of one of the bolts holding the fan to the radiator. Will look for a replacement bolt tomorrow. Metric bolts a pain to source.
 
nor in europe
smile.gif
 
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