I have a 93 hatch with a b17 swap. Currently, I am running the integra radiator but it has a leak and is causing the car to overheat. My friend has a spare radiator he said he would give me for cheap, but would it be able to keep the engine cool? The civic radiator is like half the size so will it still be able to keep the temp where it should be? Thanks

 

yes... i have a b18c1 swap(gsr) in my hatch and i run stock civic rad without any issues even ran it turbo and it was fine!

 

x2.

i had ac in my '97 and ran the little "half" radiator with my b18c. absolutely no issues with cooling whatsoever. granted i ALWAYS used distilled water with the coolant in that car over the 9 years i had it so the radiator was very clean inside. alot of radiators tend to get gummed up, etc from lack of maintenance re: changing the coolant and running tap water, which builds up deposits and makes the radiator way less efficient.

 

ok great thanks for the info guys. The radiator that my friend has looks kind of dirty any suggestions on cleaning it out real well?

 

ha. i have little info about that for you. i know people have some ideas with using radiator flush solution, ie, taking the rad while off the car and filling it with the solution and hot water, capping it, sealing off the top and bottom hoses by folding w/ vice grips and letting it sit for a while. then running water through it at a relatively high pressure to clean it. then installing it, running water through it to temperature, at speed, etc and then draining.

honestly though...to get it really clean, i'd search out a good rad shop and have them rod it. they'll be able to really break up all of the deposits and assure that they won't be blocking those little tiny passages. it should not cost that much IF i had to guess. i know alot of budget builders for cheap vehicles, ie the montero guys, take radiators and get them rodded all the time. and those guys are super cheap!

 

works fine

 

As the others have said, you will be fine with the civic 1/2 size Radiator. I have been running a Civic rad. in my 93 with an LS for over 2 years now with no problems. I do use hose clamps though instead of the stock style clamps as the hoses on the B-Series engines are bigger in Diameter than the Civic hoses thus being a bit bigger than the water necks on the Civic radiator.

And as BuiltHatch said, I would go to a Radiator shop and have them Rod it to get all the stuff out. I had a radiator on an 86 Toyota pickup my Dad has get clogged up and after a Rad. shop worked there magic on it, it was fine and still is to this day.