ok, i admit it. i bought an off brand aluminum radiator. i dropped it in today, just to see how it fit, and to my surprise it wasn't too bad. the only problem, was when i was hooking up the hoses, i noticed the return line from the coolant reservoir didn't have a hook up on my new radiator. now, is that line to the bottom of the radiator necessary? or can i get away with capping it, or maybe even taking it completeley out?

 

the ast tank can just be bypassed instead. i installed a new rad without the nipple on it. and i just eliminated the tank. check the faq and useful links for more information.

 

I am actually glad that the PO on mine eliminated the AST, one less failure point!

 

thx for the advice guys. this means i should have my 7 up by the end of today.

 

good stuff! when eleminating it. make sure u dont get air lock. it might take a couple starts and getting the thermoswitch to cut it in take outair in the rad and such. but it happens over time. first day out with my rx7 i took coolant with me just in case.

 

You may be able to get away with no AST, but you do need a line to the overflow tank.

 

Another option is to keep your AST, cut your lower radiator hose and use one of these in between the 2 sections of lower radiator hose: http://prosportgauges.com/water-temp...e-adaptor.aspx
It comes with a 1/8" NPT threaded hole, so you could use a 1/8" NPT brass nipple and screw that in there, and then connect the hose you're talking about from the AST to that brass nipple.