Retro fitting radiator. Details inside.
 

Yesterday as i was driving my car was overheating. After i pulled over to the side of the road, couple seconds later BOOOOOOMMMM!!! Yes it was a mess, so i waited to cool off and wasn't far from home, so i babied it home. So i pop the hood open, and what do i see big split across the radiator. So today i called about 20+ junkyards to see if i can get a used one. No luck and on tight budget i wasn't about to give up and spending alot of money on a new one. So i went to the junkyard and walked around for a while looking at different radiators on different cars. I came across the closets radiator of a Toyota Corolla. So today i spent 2 hours on retro fitting one in my car. I will keep you posted on how it goes and the out come. I will post pics up on the setup i used. I had to take one of the radiator fans out because of clearance issues i ran into. Well this only temprorary till i find one. Its very close to the SVX one but dirrent hose size, and tranny fittings. I will stop a Home Depot to pick few more items then it should be complete.

I can't help but have some misgivings about this. First, the Corolla can't require near the cooling capacity of our 3.3L motor and the trans "fittings" you refer to would be cause for some concern as well. I hope you have an auxiliary trans cooler. As far as the 2 fans being reduced to one, please be aware that one of the OEM fans is activated by the A/C. I hope you pulled the "right" one, when in fact, you need them both for proper operation and engine longevity.

Glenn

I would have the same concerns. For a Temp Fix, you could be doing some Long Term Damage. :eek: :o

I would worry about the cooling of the tiny Corolla Rad. As sad as it may be it might be better to park it and buy a new Rad when you have the $$$. But then again you could prove us wrong. Let us know how it turns out.

The corolla radiator is the same size maybe off by an inch. I have one of the radiator fans hooked up to a manual switch. It fits into place no problem. So the only thing i have to do is hit the switch when i start the car. As for the tranny cooler. I am going back to the junkyard to pull a tranny cooler of a truck. So that basically covers it.

I've never seen this to be the case. Either both fans are on or both fans are off. I even checked the FSM a while ago looking into this. It does mention that the fans have 3 speeds though.

In theory anyway this should not work, but I wish you luck with it.

The Corolla radiator will be rated to remove the heat caused by a 120 hp engine, maybe less. The SVX radiator is rated to remove the heat from double the hp. Two radiators of similar or even the exact same size can have very different cooling capabilities, based on the number of liquid columns and the area of metal that the air flows through.

I would not use it as a long-term fix, but the best of luck anyway.

Joe :)

I think you should go back and examine the casue of overheating before you spend a single dollar. From the sounds of it, you said it was overheating so u pulled over and the rad popped while u were pulled over. This would leave me to believe that the radiator was overpressurized causing the overheating... I could be wrong but u may want to look into it a little more

Tom

I stand corrected. :o Must be thinking of my previous car.

Glenn

The top neck cracked in half on mine today and I just moved the clamp a little further up to 1/8th inch from the edge of the hose and rad. Fans always on at the same time... speeds can't say. Saturns and Hondas(at least some) will kick on one fan at a time.

120 miles and no problem or over heating. Seems to works just fine.

Good job! Keep an eye on the temp until you locate a replacement and you should be fine. :)

200 miles no problem. The temp needle is little below the half way mark. So its a cheap alternative solution, instead of spending $300+ on a new radiator. If anyone needs a write up i can do one. BTW the 1st gen Nissan Altimas have the same radiator fans as the Subaru SVX, the wirring harness is the same along with the fan and the motor. I figure i throw that information in as well, incase one goes bad on you.

I thought it was a temporary fix instead of a permanent one. I would put a stock one in asap and not figure that you got away with it just yet. Just my thought. :confused:

yeah, it is cooler out now than it would be in the summer. On a hot day you will find just how good the rad will hold up

Tom