Where's Radiator swap thread with pics?? 1st Gen

Hey y'all,
Saw a thread w pics showing crack/leak on the other side of the top tank.

Same prob on mine.

I'm newb but learning.

Is there a How-To in TW with pics on swapping a radiator? Cant find one.

The_Dude was going to post one; havent seen it yet.

99' PreRunner 3.4 Autom rear 2WD locker

 

Ok, guess I'm gonna have to reply to my own post.
I admit, I'm a newb, but gotta start somewhere right?- so here I am.


DIY on Tacoma radiator swapping with pics.

Busted radiator top tank
After doing some research found a couple others with this kind of crack behind the top hose port on the OEM radiator after 100K+ miles.
I'm at 114K miles now.



Tried fixing the leak with fiberglass and polyester resin; then JB weld, and eventually...sun cured UV Epoxy!!
Slowed the leak down allot, but the expanding and contracting under the heat & cold prevented a good bond from forming.

After looking around at a few posts and learning a bit about cooling system maintenance, I decided on the Koyo Radiator #

$251 C1755 Radiator

C1755- for automatic transmission.



This one's got two rows for better cooling, instead of the typical one row you find on OEM radiators at most part stores where I am. Got it at Radiators Express. Think Radiators.com is the same company.
Also, beware of immitations: a Koyo tech informed me that some are selling knock-offs.


Tools to use
Pliers for the transmission hose clips, looong screw driver for the
!@#$% grille clips that are very brittle and break easy.
The driver also works for the large hose clamps,12mm and 10mm sockets, a ratchet and Extensions. Not seen are two sharpie markers and two gallons of anti-freeze.



Removing the Tacoma 99’ Grille
Got some grille clips from the dealer's part department for under 10 bucks.





Ironically, I think this was the hardest part of the job!!
While pushing the little clip's tab down with the flathead screwdriver, carefully pull the grille 1/4" away from the grille mount, one clip at a time, top ones first.







Kinda hard to feel the tab on the lower left & right clips because they're so far back in the grille. The flashlight helped. A light mounted on my head would have been cool.
Use the flashlight and long screwdriver for these.


This one's easy!

Removing the Skid Plate
There are two sections but only removed the front section.
There is a link-tab in the middle, connecting the two sections of the skid plate. Loosening the bolts on the back section that covers the transmission helps in removing the front section.


Yeah, yeah, the Billstein suspension looks a bit gunked up. Probably my next thing to do. Know any good DIY threads? he he






The two arrows point to another part of the skid plate that is also tongue-in-groove. When putting it back together, the link goes in first
then the left & right tongue-in-groove bolts. Was a balancing act to get all three together.

Draining the Radiator Anti-freeze
Removed the radiator cap and opened the drain on the bottom of the radiator. Drained the anti-freeze into two 1 gallon water bottles.

Near the end I took off the lower hose to drain more out.






Was topping-up with green stuff during the time period it was leaking and i was experimenting with different patching material.
Looks like the OEM pink stuff was mixin with the green stuff? Or rust??? anybody?... Beuler?.. Beuler?...

Removing and plugging the radiator transmission lines



Using the pliers, squeezed the clips loose and slid them up the hose away from the transmission fittings.
Used the two Sharpies to plug the transmission hoses. While removing the hose, keep the marker close to the hose end and quickly insert into the hose end when it comes off the fitting. Wont lose more than a tea spoon of fluid.

Removing the fan and shroud from the radiator






Removing and installing the radiator



There is a cool hanger tab on the radiator; this holds the radiator in place while you put in the four bolts.



Here is the stuff!


Notice the difference in fin density. More surface for cooling on the Koyo.
Old OEM radiator vs ....



Finished job!

 

Awesome, strait to the DIY Sticky!

 

nice write up! i just did my research and decided on a koyo also and found this thread on a koyo google search....this thread didnt even come up on a TW search for radiator swap....

i ordered mine from go-part.com for $170 to my door since i couldent find a cheaper one and the web site OP says he got his from doesnt seem to carry it anymore.

ill be doing this probably next week or as soon as it gets to me, so until than i will....

 

Subscribed.

 

Wished I had seen this write up earlier, the replacement was fairly easy but I wasted time trying to avoid dealing with the grill and remove the side bracket bolts....big waste of time, do it like the write up.

 

awesome writeup. im fixin to do that this weekend

 

Seriously, this swap is a cake walk. I did it a month ago. Proper tools are key, although I have a separate trans cooler which made it a little easier. Don't stress about it.

 

Same deal, same crack, same place...at 180k.
Thanks for posting this !

 

Sorry to revive and old thread, but I had the same crack, same place on the OEM Radiator, and followed your advice to order the Koyo. Got mine from Go-Part.com for $170 shipped.

Thanks for the writeup!

 

Saved for future use. 152K and no issues with the OE one. My luck tomorrow it starts leaking, lol.

 

My '04 radiator just cracked in the exact same way ... at 309,000 miles.

I'm planning to trade her in in about four months, so I'm attempting a JB Weld fix. If that doesn't work, this thread will be a huge help.

Thanks, TacoMike!!

 

I have a 01 Taco; You don't need to take off Grill to take off Radiator Bolt's, You can use a long extension and go thru Grill to get to top Bolt's and do the bottom Bolt's from underneath. It's also easier to take off both Skid plate's for reassembly(Put the front Plate on first).
Thanks you TacoMike for Pic's.

 

Alright so I cant seem to find any details on the

$251 c1755 radiator

c1755.
Is this a Brass Tank / Copper Core Radiator??
Or is it a Plastic Tank / Aluminum Core Radiator like stock?

I just got the crack on mine at 155k. Just got done putting some jb water weld on it, see if that will do the trick or at least slow the leak until I swap.
Also is this like an EXACT oe replacement as far as dimensions go? I want to get the flex-a-lite electric fan setup (675 I think it is) and want to make sure It will still fit no prob...

 

I'm doing this today but having issues with the transmission radiator hoses. Can't seem to slide the hoses off the radiator. Could it be that I don't have a strong enough kung fu grip? Or is there method to loosen the hoses off.

 

Try a heat gun/hair dryer on the hose to heat it up a bit (not for very long though). I suggest you replace the hose while you are at it, however, in which case you can cut it off.

 

I got them to slide off with some wd40. Now I'm having issues with the tabs that help support the radiator while putting the bolts in. I think I might file them just a bit so it drops where I need it to be. Any suggestions on that idea before I attempt? Got to say this thread has been great help on my first major repair I do on my own.

 

I just took a hammer and *lightly* tapped each side a little. The metal support brackets on either side that is. Went down just enough. If you break your radiator it's not my fault tho, lol.

 

After losing a bolt, and yes I checked the ground, I'm calling it a day. No need to pull an all nighter and get frustrated. Should I reuse the tranny oil that came out of the radiator?

 

No. Just add a little if needed. I don't think I added any because it wasn't enough to put it low on the dipstick. Just have an extra quart ready. If u don't and can't get one while it's torn apart I would save it just in case tho. If it's a little low but not too low, you would be fine driving to the parts store if it's not far.