I have a 96 Civic hatch cx, the radiator started leaking so I thought no big deal i will replace it. I got the old one out and the fan removed. When i go to put the new one in i can't for the life of me get it to go back in. So i thought hey i will try with the old one and see what i am doing wrong, but i cant get it to go back in place either. Neither one of them seems to want to go down far enough for the radiator to slip under the little lip. I know i have to be doing something wrong, but i spent 2 hours last night trying to do it. Any help on how to angle or put this thing back in would be greatly appreciated.

 

As with any car part, compare old and new radiators closely to be sure you have the right part.

Put the radiator in without fan first, then install the fan. There is no special "angle it in", they both slide straight down from the top-- engage brackets at the bottom then bolt the top in.

If car has A/C, you may need to unbolt the line brackets and push the A/C pipes toward the back of the car some to get clearance. Do not disconnect the pipe connections.

 

you might have some rubber 0-ring donut thingies on the bottom that arent sitting correctly.

 

tamboo hit it. make sure they're facing the correct direction, set the pegs on the radiator into them, swing it in. i always do it with the fan on, total pain in the *** to install it with radiator in car.

 

Tamboo is correct, those rubber grommets take some wiggling to get into the correct position