99 4cyl Radiator Replacement

[ItZtHaFuZzMaN]

Hello all, have replaced my beloved Denso oem with a new CSF radiator after 178k of service. Local dealer asked $622 for a Denso. So can't hurt trying this aftermarket considering the current wholesale value of my baby. Ok here's the situation I replaced it exactly as I took it out.

Made 1 mistake:
1. to prevent the 2 tranny hoses from spilling out I bent the hoses w/ enough slack at the ends and let gravity take care of not spilling

Reconnected all the hoses, replaced the oem hose tighteners with new, added new coolant.

When I refilled the coolant I only used Prestone Dexcool Maxlife & no water (I'm located in Florida) Is this a mistake? Should I drain some out and mix in water? Note: this isn't the 50/50 Prediluted version so after referencing to the manual went ahead and added the entire gallon. Need some advice here.

Next I hosed off bay from spillage and took it out for a test drive (2miles):
Noticed fluid leaking from the bottom of the radiator out of the Tranny lines (no they are not cracked after inspecting them, they are put on tight and snug in, only thing I didn't do was remove them and re-fit them back on) Looks like it's coming out of the physical connection....what now?

2. The main hose at the top of the radiator that comes in used to have a tightener that would eat into the hose from the factory (they are the kind that looks as if you pinch the head with a pair of pliers it would come off). I replaced it with a smooth new tightener to do this but now when I squeeze the hose it spits some fluid out of the side from the connection?


In the end I know this isn't a big deal, some debugging has to go into place so please make any & all suggestions. As she is currently parked awaiting to be fixed.

[toyomoho]

The water coolant mix should be 50-70 percent, more then 70 percent is not better but worse.

Pick up a low cost coolant tester that measures the percent of coolant often displaying it in freezing point. Check on the back of the coolant container for this temp vrs the mix of water and coolant required to obtain it. If too much coolant drain and refill with water to get the mix within range.

Use only distilled.

The trans fluid tubes on the radiator may be attached the fittings on the radiator with tube fittings, this allows the tubes to be rotated. Make sure the fittings are tight.

The trans cooler is a large tube located inside the lower part of the radiator, the fittings connect to this tube. Coolant circulates around the tube.

Is the hose clamp a screw type if not replace what you have with one. Any auto parts or hardware stores has these? Make sure the hose is not split, clean the inside of the hose and the radiator pipe to make sure nothing is preventing the hose from fully sealing.

Tighen the clamp so the hose does not leak. Rotate the screw on the clamp until it is tight

[ItZtHaFuZzMaN]

what gets the upper weight(coolant correct?)....coolant vs. water or inverse order?

[toyomoho]

If you drained both the engine and radiator, drain the complete system again. Mix what drained out with 50% water and fill the system again.

If you just drained the radiator the engine still had a mix of coolant and water that will dilute the 100% coolant you added.

The back of the container has a chart presenting freezing point for a given coolant mix of water and non-mixed coolant. 4 quarts of coolant and 4 quarts of water = 50/50 mix = XXF protection.

If you added too much coolant you need to drain some out then add water to reduce the mix.

The coolant tester determines the freezing point of the coolant mix in the system. If you know what this number is you can compare to the charts freezing point at a 70/30, 50/50 and 25/75 coolant/water mix (or whatever numbers are given on the container). A 70/30 mix is the max recommended.

From this info you can take an educated guess at how much water needs to be added to raise the freezing point. You need only get the mix somewhere between 40 and 70%.

[ItZtHaFuZzMaN]

toyomoho <---- thx for the quick replies. looks like she's back from the short break.