Radiator Leak Replacement ?
 

Hey, so I have a leak in my radiator somewhere on the grill, not the infamous hairline crack around the radiator cap. I own an automatic 1993 Protege LX DOHC. I've been searching sites for the cheapest radiator other than ebay but I'm confused as to which one will fit without any problems. I've done some searching and found that all metal radiators are better than the plastic one. Please tell me which one should fit and if installing it would be difficult or not.


1. All Metal Radiator

2. Plastic from RadiatorExpress.com

3. Radiator Barn

install isn't tough...get the all metal

I have used Radiators.com in the past with mixed results. The plastic radiator I got (for 92LX auto) from them lasted about 50K miles. I lost my paperwork so was not able to get a warranty replacement. Nevertheless, I bought another one, this time opting for metal. The metal one was not durable -- the fan mounting tabs broke off within a year. I got them to send a plastic replacement, but the replacement was too wide (appeared to be a manufacturing defect), so I sent it back and just cable tied the fan on.

The price in your link seemed good, though.

JQ

When you first registered you should have put the city and state you live in. You may have someone really near you that knows of a local place that's good for buying a radiator. Instead of just putting where you live on another post, go to your profile and change it so it always appears just below your user name. Don't worry, no one can show up at your house with just a city and state.

well i live in socal and i decided to go with the plastic radiator in link 2. If it lasted you 50k, then I think it's enough before my parents decide to trade it in for my brother's car. Does anyone have the factory manual online? Thanks for everyone's help!

It just so happens my dad's MPV has been needing a radiator. We found a place that had a plastic one for $85 plus tax so for $90 he got it and didn't have to wait for shipping. He was calling a junkyard checking prices. The lowest we found in a junkyard was $40 pulling it out ourselves. I had a real bad experience with a junkyard one many moons ago. One junkyard said they didn't have it and actually told us about this place. It was boxed and sealed brand new. The place was actually closer than the junkyard. It is, however, made to fit several similar cars so it's got little adapters to fit different hoses and such. It has worked out fine in the last two days.

ok i guess i'll be ordering it from radiatorbarn tonight because it seems the cheapest, my only concern is how hard the install is going to be. Quick questions:

1) Do I have to remove the front bumper?
2) Do I need any other fluids besides coolant?
3) There's a hose connecting to the bottom of the radiator, is that coolant or something else?

Thanks everyone for your responses!!

To answer your 3 questions:
1) No, you don't remove the bumper.
2) No, but if you spill transmission fluid you may. (more on that after 3rd answer).
3) Yes, that's a coolant hose.

If the car is automatic then you will have two metal lines to disconnect. These bring transmission fluid in and out of the radiator. The radiator actually does the job of also cooling the transmission fluid in this way. When you disconnect these, you usually spill some transmission fluid. Be ready to stick something in there so it doesn't keep leaking and some rags or pan on the floor to catch the fluid. If you spill too much, meausre the fluid after the job is done and replace fluid as necessary. If your car has a manual transmission, forget all this since you will not even have metal lines going in and out of your radiator.