Best thing to do.. don't ever use that sealer stuff they say it's safe for the cooling system... my oem came apart, what radiator you get... my oem started leaking where the plastic and aluminum come together, now gots me a Koyo

 

Can someone explain why they use plastic on the radiators?

I recently swapped mine for a Mishimoto after the plastic cracked. I’ve had to replace the one in me wife’s CR-V twice from the plastic separation from the aluminum (can’t find an all aluminum for a ’97 CR-V).

 

It's cheap for them to make and will usually last through the warranty period.

 

My plastic radiator has lasted 170,000+ miles and still going strong....

 

Was this problem ever resolved?

My 2000 S2000 with 123,500 miles is leaking coolant and the dealer's diagnosis was a cracked radiator. I am going with the OEM plastic one and it will arrive for them to install tomorrow. I have a loaner car for now. I do not have the time or the skill to install a new radiator myself, and I need my S2000 back right away.

 

dont ever drive a vehicle with a broken cooling system, an overheated motor is very expensive, head gasket replacement is super expensive, machining the warped head is even more, get the car on the tow truck and tow it to get fixed, dont risk driving it

 

Replace Cracked Radiator - $840.73 + tax = $899.58

Radiator (H19010-PCX-013) - $491.38 + tax
Coolant - Type 2 Blue (HOL999-9011) - $25.00 + tax
Labor - $321.00 (3.0 hours @ $107.00 / hour) + tax

 

I bought an OEM radiator (used) on the forums for ~100ish I think then had a shop install it. Ended up being reasonable!

 

$900 for a radiator replacment? wtf!

you do not need any skills to replace the radiator.

I'm selling a radiator for $75. So obviously instead of spending $500 on one, you can spend less than $100 on used. Or if you want a fancy one the all aluminum radiators can be had for less than what you're willing to pay.

-Take off radiator cap, rain the radiator, which is removing one bolt

-Remove two hoses which means pinching two clamps off the hoses and pull them away from the inlets of the radiators.

-Twist the radiator hose on the inlets to break them free and slide them off. Channel locks work best to grab and twist, use your hand to pull the hose off the radiator.

-Remove both upper radiator stay brackets, which is removing two bolts total

-Disconnect connectors to fans.

-This entire process takes less than 15 minutes.

-Then obvious remove fan, put on new radiator

Please do not waste your money like that. $900 is insane.

And to bleed radiator, fill it an inch or two below the neck where the radiator cap is. Start car, set air temp to max hot(does not need to be on), hold rpm at 3k to warm up faster and once you hear the fans come on(make sure your coolant temp level doesn't go past what it usually it when it's fully warmed up), get off the gas, let it idle until the fan stops. Fill up the overfill tank as much as you can. Put on radiator cap, turn off car. Come back to it in an hour or so when it's cooled down and check levels. It is ok to see coolant bubbles or burst as that's air being pushed out, just don't have anyone standing near the front of the car.

The overfill tank should be on the low side which is good. Take the cap off, start car and hold rpm at 3k until fans kick on again, fill tank to max line level. Close cap and overfill tank, turn off car and check again in another hour or so.

Once you stop seeing the coolant level lower in the overfill tank all the air is out your system. And once you think you're done adding coolant let the car warm up on it's own or with you holding it at a low steady rpm, 3k again is fine, and turn the air on. You should have warm/hot air coming out before the car is fully warmed up. and obviously hot air one it reaches normal temps.

It should be fully bled. You don't have to mess with any bleeder valves or whatever else bs.

 

As I said before, I do not have the time or the skill to install a new radiator myself, and I needed my S2000 back right away.