Just picked up a new radiator from radiator.com and was trying to decide if I am going to install it myself or pay a mechanic. Mech. said about $140 using all my parts (new hoses, mazda t stat, fluid, and said radiator). Or I could install it myself.

My question is, how much of a hassle is it to pull a radiator?

I know I should flush the system, but will the garden hose method make certain that I don't have any blockage in the engine?

How much fluid, including the flush water am I going to have?

How should I dispose of the fluid?

Anything else to contend with that I am omitting?

I am familliar with the importance of making sure to get all the air out of the system and I have read up on that, but was wondering if filling it on an incline would help get those bubbles to the rad.

Thanks for all your help fellas (and that one hot naked lady that sits on the rx forum... I know your out there. CALL ME!!!)

 

Save yourself the money and do it yourself. Pretty straight forward. Not hard at all. Take your time and you'll be fine.

 

Yeah, it's really easy. I just put a radiators.com radiator in about a month ago. 4 bolts holding on the oil cooler (If you have a front mount). 2 rad hoses. 1 coolant level sensor. 4 bolts in the fan, and 4 in the shroud. You may want to cut off and pinch the auto tranny lines on the new radiator if you have a manual.

For the t-stat, it's 2 bolts. Pop out the old one, clean the housing and the surface on the block, pop in the new tstat, use a little black rtv on the gasket and tighten the bolts, but just snug, not ultra tight.

Where in VA are you? If your close I can put it in, or at least guide you.

 

I did mine myself with the garden hose method, its pretty easy. A lot of crap came out of my rad with just hose pressure. I caught the old coolant in a big black plastic tub and then funneled it into a 5 gallon bucket. I think you can take it to jiffy lube or most auto parts stores and they will dispose of it for you, just call around. I still haven't disposed of mine yet (lazy). When I filled up it was 1 gallon of cools like icewater and about 1 and 1/2 gallons of distilled water, leave cap off to allow air bubbles to exit , replace cap and drive it around then add more coolant/water as needed.

 

lovintha7, i'm just through the midtown, by the zoo. Its really the "I don't want to kill any animals" aspect of this job. Come on over if you want to drink some afternoon beer under a dirty rx. I'll supply both. I don't think I'm gonna have a problem with doing it, I'm just worried about blockages in the housings.

 

Easy peezy.

 

Guys, I hate bumping something this inane, but, some answers to my questions are needed. I'm gonna do it tomorrow. Disposal of af and flushing are the main concerns.
Thanks again

 

Call the parts store and see if they will take the fluids.

 

Got on the VA DEQ page and noone within 100mi who takes used coolant. Its like they're telling me to dump it in the neighbors dog's water dish. I'm bout to just dump it down the old bathtub drain.

 

hey, how much did you pay for your radiator.com radiator?

 

$129 shipped.

 

mine was actually $135 shipped. I obviously didn't get the "let me speak for Greg" Discount.

 

While you're doing that you should replace the snakey heater hose that goes from the firewall to down low on the driverside under the oil filter/beehive because it's probably rotten. It's a bear to do, but better than having it let gfo on the road. Not too bad putting in the warped hose from mazdatrix, which i usually do, but also possible to put in plain heater hose from the store, but VERY time comsuming.

B

 

I got my from Autozon for 120....n e ways, its easy as heck. At the time I knew less about the 7 then I know now....that says alot in itself! I did not even have a Haynes manual or know about this site yet and still did it on my own. I believe in you!

 

Ethelyne glycol breaks down in just a few days after being exposed to water or soil/dirt and your water treatment plant uses chemicals and bacteria that eat the stuff up. Just make sure you hose down the driveway real good so that your neighbors kitty doesn't drink the sweet tasting liquid and die from kidney failure. If you have heavy sediment, you may want to catch it and strain it or even flush the stuff down your toilet to keep from staining your driveway.

 

Thanks for the tips guys. Got er in there, but it has two tubes coming from the bottom. I am guessing this is for an automatic tranny. I figure I'll just use a bit of hose to connect the two and it'll be ok. Sound good to you guys? Oh and by the way. It looks nice. I should just change everything out of the engine bay, that way I won't have to clean anything. That ****** is so dirty. Homeboy who had it before me put a rebuilt in and didn't bother to even think about cleaning it. I guess its ok though. Aint no water getting through 1/8" of grime to rust my **** out.
scorecard
g-3
bad rx-0

 

Replace the top rad hose at the same time: it's the one that rots from hot engine water. I find it hard to access the drain tap under the rad, so what I do is cut the 5/8" heater hose about 4" from where it comes out of that lower junction with the lower rad hose, and I insert the tee from a $6 Prestone plastic flush kit. You screw the plastic top on that tee and next time you want to reverse flush the system just attach a garden hose, turn on the water and let the overflow come out the top of the rad. This is especially useful if you have to do the dreaded Leaky Internal Water Seal fix, which requires several flushes.

B

 

Resurrected...did this work? I'm in the same pickle..just clamp a hose bridging the two?

Thanks!

 

You don't do anything with those 2 tubes. They just stay capped off or open,it does not matter. The tubes are for the A/T fluid to go thru(On A/T cars) to help cool the fluid.

 

Zombie thread to eat your brains. I hooked them together but you wouldn't need to.

 

Muchos Gracias gentlemen

 

I've put in 4 rads in RX-7s. It's pretty easy, maybe an hours work. On the 4th one.

You want to make sure you get all the air out, so what I do after I think the system is full of coolant is to start the engine with the (new from Mazdatrix) rad cap off and watch the water level as the engine warms up and add water from a bottle or garden hose. Once the engine is warm so the (new from Mazdatrix) thermostat is open to allow full circulation I rev the engine a tad and add coolant as necessary. Thereafter I just keep an eye on the temp gauge and if it is ever peculiar or erratic I (when the engine is cool) repeat the burping process.

If I have an empty 1 or 2 quart milk carton in the kitchen, the cardboard box with the screw-on plastic cap, I fill it with plain tap water and put it in the bin behind the seat . Then, if the engine ever overheats I pull over, wait 1-2 hours, possibly in a cheerful tavern, and then I can add the water, fill the milk carton from someplace nearby, and head home. Never try to drive home on an overheated engine. If you must add cold water when the engine is hot, do it while the engine is running, but that requires removing the rad cap with high pressure behind hot water, and excellent chance to scald yourself, so throw a towel or even the shirt off your back , over that radiator before trying it and have some heavy fabric in your hand. Don't use a glove because you can get badly scalded while trying to remove a leather glove saturated with boiling water.

Rotary engines can survive a long time as long as they are not overstressed with over -revving or over=heating. So can you.

 

I put in a new radiator from radiatorexpress.com today. I wasnt thrilled with the quality, but it was ok. I paid about $142 but the invoice taped to the box said $79.99. Thats quite a profit they make from drop shipping. Not to mention the styrafoam in the box was all crushed and rendered useless. I wouldnt say this is a reflection on radiatorexpress.com themselves, they just farm this stuff out.

So the side bars didnt line up quite right so I had to file them out a bit to get the bolts back in.

The biggest pain, the new radiator has a small size cap!! I already bought an expensive large OEM cap from Mazdatrix that I can't use now. I have to find out how I will determine the correct cap to use now..

 

I bought one recently from the same place. The fit was exact and it was pretty easy. About an hour as said before.

An easy way to dispose of the fluid is to dump it in a neighbor's yard who has a dog that really annoys you. They love the stuff!

I'm just kidding, I'm a dog lover and have 3 myself. I hope my wife doesn't read this......

 

I found out I can get the small radiator cap version by ordering a 86-up cap. Cool.