Radiator Questions
11-25-20, 11:57 PM
#1
Junior Member
Thread Starter
Radiator Questions
Ok so I'm pretty new to the rotary and rx7 in whole and my radiator is leaking up bad from the top cap and in that area and is rusted inside was just curious should I buy a new cap or just replace radiator as while just to be safe I've been recomended koyo radiators for it and I planned on getting a manual trans radiator and then buying a universal cooler off ebay would that work and I could just find fittings and hoses from local parts store that hook up to hose barb? Is there any dif in radiator hoses between at and Mt radiators??
11-26-20, 07:18 AM
#2
Rotary Freak
Welcome to the forum 
It could just be the cap, but at this point the stock radiators are ~30 years old and overheating an Rx7 is a bad time. They can also clog internally over time. So I would just replace the radiator, making sure to flush the system thoroughly with distilled water before filling up with coolant.
People here seem to love the Koyo radiator, so it's probably a good choice. I've been using a generic radiator with good results. You didn't state if your car has an automatic transmission, but your question implies that it does. You COULD rig up a universal cooler, although you'll find it is starting to get crowded under the bumper if you also have AC / Power steering. Unfortunately I don't know of any Rx7 specific aluminum rads that have the cooler built-in.
Yes, you'd need fittings for the cooler to adapt to a barb and then some hose that will reach to the stock cooler lines. Make sure the hoses you use are resistant to ATF.
No, the radiator hoses and outlet positions are the same.
No, the radiator hoses and outlet positions are the same.
11-26-20, 07:55 AM
#3
Junior Member
Thread Starter
Welcome to the forum
It could just be the cap, but at this point the stock radiators are ~30 years old and overheating an Rx7 is a bad time. They can also clog internally over time. So I would just replace the radiator, making sure to flush the system thoroughly with distilled water before filling up with coolant.
People here seem to love the Koyo radiator, so it's probably a good choice. I've been using a generic radiator with good results. You didn't state if your car has an automatic transmission, but your question implies that it does. You COULD rig up a universal cooler, although you'll find it is starting to get crowded under the bumper if you also have AC / Power steering. Unfortunately I don't know of any Rx7 specific aluminum rads that have the cooler built-in.
Yes, you'd need fittings for the cooler to adapt to a barb and then some hose that will reach to the stock cooler lines. Make sure the hoses you use are resistant to ATF.
No, the radiator hoses and outlet positions are the same.
It could just be the cap, but at this point the stock radiators are ~30 years old and overheating an Rx7 is a bad time. They can also clog internally over time. So I would just replace the radiator, making sure to flush the system thoroughly with distilled water before filling up with coolant.
People here seem to love the Koyo radiator, so it's probably a good choice. I've been using a generic radiator with good results. You didn't state if your car has an automatic transmission, but your question implies that it does. You COULD rig up a universal cooler, although you'll find it is starting to get crowded under the bumper if you also have AC / Power steering. Unfortunately I don't know of any Rx7 specific aluminum rads that have the cooler built-in.
Yes, you'd need fittings for the cooler to adapt to a barb and then some hose that will reach to the stock cooler lines. Make sure the hoses you use are resistant to ATF.
No, the radiator hoses and outlet positions are the same.
11-26-20, 08:51 AM
#4
Junior Member
Thread Starter
Welcome to the forum
It could just be the cap, but at this point the stock radiators are ~30 years old and overheating an Rx7 is a bad time. They can also clog internally over time. So I would just replace the radiator, making sure to flush the system thoroughly with distilled water before filling up with coolant.
People here seem to love the Koyo radiator, so it's probably a good choice. I've been using a generic radiator with good results. You didn't state if your car has an automatic transmission, but your question implies that it does. You COULD rig up a universal cooler, although you'll find it is starting to get crowded under the bumper if you also have AC / Power steering. Unfortunately I don't know of any Rx7 specific aluminum rads that have the cooler built-in.
Yes, you'd need fittings for the cooler to adapt to a barb and then some hose that will reach to the stock cooler lines. Make sure the hoses you use are resistant to ATF.
No, the radiator hoses and outlet positions are the same.
It could just be the cap, but at this point the stock radiators are ~30 years old and overheating an Rx7 is a bad time. They can also clog internally over time. So I would just replace the radiator, making sure to flush the system thoroughly with distilled water before filling up with coolant.
