Changing radiator

[Gary406]

hi all ok ive goit a 2nd hand radiator , looks brand new cost me £40 i plan to change fit it 2moro ,
is there anything i should change why doing the rad, or will all the hoses and clips be ok off the old rad, no leaks from hoses its the actually radiator thats bust at the bottom in the middle

[Busman]

Hi.
Expect problems with the connection between the bottom hose and the rad. I gave up on mine and got the hose as well. I think the hose was about £16 rings a bell. Might be worth a close look before you try.

Richard.

[Gary406]

ok thanks mate i will watch out for that

[HimBigChief]

The bottom hose on mine was approx £70-£80 and was a dealer only part (they had to order it in aswell) as it also contains the metal pipe and runs from the back of the block right round to the rad. That said, mine is a 2.1 so would expect yours to be different. You may get lucky and everything comes off easily, but the bottom hose was the only problem I had when I swapped the rads on mine last year.

[Gary406]

holy sh*t 70-80 quid for a hose, i'll go back to the guy who i got rad off if i have to
he has a few 1.9s breaking so hopefully he can help me if i do need it

i will take my time with it and hopefully it will fit in and i wont have to replace any bottom hose,

mind you i do get discount at stealers (wifes cousin works on parts desk )

[teamster1975]

Like I said before Gary the conrad pushfit on the hoses is a load of rubbish once it has weathered and rusted. Odds are you will need to replace the bottom hose, the leaks are usually from the union (unless you're lucky & find it's been replaced in the past!)

[Gary406]

ok thanks mate, is there 2 conrad pushfits on my rad then ? i will probably just buy both pipes before and change anyway ?

is the conrad fits the ones with the metal clip ?

[teamster1975]

ok thanks mate, is there 2 conrad pushfits on my rad then ?

Yes, top and bottom. The top hose should come off cleanly as it doesn't catch all the cr@p from the road!

is the conrad fits the ones with the metal clip ?

That's the ones, bloody horrible things. (Can you tell I don't like them? )

[Gary406]

yep i can tell now lol

and i think im gonna take your advise and replace both why the rad is off , may as well do the job properly

thanks for the response guys appreciate it

[Gary406]

well rad fitted, i managed to salvage the bottom hose conrad

keep my eye on temp for next few days but i think i have bled the system correctly

went for a 6 mile ride and temp staying around 80 so hopefully next few days will go well ,then i can put anti freeze in
didnt wanna put anti freeze straight in just in case that bottom conrad hose leaked

[teamster1975]

Well done that man!

[Gary406]

i just hope that bottom pipe holds out and doesnt start leaking, it was a bugger to get off but after a clean it went back in

anyway no antifreeze in yet so if it does start leaking i will just replace it before i put coolant in