ZMan
07-08-2011, 11:44 AM
Hey guys!
Allow myself to introduce..myself :naughty: I have been a die-hard Nissan fan for 20 years and currently own a '03 350Z Coupe and a '92 240SX. I'm stoked to finally join this fine community of enthusiastic Z/SX owners and hope to interact with all of you at some point or another.
Anywhoo, for those 240sx-ers who are in dire need of a radiator replacement but wish to undertake the job themselves, look no further! Here is a handy-dandy write-up on the job:
Step 1: Locate the bad radiator.
Step 2: Lift the front end with jack and stands so you can get underneath. CAUTION: Be sure to have the car lifted on the front (using an uphill slope or a car jack) and run it for 15 minutes to get all the air pockets out of the engine block. Failure to do so could blow the head gasket! :angel:
Step 3: Find the drain screw and position a bucket underneath it. The drain screw looks like such:
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f63/Cheeseboi2/2a-drain.jpg
Step 4: Drain coolant from radiator (there may be quite a bit).
Step 5: Unhook upper and lower radiator hoses. It's easier to remove the lower one from underneath but watch out for more drippings.
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f63/Cheeseboi2/2remove.jpg
Step 6: Unbolt upper radiator screws and keep track of the rubber grommets that go on the arms.
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f63/Cheeseboi2/3unbolt.jpg
Step 7: Remove plastic or what ever you have for an intake pipe and upper fan shroud.
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f63/Cheeseboi2/4pullback.jpg
Step 8: Remove radiator fan and lower fan shroud.
Step 9: Pull out the radiator. Be sure to pull the rubber grommets off the bottom of the old radiator to put them on the new one.
Step 10: Install new radiator in reverse order. I would recommend using an OEM radiator if you plan on keeping your 240sx stock. OEM radiators are about $460 at your local Nissan dealership, or you could do what I did and score one for $355 from nissanpartszone.com (http://www.nissanpartszone.com/Page_Product/PartDetail.aspx?ModelName=240SX&ModelYear=1992&ModelSeries=S13&FileType=267&SelectConditions=(1%3dC%3b2%3dKA24D%3b3%3dMT%3b4%3 d2WS%3b)&ShowConditions=(1%3dC%3b2%3dKA24D%3b3%3dMT%3b)&seeDesc=False&goBack=True&SectionNo=C&ComponentsNo=214&ComponentsIndex=3). I may go with a Koyo Race Radiator though whenever I scrounge together enough pennies to pay for a turbo :coolugh:
Step 11: Don't re-attach upper radiator hose, but instead angle upwards and fit the end with a funnel.
Step 12: Add coolant until it comes to the top of the radiator while entering the upper rad hose attached to the engine block.
Step 13: Attach the upper radiator hose then with the front of the car still jacked up start the car and add coolant through the rad cap hole as the bubbles work their way out of the system. Be sure your heater is on full. This should bleed the air out.
Step 14: Install rad cap, add coolant to the 1/4 mark in the overflow and go for a test drive.
You may have to add more coolant after the test drive so continually check the coolant level the next few times that you drive your 240 :2f2f:
Allow myself to introduce..myself :naughty: I have been a die-hard Nissan fan for 20 years and currently own a '03 350Z Coupe and a '92 240SX. I'm stoked to finally join this fine community of enthusiastic Z/SX owners and hope to interact with all of you at some point or another.
Anywhoo, for those 240sx-ers who are in dire need of a radiator replacement but wish to undertake the job themselves, look no further! Here is a handy-dandy write-up on the job:
Step 1: Locate the bad radiator.
Step 2: Lift the front end with jack and stands so you can get underneath. CAUTION: Be sure to have the car lifted on the front (using an uphill slope or a car jack) and run it for 15 minutes to get all the air pockets out of the engine block. Failure to do so could blow the head gasket! :angel:
Step 3: Find the drain screw and position a bucket underneath it. The drain screw looks like such:
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f63/Cheeseboi2/2a-drain.jpg
Step 4: Drain coolant from radiator (there may be quite a bit).
Step 5: Unhook upper and lower radiator hoses. It's easier to remove the lower one from underneath but watch out for more drippings.
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f63/Cheeseboi2/2remove.jpg
Step 6: Unbolt upper radiator screws and keep track of the rubber grommets that go on the arms.
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f63/Cheeseboi2/3unbolt.jpg
Step 7: Remove plastic or what ever you have for an intake pipe and upper fan shroud.
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f63/Cheeseboi2/4pullback.jpg
Step 8: Remove radiator fan and lower fan shroud.
Step 9: Pull out the radiator. Be sure to pull the rubber grommets off the bottom of the old radiator to put them on the new one.
Step 10: Install new radiator in reverse order. I would recommend using an OEM radiator if you plan on keeping your 240sx stock. OEM radiators are about $460 at your local Nissan dealership, or you could do what I did and score one for $355 from nissanpartszone.com (http://www.nissanpartszone.com/Page_Product/PartDetail.aspx?ModelName=240SX&ModelYear=1992&ModelSeries=S13&FileType=267&SelectConditions=(1%3dC%3b2%3dKA24D%3b3%3dMT%3b4%3 d2WS%3b)&ShowConditions=(1%3dC%3b2%3dKA24D%3b3%3dMT%3b)&seeDesc=False&goBack=True&SectionNo=C&ComponentsNo=214&ComponentsIndex=3). I may go with a Koyo Race Radiator though whenever I scrounge together enough pennies to pay for a turbo :coolugh:
Step 11: Don't re-attach upper radiator hose, but instead angle upwards and fit the end with a funnel.
Step 12: Add coolant until it comes to the top of the radiator while entering the upper rad hose attached to the engine block.
Step 13: Attach the upper radiator hose then with the front of the car still jacked up start the car and add coolant through the rad cap hole as the bubbles work their way out of the system. Be sure your heater is on full. This should bleed the air out.
Step 14: Install rad cap, add coolant to the 1/4 mark in the overflow and go for a test drive.
You may have to add more coolant after the test drive so continually check the coolant level the next few times that you drive your 240 :2f2f: