How to replace the radiator - guide

[tmontague]

I've noticed that YW seems to lack any sort of online DIY guide on removing the radiator on the Yaris. Most cars have S shaped brackets that allow you to remove the rad without having to remove anything else, our cars are slightly different.

A thread a few weeks ago mentioned that when a YW member brought their car to a mechanic he seemed puzzled as to how the radiator is removed so I thought why not throw up a guide. I had to replace my radiator as my original one had a small leak where the upper plastic inflow piece mates to the aluminium rad core. Not too bad for a 10 yr old factory rad that is now starting to see some track days. You'll notice yours leaking by noticing some pink/white crust anywhere outside of your rad. It is very obvious once the coolant dries. Mine was only losing about an ounce of coolant every month or so, but I plan on doing a lot of autox and track days this summer so this needed to be replaced before the spring.

I opted for another Denso radiator as that is factory spec and it lasted a long time. It was only $108 CAD shipped to my US address from RocketAuto. I went with a Denso rad on my '05 Vibe and the fit was perfect so I expected the same.

I unfortunately do not have any pictures as it was -15 degrees Celsius and my fingers were painfully numb when I did this job. This will at least give you the steps you need to do to remove your radiator.

The only tools you really need are a 10mm socket, a flat head screw driver and some 90 degree needle nose pliers. This can be done without removing the whole bumper which it states to do in the repair manual.

*make sure your coolant is ambient temp and not under pressure*

Step 1: drain your rad using the petcock at the bottom middle of the radiator. This will take quite a but of time (approx 15 mins)

Step 2: remove upper and lower rad hose. I didn't want to get underneath my car as it was a salty and slushy so I just removed the lower hose from the T-stat housing and pulled the rad with the hose.

Step 3: remove the 3 10mm bolts securing the hood release latch and move it to the side. There are 2 brackets holding the cable in place, pop the cable out of those so you can move the assembly to the side.

Step 4: unclip the fan connector. Then remove the 6 pop tabs holding the front top of the bumper in place. Then remove the 2 10mm bolts (one in each wheel well) holding the bumper in place.

step 5: Pull sides of the bumper out from each side to release them. Then lift the top of the bumper off of the upper rad support. Now the bumper is only attached via the lower splash guards and it should now give you access to the area behind it. Find a small bucket or basin approx 8 inches deep and flip it upside down underneath the bumper. You can rest the bumper on this basin to support the bumper so it doesn't stress the bottom splash guards and it will be held in place..

step 6: Use a flat head screw driver to release the ~6 tabs that hold the front bumper sub assembly (plastic crush piece?) in place (sedan only). Then remove the 4 10mm bolts (2 on each side) holding the top rad support bar in place. The horn is connected to it so just swing the support bar away and place it on top of the intake manifold.

step 7: Once the top rad support is removed the rad is free to be lifted out along with the fan assembly. *If you have a/c then the condensor stays in place but it is attached to the rad by 2 ("I") tabs on the bottom of the rad. To separate the two from each other you need to slightly lift the condensor up and away from the rad assembly. This will release the condesor from the rad. You will know when they are separated. The condensor has some movement in it but be careful how much you try and manipulate it as it is connectoed to your a/c lines. Then go ahead and lift the rad assembly out of the engine bay but go slow and make sure everything is disconnected.

Step 8: Use a flat head screw driver to separate the rad support/reservoir tank from the rad. Take the 4 rubber insulators (2 top and 2 bottom) off of the old rad and transport them onto the new one. I'd also recommend removing the petcock plug from the old rad in case you ever crack your new one.

step 9: remove all rad hoses if any are still; attached to the rad. I would highly recommend lubing the inside of all the rad hoses as well as plastic attachment point with silicone lube. This will make removing hoses in the future a breeze.

step 10: I'd recommend cleaning the reservoir tank with some IPA before you reinstall it and check to make sure your fan spins freely.

step 11: reattach fan assembly to new radiator and place in engine bay so that it is sitting supported on the lower rad support. The 2 rubber insulators will sit into 2 holes and it should be firmly in place. Lift the condensor into place onto the lower rad "I" tabs. This isn't easy but it helps to have the bottom in place before you press in the top clips. There should be no movement of the lower portion of the condensor when they are properly hooked into the lower rad tabs.

Step 12: re install the top rad support and make sure that the upper rad insulators fit into the 2 holes in the upper rad support before you torque them down. Check that everything is snug, there should be no movement of the rad or condensor assembly.

step 13: re install everything else and then re fill the radiator with what ever you drained out of it.

My apologies on the no pictures, this should at least give a solid outline of what you need to do to release the radiator to pull it out.