Replacing Radiator

[Zend]

Ok, my radiator ruptured last week, I'm replacing it with a new one.
I have an 86 accord LX, automatic. I removed the top 4 screws, as well as the top 2 on the body. Any tips or ideas on getting the rest out(such as fans and screws on bottom)?

[A20A1]

I used to go under the car to get to the lower fan screw when I had my A/C and stuff installed, I removed those so now I don't need to.

The lower fan screw only needs to be loosened then the fan will slide out.

[Zend]

I see a bunch of screws on the shroud, but two of them that go up into it im guessing are the ones i want to take out.

[A20A1]

you only want to remove the bolts on the outer edges... if it's in the center of the shroud thn if might be a part of the fan. The shroud and fan come off as one.

[Blkblurr]

Do lyou have a shop manual? Might give you enough info in there.

[smufguy]

when i replaced mine, i just removed the 4 screws on the top, removed the wire clips for the fans and sensor and pulled the whole unit out as a unit. it came out just fine last year when i had to replace mine. The only bitching thing was removing the lower radiator hose, so i would suggest that you ditch the stock metal clamps (its easier that you remove the lower rad hose from under the car before you pull the rad out)

[Zend]

Ok, what about the lower 3 screws on the radiator....do those just attach the fans to the radiator? Also didnt you have to remove the shroud to get to the lower hose?

[smufguy]

Ok, what about the lower 3 screws on the radiator....do those just attach the fans to the radiator? Also didnt you have to remove the shroud to get to the lower hose?

i did not remove the fan shroud to get to the hose, I just unclipped it from the top and then pulled the hose from the bottom.

PS. When reinstalling the hose, spray some WD40 inside the hose and also over the receiver on the radiator. This helps to glide the hose onto the spout without much hassle.

[Zend]

I'm talking about the actual shroud that covers the majority of the front car underneath......does it need to be removed? I'm having a bit of trouble right now, its got about 11 screws.

[smufguy]

I'm talking about the actual shroud that covers the majority of the front car underneath......does it need to be removed? I'm having a bit of trouble right now, its got about 11 screws.

yes you may have to remove that bottom splash guard. they are held on by 10mm bolts, which are prolly rusted to shit. so see what you can do, i can remember when i removed mine, it was like 4 on each side, and 3 in the front like u said.

[POS carb]

unplug the fans. remove the a/c line from the condensor fan retainer clip (slide/break it off)
If your car somehow has a splash shield that has survived all these years that needs to come off too.
Drain the radiator (drain cock in the middle under the radiator)
Remove the two main coolant hoses. <<If you have an automatic tranny you need to remove the two smaller transmission cooler hoses at the bottom... get ready to catch oil and have some 10 mm bolts to plug the lines up so it doesn't leak everywhere. Have a quart of Dextron III ATF ready to refill the auto tranny>>
unbolt the 4 bolts on the top piece (on the ends, not on the rubber mounts) and the 2 on the hood latch. After that you can remove that upper piece of metal that sits on the radiator.
Thats it. The radiator can come out fans and all. Then you unbolt the fans, 4 bolts on the main fan, 3 on the little condenser fan.
Installation is the reverse.

[Zend]

Well i finally got it replaced, however one of the problems i was hoping to fix was that the fans do not come on by themself to cool down the radiator......i have to flip a light switch manually.(i replaced the thermal sensor thinking that was the problem) I also thought maybe the sensor had something to do with the AC not working recently.............any ideas how to figure out why my fans wont come on automatically?

[smufguy]

Well i finally got it replaced, however one of the problems i was hoping to fix was that the fans do not come on by themself to cool down the radiator......i have to flip a light switch manually.(i replaced the thermal sensor thinking that was the problem) I also thought maybe the sensor had something to do with the AC not working recently.............any ideas how to figure out why my fans wont come on automatically?

if any, i wont bother too much about them. on all EFI cars, there were two sensors two trigger two fans. the rad located one triggers the big one and the thermostat located one triggers the small fan (also the ac fan) when the primary fails.

But also, the carb has two fans, but if you notices, they are connected in parallel (atleast mine was) and both come on at the same time. So either you get that wire connector, join the two fans and put a switch like i did for mine, the same thing you mentioned.

the reason your fans may not be coming on automatically is possibly because of the primary sensor in the radiator being bad.

[Zend]

Yeah, i replaced the primary sensor with my new radiator, but i still get nothing from it.

[smufguy]

strange, mine used to work before my accident, and still looked fine without any corrosion on the tip. but would not kick in, so i said fuck it and added a switch to it that chills out near my shifter and i have both the fans to kick in at the same time, so they pretty much run all the time after warm up, keeps my motor well below half level and never had any problems in relation to cooling or operating of the car in two years.

[Zend]

Yeah thats exactly what i do.......however after getting the radiator in and hooking it all up.....the car still majorly overheats, its got the right fluid levels and the fans are on. The main hose is also hot and it feels like the radiator is putting out alot of heat....but just idling it goes over 2/3. I think it may be the thermostat, if i cant fix this im just getting a new car.

[nswst8]

Changethe thermostat, cooling system is an easy fix. If your getting a coolant temp, then you don't have a signal to the fan sensor. check the wiring.

[Zend]

I replaced the thermostat and it appears to have fixed the problem, but I am still faced with the problem of the fans not coming on automatically, I guess I'll stick with the light switch mod.