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I came out of Home Depot, fired up the car and a big blast of steam comes out from under the hood. Hmmm.
A moment later the Check Radiator light comes on. So I go look. The top hose is off, so I push it back on and tighten the clamp. All seems good and I put in coolant from the jug in the trunk, pick up another gallon at the auto parts place across the street, and off I go. All seems fine and I get home (12 miles) OK. Coolant level is good.
Then I take a closer look and find the inlet flange is toast and I need a new rad. It's 4 PM on Thursday, Dec 27. I run inside, call eEuroparts and order a new one. I know I usually get 1-day delivery so I'm hoping, since the long weekend is coming and rain is due Saturday.
Fri AM I take it all apart. Very easy, but the clamp for the lower hose is rusted solid. I pry and hacksaw it off, which was surprisingly difficult due to limited space and not the ideal saw. The new rad arrives about 10:30 or so and I put it all back together after a trip to get new hose clamps.
A messy but satisfying job for $185. Would sure have been nicer on a warm day without snow melt pouring off the roof 6 feet away and not having to lie on a tarp in the snow and ice in the driveway, but all is good. It's so nice to have a repair that's easy to do and a car that's easy to work on.
Note that at least on the Nissens radiator, you need to re-use the rubber grommet and steel insert at the top and the screw clips at the bottom and top of the radiator. Also, I recommend replacing the 7mm screws for the oil cooler. Mine seemed less than 7mm, so my 12-pt socket wouldn't work and I didn't have a 6-pt in that size, so I used a 7mm combination. I should have replaced them, but wanted to get the job done.
Instructions here and at Quasi's site made this an easy job.
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