Replacement radiator doesn't fit?? ('94 Legacy)

[Red92]

 

Has anyone seen anything like this?

 

It's a brand new aftermarket replacement radiator, for my '94 Legacy GT... everything "looks" right, it had the pin mounts in the bottom, the cap fit, it has the right style of mounts up top, etc, etc... but overall, it is about an inch and a quarter too short in height!

 

The problem is the bottom - this radiator has the pins straight out of the bottom, whereas the stock one has little risers to space it up an inch above the pins. Was this one intended for a different model of Subaru?

 

 

I was hoping to have the car put back together today... but now I'll have to take this back to the store tomorrow and see how quickly they can get another one in.

 

My car is out on the street, and the city likes to leave tickets after 48 hours... wish me luck. :-\

[bheinen74]

where did you get it?

 

 

you do know the LGT is not in the books, not even on the parts books at subaru?

 

You do know the LGT has the same front bumper, radiator support as the turbo models? You know the turbo models do not have radiator fill cap, they use a separate coolant tank

 

 

guess you are out of luck.

 

sell it like i did mine. you cannot even convince the subaru dealers that they did make a 94 gt model.

 

your only option is too swap out your radiator support for a non turbo, N/A style, upper and lower. LOL sorry that is the only way you can order one to fit it. or else you mod the mount system to make your short radiator work. that is what i would be doing. You will not order one to fit.

Edited February 6, 2012 by bheinen74

[MilesFox]

if you have the original radiator, you should be able to swap the top or the bottom steel parts as the core itself should be the same. There are both brass and plastic radiators for the legacy, with the arlier ones being dual core.

 

You could give that a shot and see if it works and saves you time/runaround.

[Red92]

This one is from O'Reilly Auto Parts. I bought it from them because they could get it the next day, and their computer system DOES list the '94 GT as a separate model... Unlike, as you say, my local dealer.

 

 

I'm not going to sell a car because the radiator mount is an inch off. That's a little extreme, don't you think?

 

 

So this radiator is a one-year-only part for North America? I knew that the turbo models used a different radiator arrangement, but I didn't have any reason to know that the supports were different since I don't have a turbo. How would you change the radiator supports? Aren't they welded in structural parts?

 

Does anyone have any pictures of what a "normal" first gen Legacy's radiator supports and mountings look like?

 

Also, bheinen74, are there any other "oddball" parts for the '94 GT that I should be aware of?

[bheinen74]

Yes, many oddball for the 94 GT one year only.

 

No

 

the GT is a taller radiator, same as the turbo breeds which are taller.

 

except the turbo has no fill opening it has coolant tank.

GT need s fill cap on the rad due to not turbo.

 

And then the problem that subaru dealers even online do not acknowledge gt models.

your best bet is to go take a ball bat to you dealer and tell them they need to carry your radiator; which they dont' - oops

 

 

second best is to make some welded tabs to hold the NA short radiator.

 

third best is to put a front clip on your car for NA

 

fourth best to sell it.

Edited February 6, 2012 by bheinen74

[Red92]

if you have the original radiator, you should be able to swap the top or the bottom steel parts as the core itself should be the same. There are both brass and plastic radiators for the legacy, with the arlier ones being dual core.

 

You could give that a shot and see if it works and saves you time/runaround.

 

Thanks for the advice. I'll look, but the bottom of my old radiator is a bit tweaked. This car looks like it had taken a trailer hitch straight through the grille at one point, bending the AC condenser a bit, and pushing the radiator out of the lower mounts. I'll see if I can bend it back though... (The condenser straightened out pretty easily with no apparent damage, for what it is worth. I had to straighten that before the radiator would sit in its place.)

 

 

Otherwise, I think the top would be the easiest place to fab a custom mount, although I will have to see if there are any airflow impacts to doing that.

[Red92]

the GT is a taller radiator, same as the turbo breeds which are taller.

 

except the turbo has no fill opening it has coolant tank.

GT need s fill cap on the rad due to not turbo.

 

The radiator core itself seems to be the same size, it's just that inch of spacer at the bottom that looks different.

 

But you reminded me... I should probably build up that inch of space at the bottom (instead of the top like I was thinking), so that the radiator cap stays higher. Otherwise, if I just make new top mounts, then I will make it a lot harder to burp the air out of the cooling system. :-\

[GeneralDisorder]

You can have a filler neck for a radiator cap TIG welded into one of the aluminium 91 to 94 turbo radiators by any radiator shop. Koyo and Mishimoto both make all aluminium turbo radiators for that generation body. Better cooling too. That's what I would do - but it's about a $250 fix - give or take depending on what your radiator shop charges to install the filler neck.

 

For that matter you could have it done to a brass tanked turbo radiator. Shouldn't cost more than $50 to have a filler neck installed. A good radiator shop can do just about anything you like including build you a custom radiator that actually fits properly and has as many cores as you like and can fit between the mounts and the engine pulleys. I had my radiator guy build a tripple core all-metal radiator for a Brat with 90 degree downward pointing 1.5" inlet/outlet for an EJ swap. Cost was about $320. It's not cheap but it can be done.

 

GD