installing a radiator

any tips? i saw in my chilton's that i hae to remove the radiator from hte bottom of hte car, is this true? i would think it would be easier to take it out from up top. so any help with that and stuff to look out for, all would be greatly appreciated.

You should just have to undo the hoses and drain it and the regular stuff, then there are 2 brackets one on each end. Unbolt these and the radiator should pull out. Oh yeah and undo the fan.

I think it's easier to pull from the top. Does your car have A/C?

Remove the radiator cap & disconnect over-flow hose
Remove splash gaurd to expose petcock(radiator drain)
Drain radiator & coolant over flow
Disconnect cooling fan connection
Disconnect upper-rad. hose
Remove rad. support bolts
Lift rad. straight up
Disconnect lower rad. hose
Transfer fan to new rad.
Reverse for install
Fill coolant with engine off - add as much as you can
Start engine & add more coolant
Cap of the rad. let warm-up & then bleed air
re-check level when the car is cool - add if needed
I check when they're hot, be careful if removing the rad. cap while HOT. Thats why I said "when the car is cool.

Its a good time to replace the hoses if needed.

When re-filling use 50/50 mix water & anti-freeze

For detailed information check -----> http://www.binghamtonlife.com/manual/2gsm/cooling.htm

it should take u no more than five min to take it out

Do it from the top.

Hardest part is getting the hoses off. Cut them and use new. They're probably old anyway.

it should take u no more than five min to take it out
i likehte way that sounds, so i'm hoping i can get this done in less than an hour then, seeing as i have to take a 40 minute drive tomorrow afternoon, blah
and yes i have A/C

It should probably take less than an hour if you dont run into any problems. I had a/c in my car and didnt run into any problems.

I did min in 30 minutes, but I had lots of motivation!

It takes 5min. just to drain the coolant

i have AC also... thats no big deal, i had a hole in my radiator a few weeks ago the guy at the radiator shop told me to go home and pull it out then bring it in then he would fix it, i said nah ill pull it out real quick here, lol i had that thing out in two min. he was like damn u should work for me,

its so easy all u need is a 10 mm socket/ratchet, and a pair of pliars for the radiator hose
pop the 2 top brakets off, undo the 4 bolts holding the fans on, disconnect the top hose ( i didnt drain mine i just disconnected the hoses and let it flow out) disconnect the fan plugs, pull the fans out disconnect the bottom hose an the overflow hose and pull that summamabitch out

man the radiator itself took no time at all. only problem was that teh main fan doesn't bolt up right, the holes in the radiator don't match up.
the thing that took time tho was the bottom hose connection. for some reason it wasn't sealing, so i had to keep adjusting it. but i finally got it and the car runs nice and cool now

If I switch to an all alluminum KOYO rad. will i need to replace the thermostat, or should i do that anyway. And if so then should i get a different heat range or keep it the same.

No, and dont bring up threads that are two years old.

So was i supposed to run a new thread to ask that question. and if so then why have it there.

Direct quote from the rules thread

2) Do not bring dead threads (Old Threads) back from the dead. Using them as a source of research is fine. However, check the thread dates before you post and do not post in dead threads. Dead threads brought back to life will be locked. If you have a problem or question relating to the thread, start your own thread instead of posting in the dead one.