People here seem to love the Koyo radiator, so it's probably a good choice. I've been using a generic radiator with good results. You didn't state if your car has an automatic transmission, but your question implies that it does. You COULD rig up a universal cooler, although you'll find it is starting to get crowded under the bumper if you also have AC / Power steering. Unfortunately I don't know of any Rx7 specific aluminum rads that have the cooler built-in.
Yes, you'd need fittings for the cooler to adapt to a barb and then some hose that will reach to the stock cooler lines. Make sure the hoses you use are resistant to ATF.
No, the radiator hoses and outlet positions are the same.
11-26-20, 12:33 PM
#5
Rotary Freak
Sometimes vendors use a photo of one part for every ad (even for different cars), even if the actual part is different. I would check with the vendor to make sure that this is the case. Otherwise if the photo they have is of the actual radiator they intend to sell you, then it isn't right. Confirm that the part they are selling is correct, and see if they can provide you a picture before you purchase of the actual part.
11-26-20, 12:39 PM
#6
Junior Member
Thread Starter
So the description is correct, but the radiator in the photograph is not right. The upper hose is in the wrong place, the sensor in the bottom should be on top, etc.
Sometimes vendors use a photo of one part for every ad (even for different cars), even if the actual part is different. I would check with the vendor to make sure that this is the case. Otherwise if the photo they have is of the actual radiator they intend to sell you, then it isn't right. Confirm that the part they are selling is correct, and see if they can provide you a picture before you purchase of the actual part.
Sometimes vendors use a photo of one part for every ad (even for different cars), even if the actual part is different. I would check with the vendor to make sure that this is the case. Otherwise if the photo they have is of the actual radiator they intend to sell you, then it isn't right. Confirm that the part they are selling is correct, and see if they can provide you a picture before you purchase of the actual part.
Trending Topics
11-26-20, 12:54 PM
#8
Junior Member
Thread Starter
11-26-20, 01:51 PM
#9
Rotary Freak
If you look at the stock radiator, only a few rows at the bottom are for the transmission cooler. So reasoning from that, we can see that the cooler we need isn't actually very large.
Now, the first few coolers in that picture all look like the stock sized oil cooler (though the ports are in different places). That is going to be way overkill. You can get an idea of the size of those by looking at the one on your car, it's under the plastic cowling at the front of the engine bay. Squeezing another of those under the bumper will be a decent amount of work and it's way too big for this application.
The second cooler (the black one with the fan) is a better choice IMO. I think it might still be a bit oversized but not nearly as big as the other coolers. If you look under the cowling where I mentioned earlier, you'll see some unused mounting points. There are two on the left side of the rad support, two on the right, two studs on the wide cylindrical support, and a threaded hole on the top rad support. All of them should be M6x1.0, so you'll have plenty of different options to mount it. There may be others I'm forgetting, but there's a lot to work with. You might need to make some simple brackets. There are also factory holes for the AC lines and space underneath each side rad bracket so there is plenty of space to run lines through.
11-26-20, 02:25 PM
#10
Information Regurgitator
Actually none of the rows in the stock radiator are for the trans cooler. There is a separate cooler inside the radiator that the trans connects to. It is like a ribbed cylinder that fills the bottom end tank/cap. I suppose it just works as a heat exchanger using the cooler coolant at the bottom of the radiator to cool the trans fluid. I would imagine an aftermarket trans cooler like you suggest or similar would be fine.
11-26-20, 03:13 PM
#11
Rotary Freak
Actually none of the rows in the stock radiator are for the trans cooler. There is a separate cooler inside the radiator that the trans connects to. It is like a ribbed cylinder that fills the bottom end tank/cap. I suppose it just works as a heat exchanger using the cooler coolant at the bottom of the radiator to cool the trans fluid. I would imagine an aftermarket trans cooler like you suggest or similar would be fine.
I did, however, find a very old picture of it:
So you're right, it looks like it isn't using any of the radiator rows. On the plus side, it probably means that even a small standalone cooler would be enough since it's getting it's own airflow.
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
Rotary4tw
3rd Generation Specific (1993-2002)
58
08-20-08 01:02 AM
SSpyderX
1st Generation Specific (1979-1985)
4
09-08-05 02:58 AM