Removing Radiator

[bennybenster]

I have a 92 Integra. The other night, I pulled out the radiator thinking it wasn't going to be too much work. I ended up spending a good 30-45 minutes on it. I started out having trouble with the lower radiator hose and ended up cutting it near the radiator because I coudn't yank it off. Now I have to buy a new lower hose. Then I had trouble with the fan on the driver side of the radiator because of the hoses blocking it from sliding right out. I think those hoses are coming from the AC and I wasn't sure how to or if I could even take them off to make it easier to pull out the fan/radiator. After struggling a bit and messing up some fins on the radiator, I was finally able to pull out the radiator and then the fan.

My question is, was there an easier way to do this without cutting the lower hose and messing up some of fins. I hope that I didn't mess up the fins so bad that I have to get a new radiator. Also, I want to be prepared when putting the radiator back in so that I don't struggle with the whole driver side fan thing. Thanks in advance for any tips.

[WReX]

first off, why did you remove the radiator?

you could have removed it with out cutting the hoses, cutting anything on a car is complete last resort, using a pair of big pliers and a flat head screw driver your supposed to peel the hose off its connection and wiggle the hose off with the pliers, its not to difficult

messing up the fins isn't too big of a deal as long as you didn't puncture the radiator itself as for getting it back in, the best thing is patience and a friend to help

i would take the fans off the radiator and put them on after the radiator is installed

but its up to you whatever way you feel most comfortable with

[bennybenster]

first off, why did you remove the radiator?
I'm attempting to replace the clutch myself and during the process, I decided to replace the headers. I couldn't get to the middle bolt to remove the shield on the header so I had to remove the radiator to get to it.

you could have removed it with out cutting the hoses, cutting anything on a car is complete last resort, using a pair of big pliers and a flat head screw driver your supposed to peel the hose off its connection and wiggle the hose off with the pliers, its not to difficult
Thanks for the tip. At the time, I thought it was a last resort. I should have asked for advise before cutting but figured a new hose shouldn't cost that much and getting the job done rather than wait for an answer was a bit more important (at the time). But lessons learned for me.

messing up the fins isn't too big of a deal as long as you didn't puncture the radiator itself as for getting it back in, the best thing is patience and a friend to help
I looked at the fins and they really weren't that bad. I don't think it punctured at all. I've seen worse. I will definitely be patient when putting it back in.

i would take the fans off the radiator and put them on after the radiator is installed
The fans are already off so I guess I will do this.

but its up to you whatever way you feel most comfortable with
Hey, thanks for the reply. All this is a learning experience for me. It's a helluvalot of work but I'm having fun doing it.

[Schister66]

this is making me dread putting on my turbo kit and putting in the clutch.,.......i'm sticking w/ the full length radiator....for now

[bennybenster]

Hey Schister66 - I take it you had a hell of a time installing your turbo with the full size radiator. Just curious, what size radiator are you planning on replacing the full size radiator with in the future?