Fitting of Toyota MR2 Radiator.

[leox19]

Hi, after fitting of new coolant tubes and in anticipation of a K20 swap the old Rad had to go. A new standard aluminium replacement is available in Aus. but very expensive and I wanted bigger anyway - The new support bracket picks up the existing mount bolts and also the two mounts on the side wings. I used 40 X 40 X 1.6mm SHS tube. Located new mount points for large grommets at the top and blocked off the old holes. The small brackets suit the radiator mount points also with rubber isolators. The radiator is then isolated electrically to stop galvanic corrosion (as are the coolant tubes). Note the radiator is mounted inverted. The drain tap is then used for bleeding and the bleeding cap for draining. I fitted an aftermarket fan switch. The new cross member sits about 30mm lower than the side wings but this is no lower than the front suspension brackets. The original lower hoses fit both sides Ok however the upper hose for a Mitsubishi Pajero works a little better. lf I did it again I would bend the tubes to point towards the outside of the car and only need hoses with a single 90 deg bend. Ensure to insert soft foam at the sides to maintain the vacuum flow.
If you fill the header tank, open the bleeder until you get water - easy! Then top up.
Cheers Doug

 

[kmead]

Doubles as a ‘Roo bar…

Kidding.

That’s a serious radiator.

 

[Dr.Jeff]

This unit appears to be a little taller than the stock radiator. The same is true for the VW radiator replacement option. When I was fitting a VW unit in my X I found I got the highest mounted position (and therefore most ground clearance) by placing the top of the rad just behind (rearward) the stock top mount. I actually removed the stock top mount to see if there were any better options. But it turned out to be best behind it, where there's a bit of a crease in the bodywork along there. So it's not necessary to remove the stock mount for the VW rad. But that position also meant I had to make new top mounts to secure the rad.

Where/how did you place the top of you MR2 unit?

 

[leox19]

The MR2 unit (think inverted now -- haha as we down under!) has dowels on each side - now pointing upwards. Just two new locating holes along the line of the original Fiat one and suitable grommets I made from some shock absorber rubbers. The top of the radiator then fits tight up to the body. I used some small rubber U section along the top radiator channels to ensure electrical isolation. I located the bottom mounting as far rearward as possible to allow access to the inlet/outlet and clearance for the hoses.

 

[Dr.Jeff]

Sounds good. Just for comparison....

The VW radiator has similar lower mounting pins:

And they use rubber pads under them:

The upper mounts have tabs that bolt to the radiator support (on the VW car) and slide into slots in the tops of the tanks:

For my X1/9 installation I did similar to you and made holes for those pins, but kept them at the bottom. Then I added tabs to the body at the top. So overall the two are much alike.