87 Civic Radiator Removal

Jun 23, 2005 3 Replies

My trusty 1987 Civic has started leaking coolant - and the source of the leak is appears to be the lower tank on the radiator. Problem is, the way it is ibnstalled the lower tank is almost completely obscured by what looks like a frame rail. I've been trying to figure how to pull the radiator, but I'm stumped - I can't figure out if it comes out from the top or the bottom.



Could someone PLEASE give me some advice on the how to do remove the radiator, or a link to the same. TIA.



Doug


It's been a while since I've worked on my friend's 86 Civic. I believe the radiator is held in place by brackets. The radiator itself is not bolted to the frame but is held in place with pegs which fit into rubber grommets on the brackets. All you have to do is unbolt the top brackets.

If you need pictures try searching for "3rd gen Civics".

Good Luck!

JW

"doug" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@comcast.com:

If it's like any other Honda or Toyota I've seen, you remove the two upper brackets and lift it out. The lower tank has has two pins that sit into rubber grommets in the front crossmember.

Thanks for the replies. It took me a while, but this was not a "standard: R&R for a radiator. A piece of the body that goes from fender to fender had to be removed (just above the grill). There is no way to lift it straight up - a permanent part of the body structure goes from fender to fender directly above the radiator. What made this even harder is that the car has AC, and virtually all of the components had to be removed. No problem - the AC died years ago, so I just tossed them all. Not a whisp of Freon left.

Doug

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