Replacing the radiator 1997 Toyota RAV4 (episode 15)

[@doctorwarpspeed8779]

Hey everyone!!!! I just did the radiator on my 1998 rav4. I found an alternate method some may find preferable if you are worried about taking headers off. 1: Remove all radiator fans bolts 2: Remove entire airbox assembly 3: Remove bolts holding AC dryer/ condenser and lines in place (give you room to wiggle it) 4: Remove all bolts holding plastic underbody protection on, as well as the bolts holding the front bumper cover down 5: Disconnect fans wiring and coolant temp sensor wiring. 6: Disconnect negative battery terminal (don't wanna mess with airbag sensors) 7: After removing all bolts from the underside of the bumper cover, loosen plastic fasters on top side of bumper cover. 8: Remove Bumper cover and brace it on something to not strain the wires. 9: Remove about 8 bolts holding the front metal bumper in, pull that out of the way 10: Take the now loosened AC condenser and put it up off its mounts, giving you plenty of wiggle room 11: Remove old radiator 12: Reassemble and and bleed air out of system I know my description was lacking some fine details but I just wanna throw this method out there for anyone interested. It did it in an afternoon and was 100% successful. If anyone has any questions or want any further detail just reply to my comment, I'll try to give you the best advice I can.

[@hunginmud]

Thanks for this -- one other video seemed to talk about removing the bumper to make room -- agreed that I don't want to mess with the exhaust manifold, so I'll be using this method for sure. Interesting how MANY of the videos end up making things look MORE complicated than they actually are. I was also guessing an afternoon, 6 hour range, is all that should be needed for this job. None of my fans work, and I'm trying to decide if I care, as it's still running on the old leaky radiator, and never gets "hot" per the guage, fans or not. Are the fans just necessary if you're sitting in stopped traffic on a really hot summer day?

[@MrDiscoScooter]

Thanks Paul this series has helped me a lot. I recently got myself a '99 4door rav4! You sold me on the OME lift cant wait for mine!

[@LabCoatPaul]

That lift is nice. I hope your car isn't as rusty as mine was.

[@superdupersalem]

@@LabCoatPaul how well do the cv's and steering joints handle the steeper angle resulting from the lift?

[@LabCoatPaul]

@@superdupersalem They're just fine with the Old Man Emu lift. I think if you did a 4 inch lift you could get some problems with the CV axles.

[@wolfman175]

Great video as always, and great job explaining things along the way! Don’t have a RAV4 anymore but enjoying this series a lot.

[@superdupersalem]

Always nice to learn stuff about my car. Will probably be useful someday.

[@jlc7300]

Hi, your video was a great help, I just changed the Rad on mt 99 rav4 today, has 140K on it. I had to also remove the front motor mount, replace some screws that were rusted and broke off, changed some of the squeeze clamps to the gear type clamps, yes it was tuff getting the rad out, if they just gave another 1/2 to 1 inch of room it would have been an easy job. Took about 4 hours with issues and distractions. Hope not to have to do it again any time soon! Thanks.

[@docjody8624]

If you have A/C, did you loosen or need to remove air conditioning condenser in front of Radiator?

[@jlc7300]

@@docjody8624 No I did not remove that part.

[@everready19373]

Before I do a project like that I like to spray down all of the nuts/bolts with PB Blaster the night before.

[@osifielDoperAtive]

Great instructional and entertaining video... RAV4 is looking great!

[@docjody8624]

1//Sprayed Fan Shroud 4 x bottom bolts three iterations PB-Blaster over a 2-day period. So far, two have nonetheless sheared off despite my taking care. They're made of cheaper-grade metal than other OEM Toyota fasteners. Yey to remove other two. What size (e.g. M6-1.0x16mm) are these four lower 10-mm. bolts & where did you buy replacements? Thank you. Hope others find this useful too. 2// Also, do you have part numbers for those rotted lower radiator supports at 02:09? Thank you again for taking time.

[@devonblaine]

3:46 have any details about how you modified your latch support?

[@technicalprovlogs6249]

That is clamp type or pin type radiator?

[@philiptaylor2567]

Fantastic job at getting great camera work in those tight spots! This old rav is getting good. You thinking of doing sound deadening any time soon?

[@LabCoatPaul]

Thanks! Yes, I actually had a lot of people ask for a car stereo video recently, so I'll do that, and sound deadening at the same time.

[@aaron30569]

What's the item number for the hood latch support?

[@سلطانسلطان-ب9ت]

قناتك مفيده و شرح محترف و واضح 😊

[@gvick15]

Hi Paul, realized that my 2 heater hose im the car is no longer connected. Is reconnecting this hoses back to the heater a job suitable to be done at home?

[@LabCoatPaul]

Yes, replacing heater hoses is pretty easy. Cut the old hoses off with a sharp razor blade. Don't grab the hose with pliers because you might crush the heater core pipes.

