FRCornelis

Hello folks. As the title implies...

My radiator is cracked as hell and it needs to be replaced. I already placed the order on Majestic Honda for the Denso radiator, all the hoses, clamps, even reserve tank and cushions, waiting for delivery.

I have two questions, I search the site, but I couldn't find much info.

(1) I am replacing the two ATF cooling lines (hoses), and I wonder if there is a way to bleed the ATF on the cooling lines. I know I will have to bleed the radiator, remove all the air from the system, however, I am not sure if there is a way or procedure to also remove the air from the ATF cooling lines on the buttom. The tech at Honda dealer told me that it will bleed by itself inside the transmission, and that all I have to do is add ATF fluid to compensate all the ATF on the cooling lines and the radiator that will be lost, but there is no way (or need) to bleed ATF hoses becuase it will be done automatically.
I want to make sure this is correct, because my transmission is working 100% fine and smooth all the time, and never gave me any issue and I don't want this to start happening because I left air on the ATF lines and damaged it. The HAYNES manual does not say anything about this, other than, reconnecting the lines. Anyone ? should I be concern about it?

(2) I know the cover bumper needs to come off in order to access the radiator brackets. The manual basically says that all you need to do is remove the screws on each fender (where the bumper meets the fender on the tire opeining), then remove the tabs on the top close to the hood latch, and remove the screws and tabs from the buttom where the bumper meets the slpash guard, then just pull the bumper and it will come off. Installation is the reverse of removal. NOW, all this sound great on paper, but actually doing it, I have the feeling that will be a lot more difficult, and I believe I have read some people with trouble removing the bumper. I never removed the bumper so it will be my first time and not very happy about it, I'm affraid to brake a tab or some plastic part and then it will look like crap. This is the part that concerns me more.

If am carefull, will I be able to reinstall it and make it look just as noting happened or once you remove it, it will never look streight again?.

Any advice with the bumper and the ATF cooling line question will be really appreciated. Anybody replaced the radiator yourself?

I believe I will be buying the thermostate which I forgot.

Thank you very much guys.

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

no need to bleed atf lines. just make sure to recheck the fluid a few times and add more as the air comes out (drive the car 30 mins, park on flat ground, check the level while in park with engine running). you can get a whole pack of those plastic clips on ebay if you break some. may as well replace the rad hoses while at it.

FRCornelis

Nice, thank you.

Do you know how much ATF will be lost in the process? I mean, will it be more then the 3 qts that come off when you drain it ? I have no idea and want to be ready and also meke sure that I won't overfill the Tranny.

Thank you!...

Happy thanksgiving to all !!!!

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

nah its maybe like 1/4 of the radiator that gets used for atf. im guessing half a bottle if even that. the whole system has 9qts and a drain/fill empties 3 qts. just empty what comes out in a container and measure how much. that way it gives you a good idea how much to put back. im guessing no more than a bottle.

FRCornelis

Thank you!!! I finally got all the parts from Majestic Honda yesterday...

and... about flushing the entire cooling system, I want to remove all the old coolant from the engine block also, by removing the drain bolt (next to the oil filter), do you think I will be able to get all the coolant out? Do you know what is the best way to remove it all?

Thanks !!

xRiCeBoYx

iTrader: (22)

when I swapped my radiator, before I took the old bits out, I drained the coolant until it stopped, ran some Prestone readiator flush through my engine (just followed the directions on the bottle), drained that stuff out, filled with 50/50 mix, then bled the crap out of my system. I'll probably do another drain/fill if I get bored.

Just curious, how much did you spend at majestic?

FRCornelis

Thanks!.

Well, I spent 297.97 (after tax, including shipping to California)

The radiator itself was $223.40 (dealer was asking $350 !! )

But besides the radiator, I got all the hoses, ATF lines, clamps, reserve tank, Cushions for radiator, however I forgot about the thermostate and the dealer charged me 29.99 for it.

xRiCeBoYx

iTrader: (22)

Not bad. I was expecting a much higher price tag with everything you bought. I went the aftermarket route with a higher capacity radiator and high pressure cap for $330.

The only things I replaced were the radiator itself and the required cap.

oh, forgot to add, I've had no problems since. And I did it about 2000 miles ago.

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

i would just do a drain of the radiator and overflow tank. dont worry about lil bit in the engine. that engine drain bolt is very hard to remove and may not seal properly when you put it back. best to leave it alone and what little old coolant there is will mix together.

FRCornelis

Yes, I believe it's a good price, specially when PowerHonda was asking $350 for the radiator itself (before taxes). However, I wanted to go aftermarket and get a radiator maybe for under $100 bucks, but I will be very frustrated if the bolts not align properly with the frame and the cooling fan, and then having to replace it again... that's why I went with the exact OEM part.

