A properly maintained car radiator needs to be replaced in 8 to 10 years. Now you may think about replacing your car radiator on your own. Is it really hard?
Well, I’m going to tell you everything about it. I’ll also discuss some other important concerns related to the replacement procedure, as well as a step-by-step guideline.
Is Replacing a Radiator Hard?
Replacing a car radiator isn’t hard work, as long as there are some critical issues related to your radiator that are beyond your control with little experience and knowledge.
The connections of a radiator aren’t too complicated, and they’re secured by brackets, bolts at all four corners. There aren’t also too many connections of hoses in a radiator, ensuring easy accessibility.
It’s possible to maintain DIY jobs needed for radiator replacement when you don’t need critical repairing. Some critical repairs and replacements require help from a professional mechanic.
So, the answer depends on when someone asks you about the difficulty of replacing a radiator on your own.
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When Should You Replace a Radiator on Your Own, and When Should a Mechanic Do it?
If you have some knowledge and experience related to the replacement of the radiator and there is no urgency, then it’s good to go with the self-replacement process. When there are some complex issues with the radiator and time is a major concern, then it’s a wise decision to take help from a professional mechanic.
It may take some extra time to replace a radiator on your own but will save the money that you need to pay for the laborious activities behind the replacement of the car radiator.
A professional mechanic costs some extra, but you’ll be assured of a proper and exact solution in a short time. This kind of replacement generally works well in the long run.
How Long Does it Take to Replace a Radiator?
It’s possible to replace a radiator within 2 to 3 hours with the help of a professional mechanic. However, the replacement time can take longer up to 7 or 8 hours when a person deals with replacing a radiator for the first time.
The replacement process of a car radiator requires laborious activities. It varies from person to person considering both experience and skills.
It’s expected from a professional mechanic to get the job done in a short time, compared with a person having no experience or skill. Starting from the bottom and continuing it can end up replacing a radiator in 4 to 5 hours for most people.
Sometimes radiator replacement activities take some extra minutes as there are some extra services like broken belts, removing radiator coolant, etc.
The extra services involved in radiator replacement can take up to 30 minutes or sometimes more depending on the overall conditions.
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How Much is a New Radiator?
A new radiator with the necessary parts costs somewhere between $182 to $921 if you consider some popular car models of popular brands like Ford, Chevrolet, Toyota, Honda, etc.
If you want to go on a replacement process of your car radiator, there are some important parts as well as the radiator itself. The combination of all parts of Chevrolet Silverado, Ford Focus, Toyota Camry, Nissan Altima, Honda Civic cost $481-$921, $182-$329, $295-$601, $419-$548, $272-$342 respectively when you need to deal with a new radiator replacement.
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The price of a radiator depends on its style, material, quality components, row quantity, tube sizes, etc. The price can vary from place to place, shop to shop. It’s always a wise decision to do some research before purchasing one for your car.
How to Know Which Radiator Will Be Right for Your Car?
Effective consideration of the crucial things related to the radiator of a car like available space, engine size, compression ratio, engine performance, the intended use of the vehicle, material, flow style, and how much cooling you need can help you to decide which radiator is right for your car.
There are two key styles available for car radiators, known as down-flow and cross-flow. The cross-flow style is more effective as it dissipates heat better, holding on the coolant longer. It’s suitable for engines having higher output and speed.
When the question of materials comes, there are two available options. To ensure a vintage look for older vehicles, copper-brass radiators can be a good choice.
If the performance of the radiator is the main concern, an aluminum radiator is a better option as aluminum is stronger, ensuring low weight.
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How Much Can You Save on Replacing a Radiator on Your Own?
You can save somewhere between $87 to $402 by replacing a radiator on your own considering some of the popular car models.
The exact amount will depend on some other important factors related to the radiator replacement like car type, radiator model, etc.
There are two types of costs involved in radiator replacement. You need to pay an amount for buying parts and another amount for the laborious activities.
Replacing the radiator on your own can save the amount that should be paid to the mechanic. In this case, you need to be ready to bear the cost of other parts necessary for radiator replacement.
The laborious work involved in radiator replacement solely depends on the model of your car and how bad the damage or issues related to the radiator is.
Some famous car models like Ford F-Series, Toyota Camry, Toyota Corolla, Honda Civic require somewhere between $315-$402, $244-$311, $87-$110, $173-$221 on average for the laborious activities mandatory for the replacement of radiator.
What Tools Do You Need to Replace a Radiator?
New aftermarket radiator, radiator brackets, adjustable spanners, washing up bowl, radiator bleed key, pipe/cable detector, hammer drill or drill driver, steel wool, small clothes, PTFE tape are some of the mandatory tools and parts that you need to replace a radiator.
The difficulty level of replacing a radiator on your own depends on some important tools. Proper use of them can make the whole process smooth, and it can be a hectic experience without using them properly.
Besides all the necessary tools and parts, somebody to give you a hand can help you in some helpless situation.
How to Replace a Radiator Step-by-Step?
Following some useful steps stated below can help you replace a radiator without facing difficulties:
- First, separate the radiator after turning off the heating.
- Then put the bowl under the valve of your car radiator.
- After opening the bleed nipple of your radiator, lose the connection between the valve and the radiator.
- Allow the water to collect into the washing bowl and make sure to remove any remaining water.
- Clean the valve connectors after removing them carefully.
- Use the PTFE tape for the wrapping purpose of valve connectors.
- Screw the valve connectors.
- Connect the radiator to the system.
- Check all the connections and make sure to have no leaks.
- Turn the radiator on and get expected performance with the newly replaced radiator.
