TheTroyness
I changed a tire once...
- Location
- Arkansas
So my radiator is pretty messed up. That's one of the great things about buying a car used. I'll post these pictures for your viewing pleasure.
The black spot and the sun-like mark are where the fans pressed into the radiator with enough force to actually push the other side out a few inches. It's a lot worse than it looks.... That last picture shows a hole in the bottom. Not leaking, but a hole nonetheless.
The reason I'm posting this is because I have a dilemma. I went to ECS to buy a new radiator and the Mishimoto radiator there caught my eye. I found it on another site for $255 shipped, which is $25 more than the OEM radiator. I figured $25 for a drop in all aluminum replacement is pretty rad (pun intended). I went ahead and bought it. Well, I found out tonight that it is not, in fact, a drop in replacement.
Firstly, it is like 1.5" to 2" shorter, although it is thicker. I'm not sure how that will impact the fitment and such of the whole setup in the front of my car with the other cooling components. Also, the holes into which the screws that hold the fan shroud on were not tapped. I tapped those. Easy fix. Unfortunately, if I don't put spacers between the holes for the shroud screws and the shroud, the fans will press up against the radiator. So I could put in spacers. Another easy fix. However, I need to take off the "quick disconnect" connectors on the OEM radiator (the plastic things that clip to the radiator and the hose clamps onto). I tried, and I couldn't get them off for the life of me. Any suggestions? I'm pretty sure those will attach to the Mishimoto radiator. If they don't, I can't use the radiator. But I'm pretty sure they do, I just have to figure out how the hell to get them off the OEM radiator!
Your thoughts?
The black spot and the sun-like mark are where the fans pressed into the radiator with enough force to actually push the other side out a few inches. It's a lot worse than it looks.... That last picture shows a hole in the bottom. Not leaking, but a hole nonetheless.
The reason I'm posting this is because I have a dilemma. I went to ECS to buy a new radiator and the Mishimoto radiator there caught my eye. I found it on another site for $255 shipped, which is $25 more than the OEM radiator. I figured $25 for a drop in all aluminum replacement is pretty rad (pun intended). I went ahead and bought it. Well, I found out tonight that it is not, in fact, a drop in replacement.
Firstly, it is like 1.5" to 2" shorter, although it is thicker. I'm not sure how that will impact the fitment and such of the whole setup in the front of my car with the other cooling components. Also, the holes into which the screws that hold the fan shroud on were not tapped. I tapped those. Easy fix. Unfortunately, if I don't put spacers between the holes for the shroud screws and the shroud, the fans will press up against the radiator. So I could put in spacers. Another easy fix. However, I need to take off the "quick disconnect" connectors on the OEM radiator (the plastic things that clip to the radiator and the hose clamps onto). I tried, and I couldn't get them off for the life of me. Any suggestions? I'm pretty sure those will attach to the Mishimoto radiator. If they don't, I can't use the radiator. But I'm pretty sure they do, I just have to figure out how the hell to get them off the OEM radiator!
Your thoughts?