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My cars been sitting out for a long time (DUI no good). When i went to start it up for the first time in months, i was greeted by a bad battery and a leaky radiator. So i went to autozone got a battery, problem solved. As for the radiator it was completely drained and there were the dirty specs from the antifreeze. I believe the source of the leak is somewhere near the neck.

2 questions:
1. Should i take it to a shop and have them look at it? it may be cheaper in the long run to replace it myself

2. What are the main differences between the oem and performance radiators?

 
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replacing a radiator is a walk int he park. dont let some some shop rape you on a thirty minute or less install. im guessing you have a 7th gen civic because your on this forum so the OEM will do fine. people have no problems with the OEM radiator and 300+whp so unless you are pushing or plan on pushing that amount of power you should be fine.

 
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thanks for the insight! but i have a 6th gen =\/. Anyways while you responded i started it up and went down the block. boy was there alot of antifreeze spitting out. And also, with ~150k miles i get a nice oil leak after being parked for half an hour. does this mean i need sythentic or a high milage oil? or can i try tightening the oil pan?

 
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try a new drain bolt, if the oil is coming from the hole. otherwise it could be a seal or the oil pan gasket leaking. just gotta clean it up, drive it, and see where the leak is coming from.

 
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I run an Ebay dual-core aluminum half raddy, and find it performs better than both the stock and Koyo full raddys that were in the car.

Like Steve said though, you need to determine where you're leaking oil from before you just go at the engine with a wrench.

 
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regarding the radiator you should be fine with OEM regardless.

to check for the oil leak just clean your oil pan with some degreaser. then leave it up in the air with a newspaper under your car then wait for it to leak and check where your oil is coming from.

 
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I shall do that then post later today =D
Edit: so iget the car on blocks and run it till its hot. OF COURSE it doesnt leak =\/

Speedfoos: i looked into the radiators on ebay. the aluminums look very nice and the price isnt bad at all!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Civic...Q5fAccessories

could anyone tell me anything else? am i in need of new mounting parts or can i use the old plastic ones?

 
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you can use the stock ones.

 
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Oh, so i cant replace those mangy POS ones? =[=[=[

 
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Heheh. You can't use the stock mounts at all with the half raddy, you have to mount them a different way. You need different radiator hoses (I got two Gates flexible hoses from Advance), you also have to trim your plastic radiator shroud and your fan may or may not bolt right up to the new raddy.

This is not just a "Push button, get banana" kind of thing. I documented how I did mine and what was involved somewhere near the last 15-20 pages of my build thread.

 
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Looking at this radiator, im guessing its a full radiator? uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh haha do i have to buy 2?

 
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lol..... no. buy one. -__-

 
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So i'm waiting on the rad. Would you reccommend just getting the bent hoses and everything or should i wait till they go out on me? hahaha and not to mention the clip was a pain in the *** to get off , i might replace them to the screw on ones

 
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I bought Gates 1.5" diameter flex hoses from O'reilly. They were like $20 total.

 
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should i heat the hose up with something? fire or a heat gun? i couldnt get it on the aluminum raddy and kinda ruined the hose. so i made a little trip to autozone to replace it =\ <img> src="http://http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y180/makai1090/Picture012.jpg"</img>

 
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Hmm... Mine went on just fine. I'd take the raddy with you to Autozone and make sure you get the right diameter.

 
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i did that but it was a special order. the guy there said that both hoses on the 6th gen are the same. so i just needed the lower one. this is turning out to be the rad swap from hell. ha kidding. pictures to come