I believe I spent arround 450 with all the extra parts that I got, and I still have to buy the Honda Antifreeze and ATF that I will lose... QUESTION: Do you know how much money I it will cost just to take the car to a mechanic and have them do the work? The shop will probably change the radiator itself for an aftermarket, but if I want them to change all the parts that I'm actually changing myself... what will be the price tag?. Am i really saving for doing all this myself?

Gearbox, thank you for your advice too, I didn't think that the coolant inside the block is so little as you said, I was thinking that the block will hold at least 1 gallon. Needles to say, I am not dealing with that bolt on the block, I don't want leaks... I think that bolt has a crushing washer like the oil plug, or it doesn't?. Anyways....

Thanks guys. I will do this week before christmas during my days off at work.

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

i drained my radiator and got really close to a gallon out, i think thats close to max capacity. and lil bit of old fluid will not affect cooling performance. just take off the radiator cap while draining and turn the heater to hot before turning the car off prior to changing the coolant. make sure car cools down enough so you dont burn yourself on the coolant. just diy, its not really something that requires a mechanic. once the coolant is gone, its super easy to disconnect the hoses and stuff. unbolt the old and pop in the new.

xRiCeBoYx

iTrader: (22)

I personally wouldn't pay someone to swap a radiator/components for me. It's way too easy a job to justify me paying someone else to do it. I'd understand if it were cold as ***** out, but even then, I'd still consider doing it myself. If you can turn a wrench and follow instructions, then you should be fine.

I just re-read your first post, and your issues with taking the front bumper cover off. I was intimidated the first time I took mine off, and now I can remove mine in a matter of minutes. There was a time where all I had holding the bumper on were the 4 clips under the hood (that connect to the black plastic radiator cover) and the 2 screws in the fender, and I could have the bumper off in less than a minute. 4 clips on top, a handful on the bottom, 2 screws in the fenders, and possibly 2 screws that hold the splash guard to the bumper, if I recall correctly. During re-installation, just make sure you line up the part underneath the headlight correctly so it sits flush.

Oh, and my aftermarket radiator (Koyo Racing Radiator, hence the pircetag I paid) accomodates OEM rubber feet, fans, and everything. Only thing I had to do was trim 1" from the top radiator hose to accomodate it's thicker profile. I did, however, replace my fans with slim radiator fans.

Very basic radiator swap procedure:
1) Remove front bumper cover after that's off, I also took off the headlights (4 bolts holding each on) and the actual front bumper/crash bar/whatever you wanna call it (3 bolts on each side, 2 top, and 1 bottom) to make my life easier. You can also drain the radiator at the same time to kill two birds with one stone.

2) If you have a/c, then take off the 2 brackets at the top of the a/c condenser. CAREFULLY swing the a/c condenser out of the way. I put a box underneath it to support it.

3) With everything out of the way, and the radiator drained, you're ready to tackle the radiator. Disconnect the old hoses from the block and radiator. Take off the 2 brackets on the top of the radiator, and weasel it out of there. You may run into problems taking the whole assembly out, so you may want to have your socket wrench at the ready to remove various pieces like the fans or the reservoir. I believe they're 10mm bolts holding them on. I can't quite remember.

4) Installation is pretty much the reverse. Once you have everything out in the open, it's really easy to figure out what goes where and what you need to swap/take out.

5) Fill your shiny new radiator until it you can't anymore. Proceed to bleed your coolant system. After you're done bleeding, take 'er out for a test drive, let it cool off, and check your coolant levels. Fill and bleed as necessary. I don't know the "proper" way to bleed a coolant system (which I believe involves filling the radiator, putting the radiator cap on, running the car with heat on full, letting it cool off, opening radiator, filling, rinse and repeat), but the way I always do it is start the car with the radiator cap off, heat to full blast, and fill as necessary. Hasn't failed me yet.

FRCornelis

Oh, well then. I thank you very much, both of you. I appreciate the DIY, I guess I have much more confidence now. Thnink that the pesky bumper cover won't be a big deal after all then.

I'll start doing it this coming sunday, I already have 5 days in a row from that sunday so I'll have plenty of time.

Thank you SO much guys!

xRiCeBoYx

iTrader: (22)

If you get stuck, just ask. We'll hook you up as best we can. Good luck!

FRCornelis

Thank you then!.

I'm on the middle of this now... My radiator is OUT.

I'm cleaning all the spill before installing the new radiator. I noticed that the A/C condenser is soaked near the area where the radiator has the crack.

