Well last week I dropped a hundred bucks on my ignition coil and this week as I am driving home from work I notice a sweet burning smell and SOME steam coming from the engine bay . So as I am driving home I keep a strong eye on the temp gauge (which didn't move) and when I got home I popped the hood.

Now I replaced the top radiator hose about 2 months ago but that one was still intact. Then I look at the bottom hose (directly under the passenger side fan. I then heard a hissing sound and noticed steam/spray coming from around this hose. I squeezed that hose and it made the hissing louder with each squeeze.

I am thinking the lower radiator hose is cracked/torn. Question is this: what is the easiest way to replace this hose? (assuming its broken and not the radiator). I was planning on installing my jdm foglights so the bumper may be coming off.

If it is the radiator what is a decently priced not-a-piece-of-**** radiator as replacement?

I am thinking this may be the last straw with repairs for this girl, I am currently looking at a gsr or civic hatchback; I can't take these repairs all the time .

Thanks again guys

 

when i worked at firestone, my radiator cracked and i had it replaced for 120 including labor. the radiator itself cost us 80 bucks

 

and it's actually pretty easy. you can do it yourself with tools in your driveway. i did it twice.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by iakona &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">and it's actually pretty easy. you can do it yourself with tools in your driveway. i did it twice.</TD></TR></TABLE>

So how ....I looked in my chiltons and there is no reference to removing the lower radiator hose, should I just remove my radiator and go from there?

 

come on Ken this is easy ****. Just undo the hoses and the supports and pull it out. then reverse to put the new one in. It is not hard to do at all. good luck

 

i replied at cb7tuner.com

 

how much you want for her ken

 

to replace the radiator:

drain coolant
remove upper hose at radiator
remove lower hose at neck on back of engine
disconnect radiator mounts
disconnect ancillaries (fans, little clips, etc.)
pull out
replace in reverse

this is the easiest way i found.

*if you're just replacing the hose, pull off the lower front splash guard and you should be able to get right to the hose clamp. you may need to take off your intake arm to get to the rear hose clamp though. it's a pain on the H, you have to twist your hand underneath the coil to get to it.


Modified by iakona at 8:19 AM 10/21/2004

 

are you just doing the lower hose or going for a new radiator?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by VRDrvr &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">...I looked in my chiltons and there is no reference to removing the lower radiator hose...</TD></TR></TABLE>Maybe that's why nobody's impressed with that book.

Seriously, you've replaced your upper hose. What's different about the lower one? It's just harder to reach the clamps, maybe you have to take off your air intake pipe? Or maybe take off the splash shield & reach it from below?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by JimBlake &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Maybe that's why nobody's impressed with that book.

Seriously, you've replaced your upper hose. What's different about the lower one? It's just harder to reach the clamps, maybe you have to take off your air intake pipe? Or maybe take off the splash shield & reach it from below?
</TD></TR></TABLE>

Well I think when I looked at the hoses I didn't see ANY lower hose connection. I read in the chiltons and pulling the radiator is easy I didn't know if there was any "secret" way the lower hose connected because I damn sure didn't see it . I am going to pull the radiator and clean it while I am at it and make sure there are no leaks and replace the mounts.

Chiltons=teh suk

Dave: I know it's easy but I am lazy and didn't see the connection; I think the fact that I am not liking my car is adding to the frustration.

Joe: 2000 and its yours ...but you would have to come and get her .

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by -RedneckDave- &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">come on Ken this is easy ****. Just undo the hoses and the supports and pull it out. then reverse to put the new one in. It is not hard to do at all. good luck </TD></TR></TABLE>

Yep.

Hey Ken if you get stuck while doing it give me a call.

 

Well I got in there and it was kind of a pain to pull the radiator. But here is what I found:

The lower hose doesn't have a hole in the tubing so my next thing to do (couldn't do it today because I have to work) is to get the radiator leak tested .

It took me about an hour and a half to get everything pulled...not too hard just something I didn't want to be doing ya know? So I can get a replacement radiator for about a bill but when I looked I couldn't see any markings if my oem radiator is toyo or denso; any way to tell? The markings on the top of the radiator are almost rubbed off, not bad for being the original radiator lasting 187K .

Thanks for the help guys

 

the radiator cap is your key. the denso one has two gaskets and a plunger, while the koyo one has one big gasket (fluidyne style).

and don't feel bad. i yanked mine out just to find the fans i bought didn't fit, so i put it back in and took it out twice. just don't forget to bleed the system.

 

Sweet .....when bleeding the system just fill up the radiator and leave the cap off and let the car warm up and fill radiator as needed right, until all bubbles are gone?

 

yep.

and there's also a bleeder valve on the thermostat on the back of the block. i do both, just because i'm like that. and then let it run for like 10 min rad cap off, and just keep topping off the radiator (not the resovoir tank). once it has run for a while and is topped off, you're kosher.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by VRDrvr &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Well I got in there and it was kind of a pain to pull the radiator. But here is what I found:

The lower hose doesn't have a hole in the tubing so my next thing to do (couldn't do it today because I have to work) is to get the radiator leak tested .

It took me about an hour and a half to get everything pulled...not too hard just something I didn't want to be doing ya know? So I can get a replacement radiator for about a bill but when I looked I couldn't see any markings if my oem radiator is toyo or denso; any way to tell? The markings on the top of the radiator are almost rubbed off, not bad for being the original radiator lasting 187K .

Thanks for the help guys </TD></TR></TABLE>

Just buy yourself a pressure tester that hooks up to your radiator neck. They're cheap and it's always a good tool to have.

 

After you think you're done bleeding, let it cool down. Squeeze the radiator hoses. If there's any air still in either one of them, you'll hear it sloshing. The hoses feel different when there's no air, & you should only hear that funny little pin rattling in the thermostat.

It doesn't hurt to do that simple little check whenever you feel like opening the hood...