Hey -
I had a couple of questions regarding the replacement of the radiator/ condenser and both fans.
I had a front-end collision a couple of months ago, and the randiator/ condenser and both fans got crunched.
After the collission the car still ran okay, but was overheating. I'm not a mechanic, but am trying to save some money and do it myself. I've torn down the front end and removed the busted radiator. None of the rest of the engine has any damage beyond that, and I'm going to attempt to replace the radiator/condenser myself.
The air conditioning in my car actually went out several years ago, and I have no intention of fixing it. So, one of my questions is if I should bother replacing the condenser and associated hoses (with it's fan), or if I can just leave it out at this point and just replace the radiator (with it's fan). Does the condenser serve any other function beyond assisting the A/C compressor?
Since the car was overheating after the accident, I'm obviously assuming that the radiator is bad, but is there anything else I should check while I have the car apart?
Also, when replacing the radiator, is there anything special I should do to flush out the coolant from the engine before putting the new radiator in? Any tips for filling the new radiator? I've seen comments about filling it strictly from the reservoir versus filling it through the top for the first run?
Any other radiator replacement tips would be awesome.
Thanks!