I'm an idiot. I just received my brand new radiator from radiatorbarn.com that I bought for $104.95 including shipping.

Anyways, I get home from work tonight, and start taking out the old one and putting in the new one. After everything is in, and all hoses connected, I realize that there are two small outlets below the radiator cap that are not supposed to be there...at least they weren't on my old one. Come to find out, I bought the wrong radiator. The one I got is for an EA81 equipped with A/C. Mine doesn't have A/C.

 

I can't return it because I already drilled a hole on the top for the ground screw. Would I be okay if I just buy a small heater hose and run from one outlet to the other? Or should I plug them up with something?

are you sure those aren't the tranny line hose which means its a universal rad. don't worry fill it and run it

Or just head down to Schucks or somewhere like that and get a universial radiator overflow recovery kit. I have one:D

Do they go all the way through into the coolant section? Fill it and see. If so, you can probably get plugs for them (not knowing what kind of thread they are, I say probably). If not, I think junkyardgabe is on the money - the rad. is for automatics as well as stick shifts.

Originally posted by junkyardgabe

are you sure those aren't the tranny line hose which means its a universal rad. don't worry fill it and run it

 

I agree. Those two small outlets below the coolant reservoir tank line connection are for cooling transmission oil. I just picked up a rad from an AT Loyale with those lines. Rad went into a 5spd, so I just left them along. You don't have to plug them, because the tranny oil runs through its own channels inside the rad.

 

Just finish your install, fill, and test your hose connections.

 

Luke

From what it sounds like I bought the same radiator for my hatch, one tube is a few inches from the bottom, and the other is just over half way up. On mine, those go to a seperated area in the tank. I just put some rubber caps on them to keep the dirt out (just in case).

ac has nothing to do with the rad. so you would be fine to leave it alone

Well,

You guys might be right about just running it. I filled it with water to see what happened and nothing came out. There's one outlet right above the hose that comes from the water pump, then you go 3/4 of the way up on the side, and there's another one that angles downward, and then there's the overflow outlet. There's no thread to it, you can tell that you just slip a hose over it with clamp. I just have no idea what attaches to it.

 

Thanks for the replies.

Originally posted by SuperRallyRoo

Sorry to get mildly off topic but... If I where to swap my turbo engine that has AC with a ea81 without ac, would I have to change the radiators or just plug it up or would it be fine?

 

Well, wouldn't the non-AC engine be missing the driver's side clutch fan and shroud? Non-AC models only have a single electric fan on the pass. side. AC models have an additional left-side fan driven by the water pump pulley.

I imagine that additional airflow helps the AC's radiator, which you can see directly in front of the engine's radiator.

Hey Derek, I didn't recognize your new screen name. How's my old wagon doing? I would like to hear about what you have done with it. Got any pics?

 

Ian

Those are where the transmission fluid lines would go if you had them - as was stated above, it's a universal radiator, and those lines are not connected to anything in your cooling system - for the simple reason that you wouldn't want to mix coolant and ATF. These only apply to automatic tranny cars.

 

GD

yeah, dont worry about it. You got the right Radiator. those lines are for AT trannies. I was thinking of using the ones on my rad for the engine oil, but doubt our pumps would be strong enough to move oil in and out of there.

 

Anyhow, with mine, i have a hose that just connects both outlets,just so crap doesnt get up in there and ruin it.

 

-Brian

Guys, thanks a bunch for all the info. I'll take your advice and just cover those things up so stuff doesn't get inside.

 

Bugaru, I'll have to meet up with you and your wife one of these days and go 4x4ing with you two. Your old wagon is doing GREAT! I love it! I've replaced a bunch of stuff in the engine. I also added powdercoated wagon wheels and a pushbar with some nice snow tires. I'm going to buy one of those rear hitch bumpers that Soobme is making, so I can tow my dirt bike around. Only problem I'm dealing with now is that my electric fan is not working, so when I'm idling, it starts to overheat.

 

I'm going to try and learn how to post pics so you can see pics of the car.

 

Later

Trailduster, Radiator Barn sent me the same radiator like they did you, one for an automatic when my '86GL wagon 4wd is 5 speed. You'll notice its much wider that the other radiator. I never plugged the trans cooling line inlet and outlet, but you can if you want. I also noted that the fan shrouding that goes on the main fan woulnt fit anymore so I left it off. Also the engine stays nice and cool in the summer but unfortunately the heat and defrost get barely warm when its wintertime like now. I guess thats cause the radiator is larger, and there is no hot trans fuid running through it to warm it up for nice interior warmth. But still the price was well worth it I think.

Chongo, check your thermostat, if its working porperly, no matter the size of the radiator it should put out heat.

Thanks for the tip Sir on the not so hot heat....will have to do that

On the heat - reduce your coolant ratio - 50/50 is great for -30 temps, but in normal conditions, 30/70 is more appropriate, and will heat better, and cool the engine better as well.

 

GD

Derek that sounds cool, I look forward to seeing it. I'm glad you're diggin the wagon, nice to know it has a good home.

 

I had the same fan problem in my Hatch, turns out the wires from the fan were loose in the back of the plastic connector. The time before that it was a faulty thermoswitch.

Pm us sometime when you guys want to find some trails, that would be sweet.

 

Ian

i got the same type from radiators.com. what you are talking about in the first post is for an auto tranny. just plug them some ay or another. they are not invoved at all with the rest of the radiator, so there is no pressure. i just capped mine to keep the dust out. works just great though. i know i loved my new radiator when i got it in. runs nice 'n cool now.

Originally posted by NoahDL88

Chongo, check your thermostat, if its working porperly, no matter the size of the radiator it should put out heat.

 

Or how about sticking a piece of cardboard in front of the rad? Should slow down airflow and drive heat up.

I just went through the thermostat thing with my Valiant. It was opening too soon (weak spring) and the engine would'nt get warm. Cardboard didn't help in that situation.