Back in January I replaced my waterpump, hoses, t-stat, and put a better cap on the rad. Since the car has 153k mi, I knew my radiator was the weakest link in my cooling system but kept putting it off. Well, it's now leaking at the seam between the core and top tank.

I could easily just put an OEM replacement in there, but was curious if there was anything bigger/better that will just drop in. I did some searching and found that a Del Sol radiator is close, but will it just drop in with all my original hoses?

 

Dual Core Del Sol radiator is cheap and effective.

 

Will it bolt right up without any A/C or other clearance issues? Hoses?

 

this is not mine but ists a niçe ideia for improve your cooling systems

 

you'll want to get b-series hoses along with the del sol dual-core. The stock hoses are a little to skinny to fit over the new radiator's inlet/outlet. You'll also need to be sure you clamp them down real tight on the motor side since the diameters of the water inlet/outlet on the motor dont quite match up with the inner diameter of the larger hose. Some people wrap the inlet in duct tape or electical tape to create a better seal, but I'm not sure I'd want to do that to my car :thinking:

 

i would just get a oem style radiator unless you have some silly psi boosting gadget.

 

mmhmm

 

You can get the regular civic radiator from an Auto civic and its also Dual core, but just stock half length, it's also bolt in. It's not a lot bigger than stock, but it's better than nothing.

I'm assuming you have a 5speed here. if not, then your only choice is teg, del sol, or aftermarket I think

 

Yeah, it's a 5-speed. This is what I ended up doing. Autozone special with a lifetime warranty... can't bitch too much about it, it bolted right in with no issues. It's not a 2 row, but it's definitely thicker than the stock rad. I had to keep the half length due to A/C restrictions.

 

good to hear. I know a couple boosted people with that radiator and they have no issues