legacycentral bbs

currently swapping a ej22t dohc into a clean L model wagon shell

99% done go to swap radar and the turbo one is a good 2" too tall and doesn't clear the hood .

now I.donno if I'm just stupid cause I've been.told the rads are the same size. has anyone done this or do I.need to use an n/a rad

sorry for all the periods I'm typing on my phone and hit it a lot haha

thay are the same size but the turbo has an reservoir tank which the N/A does not. turbo rad does not get filled directly into the rad like the N/A does. im sure you could find someone on here that is selling one or on nasioc. should be interchangeable throughout the years.

its the lower part of the core support (that the rad sits on) that is a different between the na and turbos. hence the rad problems.

yeah N/A rads are something like 15.5 inches tall where turbo rads are 16.5 inches tall
the rad support is actually different on N/A chassis to make up the height difference

im just gunna run the N/A rad with a gutted rad cap on the one side and run the reservoir tank should be fine

gutted radiator cap will not deal, just leave both caps on yand you'll be fine to use the N/a radiator. Ive ran an n/a radiator in my car for almost 3 years now

take a 2' peice of 4x4 wood and a big hammer and dent the lower support down enough to clear the turbo rad. works mint. the turbo rad is also thicker for better cooling. Plus, the n/a rad doesnt have the port that connects to the coolant resivor

MikeyMeyagi wrote:Plus, the n/a rad doesnt have the port that connects to the coolant resivor

It's located right next to the radiator cap on the n/a radiators

the n/a rad spout is for over flow so is only open when pressure is high
where the turbo spout is open all the time
so you need to gut the rad cap so it is free flowing

i thought about doing that, but it seemed too mickey mouse, so i used the turbo rad. and when that sprung a leak i switched to a 03 wrx rad

MikeyMeyagi wrote:i thought about doing that, but it seemed too mickey mouse, so i used the turbo rad. and when that sprung a leak i switched to a 03 wrx rad

is that radiator the same size as a turbo legacy radiator or bigger?

i dont remember, i just know hight wise it fits mint in my car

Is it only the 1990 or pre face lifts that have the clearance issue? It would be nice to know if an WRX/alloy aftermarket made for an Impreza would fit without modification to the lower mounting pan. I don't want to use my N/A radiator because the fins are corroded, but I don't want to buy a new N/A if a better alloy one would fit. Too bad, because the turbo one I have is in good shape.

Don't the WRX radiators have the upper coolant hose in the center or is that just starting with a certain year? Because that makes timing belt changes a pain in the ass. I did a timing belt job on my car a couple weeks ago and left the radiator in without draining it or removing the hoses. Would have been pretty hard to do with a hose in the middle. Maybe even impossible if you can't get the timing covers out because the hose is in the way.

i think you can get the covers out around the middle hose

I put a turbo motor in my NA chassis and ended up cutting out the factory rad support and building a new one to drop the rad 2". My support is basically just a piece of 1/8" 3x3 angle steel bolted to the factory sheet metal across the front and near the tie down loops underneath. Hood clears fine.

nosyt wrote:yeah N/A rads are something like 15.5 inches tall where turbo rads are 16.5 inches tall
the rad support is actually different on N/A chassis to make up the height difference

im just gunna run the N/A rad with a gutted rad cap on the one side and run the reservoir tank should be fine

This is what I did when I swapped in my turbo motor. It works fine, and I've been running the n/a radiator for several years now in Texas.