I posted sometime last week about having a overheating problem and at first, thought my harness was the main problem....(sucker melted together and kept the fan from running properly)

I re-wired up my harness and everything seemed fine, until it happened a day later. I looked under my hood and noticed the fan wasn't running. I later realized that the fan I was watching was the A/C fan.

So today, I started yanking out the intercooler and bumper, and noticed the radiator fan was busted. It seems to have a 1/2 spin, before totally stopping. I spun it with my hand and it felt like it was rubbing. I checked the blade clearance and everything is fine, now I am determined that the motor is dead on that fan. So I started draining the fluid out of the engine/radiator, but can't seem to figure out how the radiator comes out.

Anyone done this work before? Instructions on the forum somewhere, I did a search here, but pulled up too many results.

Does anyone recommend a better radiator than stock? or even the fans too? I want to try to get back together so I can enjoy the weather. Hey also.....will a bigger and/or better radiator work with a FMIC, I'm looking to install on too since everything is apart.

Just waiting for a reply before I start working on my FD again.

 

www.iluvmyrx7.com has quite a few factory service manuals. The FSM reccomends that you do it from under the car, but I don't agree with it. I found it was a lot easier from the top. You do need to bend the AC lines just a tad to be able to pull the radiator out. Once you have the airbox, IC, and battery out, you'll see how it comes out.

It's really easy once you get everything off. The hard part is getting it back in (if you are not using an OE radiator). Any radiator that is aftermarket and is larger than stock is going to have fitment problems of some sort. Koyos are one of the larger radiators and do have a lot of fitment problems, especially if you go with an aftermarket SMIC. Even my "drop-in" PWR radiator had quite a few fitment problems. A few guys have posted about a new radiator that is really cheap (~$279, iirc) -- you'll have to search for the name of the radiator as I don't recall the name. Someone may possibly chime in.

As for the fan, I would reccomend an OE replacement. Anything else just complicates things even more.

 

Why did you take off the bumper to work on the radiator or fans ? ? ? i would agree removal from the top is much easier, You will have to remove the bellypan and drop the A/C condenser down for ease of installation.

 

I only took off the bumper to figure out how to access certain things, besides I'm getting a bodykit soon, so its best that I learn where everything fits and bolts up to. I also didn't want to scratch the paint.

Would an aftermarket radiator; ie Koyo, help that much? My stock radiator looks fine and the main thing I need to replace is the fan, I just figured if an aftermarket radiator drops in, why not?

 

Koyo has worked miracles for me. Didn't have much in the way of fit problems. Do the FC thermoswitch mod while you're dumping the coolant. And get some Purple Ice. My temp gauge is a testament to the effectiveness of this set up.

 

I agree with Larz, I went with the KOYO and have been quite happy with it, I'm running the Evans coolant with zero presure setup and no issues yet (Live in Florida) so it get warm here. Jack

 

one thing to remember as well though with an aftermarket radiator is you may have to modify the stock mounting clips a bit. When I dropped my new koyo in, it took me over 3 hours to realise all of my fitment issues were because the stock mounting clips I was using had to be re-drilled closer to the bend of the "L" shaped clip.

Taking out the radiator is easy, but take your time and label everything, putting it back togeather will be a pain in the *** if you don't keep all of the bolts and everything labeled.

Pretty much the way it goes is:
- drain all radiator fluid
- Disconnect the battery
- pull out battery tie down, battery, and battery tray
- pull out intercooler
- disconnect the hoses from the intake box and remove both the top and bottom halves of the airbox.
- unbolt the ac condenser canister from the frame (it is the little cannister lookingthing that is bolted to the front of the driver's side, in front of where the battery would be)
-CAREFULLY pull the cannister out from the intke duct of the car (easiest w ay I found was to rotate the duct around the cannister and then halfway pull the duct down while pulling the cannister up). be extremely careful not to break the metal tubing connected to the cannister, if you break that you'll loose all functionality of the ac and the only way to fix it I know of is to pull out the entire section of metal tubing and re-pressurize the entire system.
- after cannister and duct are separated, you should have a clear view of the radiator.
- disconnect the upper and lower radiator hoses (note, be careful when removing these as there will be spilage of rdiator fluid and you don't want to get that crap all over the place, especially not on the exterior body paint. if you get any on the body, wipe it off asap).
- disconnect the fans motor wires
- the radiator is connected to the car by the 2 mounting clips located at the sides of the rad at the top. unbolt these and you're ready to pull the radiator and fans out. tilt the radiator and the fans up and simply pull it out (before you do this check to make sure everything is disconnected first!!!!)
- once you pull the radiator and fans out, the fans/shroud are connected via three bolts at the top of the radiator.


I have to admit, when I pulled out the stock radiator and took a good look at it, I wanted to slap the mazda designer that came up with that piece of garbage. I replaced with a core that was twice as thick and haven't had temps over 190F since (granted I turn the fans on at 180 when I'm stuck in traffic).

Also, one trick I learnt as well. if stuck in traffic and can't get out of it, turn on the dash lights (no need to turn on the headlights, just the dash lights), and turn the ac on to full blast, that'll keep the fans frequently running on high when sitting at idle.



if you want a detailed writup on replacing the the rad, go to www.rx7guru.com, there is a full write up on replacing the rad there.

 

also be careful about putting on a fmic, that will seriously hindr air flow to the radiator. something to keep in if you're putting it on for looks. If you're keeping the stock twins, I'd seriously recommend getting a bigger Stock mount IC instead of the fmic.

 

okay...

then i have a problem.

I'm running stock twins with a PFC, DP, FMIC, stock radiator and with my A/C still on.

Currently I have my Intercooler right out front, then my A/C condenser and then my radiator!

is this a problem as my radiator is sitting right at the back of the three? My A/C is sitting in between my intercooler and radiator..

Air temp is currently reading 40C and water temp is reading 84C-89C constant.

 

is that 89-90C at highway driving or while sitting at idle?? if it's highway driving I'd say that's about average, but what about sitting in traffic for about 15 minutes??

 

89C-90C constant whether driving on the highway or sitting in traffic. Which brings me to a good point that I always have my A/C on when driving to keep my fans on (i haven't done any fan mod yet).

Driving on highways only affects my Air Temps dramatically and not my water temp. I guess this is because I have my radiator sitting behind my intercooler. I think the twin fans plays the biggest role in reducing my Water temp.

Oh and I haven't had ducting done yet.

Coming back to this post (as i'm looking to drop my Koyo in soon), is the FMIC on the front most (duct), then front mount A/C condenser then front mount radiator a good configuration?

thanks!