Radiator help? - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

manotickmike · 12-14-2007, 08:08 AM

Hi there!
New to the forum, Not new to Celicas, or working on them, had 5 of 'em before they went FWD..

My wife now drives a 5 gen (93) GT with a 5 speed. Lately the original rad has been showing signs that it's ready for the big scrap heap in the sky....
I just thought I'd drop in, and see if anyone has any tips, or things to watch out for. When I bought the rad through a friend's shop, and mentioned I was going to swap it myself, he rolled his eyes, making me think there might be a bit more to it than the average rad change. I've done all of the work on this car since the extended warantee ran out, except for the front wheel bearing job. I find I just don't have the time or patience for learning to mess with FWD stuff, and since it's her daily driver, I didn't want to be wearing it if I missed something.
Thanks in advance!
Mike.

Cel7Teen · 12-14-2007, 09:25 AM

There is no huge difference. Just drain, disconnect hoses and fan connection, take out of mounts, pull out, remove fan. To put in the new one do the reverse. Also, since you will be draining the radiator, it would be a good time to drain the whole system and put in all new coolant. Didn't notice where you live before my reply, but if it is somewhere that gets really hot you may want to add in some "water wetter," or similar cooland additive.

manotickmike · 12-15-2007, 12:18 PM

Got it done yesterday, thanks...
just a not to those faced with this repair, carefully check over the replacement rad... Mine wasn't a Toyota part, and it took a "little" modification to work. I don't even call the dealer here in Canada, they aren't even trying to be reasonable. I had to change a PS hose last year, the one from the cooler line, with the big banjo fitting, up next to the cowl on the passenger side... Almost $300 here for a 12" hydraulic hose...

I found an aftermarket one on-line in the US for ~ $100, shipped.
Anyhoo, the captive nuts that hold the fan on wouldn't fit, they required a bit of grinding to fit the new rad. The clamps that hold the rad to the upper rad support didn't fit either. I had to massage them in a few places to fit.
The Toyota cap didn't fit either. It's ~ 41 mm and the new rad needed a 43mm cap, wich was fun to find at the parts store.
Anyways, thanks for the help!
Mike.

Cel7Teen · 12-15-2007, 07:49 PM

Glad you got it all wrapped up. Sucks that you hit all those snags, but hey... thats part of workin on cars. Right? lol.