[@anthonyhenley3883]

How did you remove the broken bolts

[@LabCoatPaul]

I didn't have to. I installed a new radiator so it didn't matter if the old one had broken bolts in it. You can drill bolts out, but that's hard and doesn't always work right.

[@docjody8624]

Hey Paul-- Another site states that front bumper must be removed for this job, if you don't want to have to remove A/C Condenser. I notice you 1/ Didn't removed Air Conditioner Condenser 2/ Didn't remove front bumper. How did you have sufficient working room in there to be able to avoid both? Any tips, much appreciated!

[@LabCoatPaul]

You don't need to touch the condenser. The hardest part is removing the cooling fans. You may need to unbolt the exhaust manifold to get the fans out. After that, everything is easy.

[@docjody8624]

Is it necessary to remove Fans entirely from engine bay in order to remove old Radiator? Can tou just pull Fans out of the way toward rear of vehicle instead to access Radiator? I'm hoping so. Did you remove Fans entirely only because you knew you were going to replace w/ aftermarket? Thank you again!

[@LabCoatPaul]

@@docjody8624 Yes, I think you can just push the fans out of the way without removing them, and slide the radiator out. By the way, don't install aftermarket fans! My flex-a-lite fans burned up the first time I drove the car on a hot day. I'll be going back to stock Toyota fans.

[@docjody8624]

You'll never know how much this info is helping us DIYers out here. Say, what was first indication that your new aftermarket fans burned out on that hot day? How did you know they were failing? Thanks again. Fascinating stuff, Mr. Paul.

[@LabCoatPaul]

@@docjody8624 I was driving along, and I could smell that distinct electrical fire smell. You know when you smell something like that, you just hope it's something else, but it stays with you and then you know it's your car. When I stopped, I opened the hood and could tell the smell was coming from the fans. They worked about 20 more minutes, then shorted out and blew both my cooling fan fuses.

[@boostgoober7262]

All those OEM Toyota parts and didn't even use Toyota/Lexus coolant haha

[@gvick15]

Hi Paul, I am having some issues with my Aircond system. When I start engine and turn on hvac switch I hear a clicking sound near the firewall and during that moment the compressor magnet relay clicks and the compressor turns on and off rapidly. Then either the compressor does not run or suddenly out of no where the compressor runs and the a/c is cold. When I hear the rapid clicking sound near the firewall the a/c is not cold as the compressor is on and off. When I bypass the compressor magnet relay and put the A/C button off the Aircond is icy cold. So I thought the relay was faulty and replaced it. But after that the clicking sound near the firewall is still there and my problem remains. I have also tried replacing the a/c button on the dash. What else can I replace to fix this? I really need help.

[@LabCoatPaul]

The air conditioning system is not very DIY friendly, because you need a special machine to pull out the refrigerant. You can check the resistance of your compressor clutch, and check to see if the high and low pressure switches are working. If that doesn't help, you'll probably need to take it in to a shop for diagnosis.

[@gvick15]

@@LabCoatPaul excellent thank you Paul..

[@PLEBEJones]

What are those plugs called?

[@LabCoatPaul]

You'll need to be a bit more specific. Which plugs?

[@سلطانسلطان-ب9ت]

keep going ☺️

[@PLEBEJones]

With these videos my rav4 is gonna last till 2035 😢😊😊😊😢

[@LabCoatPaul]

It probably will.

[@marcelorubio7961]

Como puedo consuiguir el numero el mecanico

[@CocoDeLaGhetto]

I'm here cause I cant get to my water pump...

[@hornpub6937]

No need to remove the manifold.

[@DevotedDisciple-x]

I paid $556 ($156 parts and $400 labor) to have one installed into a 1996 Rav4. The mechanic claimed that he had to remove something to get to it and if I remember correctly he said that he had to remove the A.C. and then reinstall and refill it, which is why labor was so high. Does this sounds right or do you think I got screwed? Thanks in advance!

[@doctorwarpspeed8779]

Hey man, probably a bit late for you to see this but you didn't necessarily get screwed. It can be done without taking the condenser off, either the way Paul has done it or by removing the front bumper cover and bumper. However if you look on almost any forum they will tell you it can't be done without pulling the condenser. Most people just don't know how to do it any other way. I took the bumper off the change mine. My point is I don't think he tried to screw you, I think he looked at a repair manual and it told him to take off the condenser. Could it have been done another way, sure but I don't think he tried to screw you.

[@richards503]

Cool

[@Fosgen]

You made big mistake during replacement. You have to clean coolant off the steel parts and body as coolant oxidizes it heavily (rust). I always take water hose and clean it all with straight water.

[@Victorgallina]

Hi! Paul. I follow your videos. I have a RAV 4 ‘96 4 doors. I’d like watch a Video about a ignition distributor repair.how to change the o ring and reta Inter and The Bearings. Sorry for muy bad English I am from Costa Rica. Thanks for your atention Congratulation for This usefull videos.