If you have been considering an upgrade
for you cooling system, the Mishimoto Radiator is a great buy! I just
got done installing one on 2003 Mustang GT. The radiator that was
used was a MIS-RADMUS97 ,
it fits 97-04 Mustang GTs, Cobras and Mach 1s with manual
transmissions. I was very surprised at how well the radiator fit. The
cooling system gets nearly an extra gallon of capacity with this new
radiator. Well without further hesitation, lets get this install
started.
Things need before installation –
Plenty of coolant, large catch can for coolant, and tool box with
metric sockets.
Steps I took:
Start install on a car that is
cool or has been sitting for a while. The coolant will burn you if
the car is hot. Start by removing the plastic radiator cover by
unscrewing the pins.
Next remove the battery and the
battery tray. This will ease the installation of the radiator later
on.
Jack up the driver side of the
vehicle and support it with jack stands.
Place a bucket under the radiator
drain plug (You will need a larger bucket to catch all the fluid).
Remove the plug and drain the fluid. You may want to let the set for
a few minutes to insure it completely drains.
While it is draining you can take
loose all the clamps on the radiator hoses that are attached to the
radiator.
Disconnect the radiator flow tank
hoses and mounting hardware; however, before starting make sure all
the fluid is drained out of the overflow tank.
After all the fluid is done
draining, remove the lower radiator hoses. Make sure you keep your
bucket under the hoses because the will still contain some radiator
fluid. Once they are removed you can push the to the side. Repeat
this process with the upper radiator hose.
You will now need to disconnect
all the wiring from the electric fan. Next unbolt the fan from the
radiator and remove it.
Now that everything is
disconnected you can now remove the radiator support brackets and
pull out the radiator.
I had a little bit of a clearance
issue with the ABS lines. To solve this I disconnected the bracket
of the ABS box. I installed four small washers behind the bracket on
the side closest front bumper and one on the the back side of the
bracket. This caused the bracket to lean backward just enough to
give me room for the radiator and fan to drop right in. I am sure
there are plenty of other ways to do it but this was the easiest way
to install it for me.
Install the fan onto the Mishimoto
radiator and drop the radiator in. Before putting the radiator in
make sure the drain plug is tight. If you have someone handy to
help with the lowering of the radiator can make this step easier.
The area where the brake lines are located is a tight fit. I had to
play around with washers two or three times to get the extra room.
(again the combo the worked for me was four on the front and one on
the rear)
Once the radiator falls into
place, reinstall the radiator support brackets.
Now you can redo all the steps of
removal just in reverse.
Picture of the radiator installed.
This install took around an hour to do
in my garage. The radiator holds roughly an extra gallon of fluid
and nearly half the price of its competitors. The construction on it
was nice as well; the all aluminum construction gets rid of the
plastic tanks that come on the GT and Mach 1 radiators.
When Installing don't forget the Royal
Purple Purple Ice (RP-12600) additive,
the Canton Aluminum Overflow Tank (CAN-80232) and the replacement hose kits
for the extra cooling piece of mind.