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Just Changing the radiator

Im in the middle of changing my radiator on my Nissan Primera.

First off, I was a bit alarmed and the visible warp in the "new" ahem, radiator, and the appearance that the top and bottom ends are all plastic.

But well, the original one, made by Llanelli Radiators (is that a genuine Nissan rad?) had the same visible warp and the same plastic top and bottom ends. only one difference between the two... the new one is thinner and is quite obviously "not genuine". Anyone heard of JAP EURO? Can anyone tell me if their radiators are any good? And are they any good for the money? That's what Im lumbered with at the moment as Nissan wanted £216 + VAT for a new rad, whereas I got this JAP EURO one for £70.

Im tightening the jubilee clips for the pipes as close as I can to the radiator itself... Hopefully prevent premature pipe breakage.

I couldn't drain the engine block itself, dunno whether that's a wise thing to do or not, but I wasn't too smitten with the idea considering I'd be having to work in the road and I cannot see under the car very well, and I don't trust the Haynes book... that bolt could be anywhere. But I seemed to be able to flush out most of the old stuff using the bleed screw by the thermostat. Good or bad?

Such a bastard getting the Automatic Transmission pipes off... and the inlet pipes on the new rad weren't screwed down properly so there would have been leakage! That can't be right?

Getting the clips on them was too hard... it's one of those wire clips with the metal plate and screw to force the two ends apart thereby increasing tension on the pipe... you know the variety...still two out of three.

Just one more clip, pop the fans back in, and pop on the expansion tank and all should be done.

In the middle of it, my dad comes out (the guy with thirty years experience in the motor trade) to tell me he wouldn't have changed the radiator - especially as I have financial difficulty at the moment (though I do think that's false economy as a motorway call out could be far more expensive)... Despite the opinions here, despite the opinions of other reputable radiator repair specialists who say it can't be fixed... despite the plastic pipes being brittle, despite quarter of the radiator fins being missing and half of them rusted through and just tearing up like flour....

No, he sits with his opinion that I should have made another radiator lip out of superglue or DIY plastic.

Opinions on any of this much welcome.

Cya Simon

Reply to
Simon Dean
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Hmmm, I changed therad on my L reg primera about 10 months ago. The fins on it were literrally falling off if you touched them. I think they are known for this. I got a new, unbranded replacement for 100 fitted. Fitting was so easy, I should have done it myself. I have found heater performance poor before this and only a bit better after. I've recently found a rad hose with a built in bleed screw. You mention another next to the thermostat. I'll look for it. I intend to flush it in the next week or so, when the weather warms up. Then I'll have a real session at getting air out. Strange, my Almera gets piping hot in about 1/4 the time.

BTW, you were right to change it!

Reply to
Fred Elliot

Sounds good to me. Rads are hardly state of the art components. I've little doubt it will be as efficient as the OEM one, and if it's lasts more than a third as long as an OEM one, you're in pocket.

Bad from an ideal POV. Generally when fitting a new rad it's best, and is an ideal opportunity to flush the system and refill with nice clean coolant.

Maybe that would have prolonged the rads life a little, but taking into consideration the state of the rad itself, the broken fins etc. It was definitely time for a new one. I'm all for saving money by repairing components, if it can be done with the expectancy of considerably prolonging their life, but I don't think your old rad was worth it. Mike.

Reply to
Mike G

Thanks. Hrm. Better Heater Performance? Does that mean there's worse cooling performance? Yes, there's a bleed screw right on the thermostat housing on the 2.0L models. Dead easy to get to. The drain plug is easyish to get to if you crawl on your back and are confident that the HAynes manual points out the right screw.

I wasn't. I had no sealer. I didn't fancy anything else going wrong.

Reply to
Simon Dean

YEah, was thinking that, but it was incredbily difficult to find the drain plug, then get to it, then even be sure that was the right one... I still don't trust the Haynes manual.

The old stuff was green, the new stuff is blue, and well, I just flushed it all through the bleed which was easier to get to, until the water turned blue. Fingers crossed.

Quite. Im in a predicament now with the new radiator, where one of the mount points, a screw hole, for the fan is not there. I've suggested chopping one off the old radiator and somehow glueing it, or using the DIY plastic option to create a screw hole. Well, doesn't even have to be that... just needs to be a bit of plastic that I can drive a self tapper into.

Course, my dad turns round at that point and says if that works, it wouldn't work for long due to the high temperature, so I end up thinking he's a hypocrite for advising me to use the DIY plastic or super glue option to create a "lip" on the hot water inlet pipe on the old rad!

Gah. Anyhow, here's the situation, I've taken some photographs of everything:

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Pay particular attention to picture number 10:
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The other issue, is that the new radiator is considerably thinner than the old one, so there's a bit of a gap between the radiator and fan. Im talking half a centimetre here. But so far so good. The fans aren't coming on half as much as before.

Reply to
Simon Dean

What you've done should be quite adequate. I can't see it causing any problems. Another way of flushing the block, is to remove the thermostat, top and bottom rad hoses, then put a hosepipe into the block, via the top hose. Even more effective if you can seal the hosepipe into the top hose, so you get a good flow through the block.

Sounds OK to me. Presumably the screws you _can_ fit, hold the fan rigid, so as long as the added one stops any vibration, it should do the job.

Looks like it's not the correct rad for your car, but seeing as you've got it to fit, it's still a cheaper option than fitting the OE one.

Fans are only really needed in slow moving or stationary traffic. I can't see the gap causing any overheating problems. Most cooling systems in good condition, can supply more cooling than an engine needs. Even in hot weather. Once you get moving, the natural flow of air through the rad should give all the cooling needed, and the gap will have no effect on that.

But so far so good. The fans aren't

In this weather I'm surprised they come on at all. The fans on my car only came on, when I left it ticking over on a hot summers day, but it does have a viscostatic engine fan, as well as the pair of electric ones. Mike.

Reply to
Mike G

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