What runs inside the A/C condenser?. I believe it's soaked from coolant. Is coolant running somehow inside the condenser that I might have a condenser leak !!! ??? or it's just the spill. It's soaked on the oposite side of the AC lines, (towards the passenger side lower corner of the condenser)...

What runs insde the condenser ?

Thanks!!.

xRiCeBoYx

iTrader: (22)

A slightly noxious refrigerant (r-134a) runs inside the a/c condenser which is I'm it's gaseous state in temps above -26C at atmospheric pressure

FRCornelis

Thanks!.

Then the coolant all over the condenser was from the radiator which was in a really bad shape, leaking everywhere. Anyways, I have it up, and running, the bumper was a piece of cake after all and I feel much more confident now. Thank you all of you for the inputs and tips.

I have (3) questions regarding the cooling system. Let's put it this way: Before I had my radiator issue, I never paid attention to this, so may be everything is normal but here they go:

- After warming up the car (before driving) the TOP radiator hose, gets hot, I can still hold it, it bothers my hand a little but I can grab it, the LOWER radiator hose first is cold, then after a few minutes with the engine running inside my garage, I can feel the lower hose getting warmer - new termostat was installed - , let's say after 10 minutes, or so. Now... if I keep runing the engine over 10 mins The the TOP hose gets even more and more hotter (it kinds of burns my hand) and the lower hose gets really hot. Not as hot as the top one, a little less, but finally both hoses are runing hot.
The cooling fan, kicks in from time to time but, it's silly, it runs for... let's say... 8 to 10 seconds and then it stops. Then, after I few minutes, it does it again.
The heater works perfect, fast, and hot when I turn it on.

All the time, my temp indicator on the DASH, is (according to the owner manual) in the normal position, which is within the fist quarter from the bottom. It's goes a little higher than the bottom quarter but it will never reach the middle (1/2) of the meter. I believe it has always been like that. But then again, the reason I'm checking all this is because I installed the radiator and I'm checking everything. I have always checked the temp gauge and never tried to feel the radiator hoses before. That's why I'm asking all this.

Do you think this scenario is normal? It catches my attention that the lower hose is getting that hot.

Now... after driving the car and checking the hoses right away, the lower hose is somehow warm, not as hot like it is when the car is not moving.

- Can I trust the TEMP indicator on my dash to determine if the engine is running at normal temperatures? I know it shows the temp of the coolant, but is this temp of the coolant the actual temp of the engine? Or is it possible that the engine is running beyond the normal temperature (even if the coolant is ok).

- Another think that worries my, is the amount of coolant in my reserve tank.
When I did the refill, (with a cold engine) I left it between the MIN and MAX right on the middle. This morning I checked the level before starting the car and it was right on the MIN line. I believe ir read somewhere Gearbox saying his coolant is starting to desapear.... HEAD GASKET !!!!!!!! ???

Anyways. the car is runing normal and shifting beautiful. All this is a "big check up".... what do you guys think about this temperatures.

Thank you, very, very much for your help folks. and HAPPY NEW YEAR!

FC.-

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

everything you described is normal. the temp indicator is not completely useless. if it ever creeps above the usual spot, you know something is wrong. coolant in the reserve tank can vary for the first week or two after draining and filling the system since there could still be some air in the passages. and i recommend keeping the level at max when the car is cold (after leaving it overnight). also i hope you used a honda thermostat or you will have problems later.

FRCornelis

oh, well then. Glad to hear that. Thank you GB.

Yes, everything I got is OEM, the thermostat was 29.99 on Honda Dealer. I also got their OEM ATF and Honda Coolant Type 2 they have.

That's another thing... the new coolant, is blue.... I hope, when it mixes with the left over inside the block (which was green), I hope I won't be an issue.

So then... if the lower Hose gets somehow hot when you are not moving the car, ... how come it will be cooling the engine?.. I always believed that hot runs on the top, and cold runs from the bottom hose too cool down the engine. Right now it's a very cold weather here in CA, but in the middle of summer?.... wow!....
Anyways, when the car has been driven, the lower hose is just warm, not hot. It only gets that hot when I run the engine without driving the car. However, the temp indicator doesn't change, whenever I drive or just run the engine without moving...

I'll top of the reserve tank to the MAX line when the car is very cold like you recommended.

Thank you GB!!!
FC.

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

ouch, i got a new oem thermostat for $15 on ebay. yeah green and blue can safely mix together. next time you change it, it should be all blue. the lower hose should be much cooler but only when driving and air is flowing thru the radiator. if the car is just sitting there, the radiator is useless. it needs flowing air to work and cool the antifreeze. this is why we have the cooling fan, which turns on at idle when the coolant gets too hot (from no radiator action).