Just finished this job and I was a little disappointed, mostly in myself. If I had done a little better search of the archives, I would have realized that even the Fluidyne has some problems...
After draining both the radiator and engine block the tear-down went smoothly and the new Fluidyne slid right in. I'm only about an hour into the job and I'm thinking everything is down hill. This is where I made the mistake of NOT test fitting everything before going any farther. Wanting to burp the system as I refilled the coolant I left my (stock) airbox off to access the upper radiator hose. Got nearly two gallons of coolant back in, reinstalled the IC and pipes, battery, and the front sway mounts. It was only when I went to reinstall the (stock) airbox that I noticed everything was now sitting up about 3/4" higher that it should. The airbox was resting on the upper radiator hose and the IC and duct were resting on the fan assembly. I couldn't even get the hood rod to sit in the holder. After closer investigation I discovered the top of the radiator was hitting the fiberglass bumper reinforcement and some nearby plastic. I had to tear down everything a second time to dremel away about a 1/4 inch of both. I also bent the top radiator tabs a bit. Thankfully I managed to do this by dropping the radiator down just enough without draining the coolant a second time, but it was a minor PITA. I just thought I'd post to help some other poor schlub from making my mistake(s). After doing a retro-search, I found that others (I think "rynberg" and "adam c") had similar complaints about their Fluidyne making things sit high but there was nothing on how they solved it. I suspect the source was the same, so maybe this will help someone else down the line.
BTW, after fully burping the system I drove about 8 miles, stop and go, on a 55 deg. F day and the fans still had not kicked on even with my Miata thermoswitch. I parked at idle for about another minute before they finally came on. Admittedly it was relatively cool, but I can not imagine that being the case with my OEM radiator.

 

Jim,

I had to trim my fan bracket a bit to get everything to fit exactly right. It wasn't a big deal, but it wasn't a perfect fit right out of the box.

Adam

 

There's a thread that was posted a long time ago with almost the same name and the exact details haha. Props to pointing things out and posting it though. It's people like you that other people thank in the long run.

Jeremy

 

When RX7RAGE and I installed my PWR radiator, we had a few problems with it not fitting right. After RX7RAGE left that night, I found that I had to file down the mounting brackets so that the front of the radiator would rest low enough to not have any clearence problems. I also had to cut a piece off the fan shroud.

I honestly think the only "drop-in" radiator would be either a stock radiator or a replica of it.

 

I thought the only advantage of the Fluidyne over the Koyo was that it was a drop-in install. Sounds like you did almost as work as someone installing Koyo.

 

Well, the Fluidyne/PWR aren't as thick as the Koyo one, so it doesn't have some of the clearence problems that the Koyo does when installing more aftermarket parts. But yeah, I was sold on the idea that the Fluidyne/PWR were supposed to be "drop-in".

 

Just to add my $0.02: I run a fluidyne, and have had absolutely no problems with fitment. It dropped right in perfectly. However, I also don't run any of the stock intake/IC stuff. I am using an ASP Medium IC, and the duct is wedged pretty tightly against the fans and the hood. I definately don't have much room to spare. I can see how people that run the stock airbox/IC could have fitment problems that require them to trim the fan shroud (especially if you run a Koyo).

-Rob

 

My thoughts too. Most posts that I recalled reading were like saxyman's..."no problems", "drops right in" etc. Like I said, I should have done a better search. It is curious though, whether it's Koyo or Fluidyne, how some people report no problems and for others, it's the install from Hell. Mine wasn't that bad, I just should have checked the fitment before putting things back together.

 

I had major problems fitting PFS Smic, duct and CAI over the Koyo radiator. All in all I think it too me about 6-8hours to do the job

 

Thanks for the heads-up. When I install mine I"ll make sure to measure the height so I can know for sure that the new radiator has things at the right elevation before I start piling things back in.

Dave

 

Im installing a PWR with apexi intake and RE Amemiya SMIC in the next couple of weeks Ill report back to let everyone know how it fits.

L8r

 

I had trouble with my install way back when as well... looked like the welding jig they'd used for the mounts had shifted. I had to trim a fair amount of the shroud to get it all to fit back in...

 

I put a Koyo in and the only trimming I did was on a piece of plastic (passenger side of car) I did flip the brackets at the top and bent the braces where the bottom of the radiator set in the mount. Went smoothly and only three dry fit's before I put it back together. My I/C did sit higher and I had to trim the Pettit heat shield to fit (since it references off the fan shroud) but not too bad. Jack
Eddie's was a direct drop in no work at all (but he was M2 large SMIC) and M2 CAI. Eveyone seems a little different. Jack

 

I put a Koyo in and the only trimming I did was on a piece of plastic (passenger side of car) I did flip the brackets at the top and bent the braces where the bottom of the radiator set in the mount. Went smoothly and only three dry fit's before I put it back together. My I/C did sit higher and I had to trim the Pettit heat shield to fit (since it references off the fan shroud) but not too bad. Jack
Eddie's was a direct drop in no work at all (but he was M2 large SMIC) and M2 CAI. Eveyone seems a little different. Jack