Proud new owner with questions

[AaronHartwell]

Hey everyone,

I just picked up a mint maroon 1996 SR5 with 140k miles from a family member who was the original owner and has taken incredibly good car of her. All dealer service, religious documentation, etc. She looks brand new.

After reading the forum posts on here I've decided that I should change the radiator to avoid the strawberry shake. I bought a Koyorad on my way home with hoses, cap, and thermostat. I'm planning on tackling it this weekend but before I do I thought I'd check the forum to see if there's a good post that walks through the procedure, maybe with pictures. I couldn't find any such posts. Does anyone know if one exists?

Suspension will be next after the radiator.

Thanks guys Aaron

 

[Singtoe]

If you can change a flat, you change a radiator. It is not like trying to fit a square peg in a round hole.

Carquest sells the OEM type red radiator fluid.

Don't for get to get some ATF fluid as you will lose some in your switch out.

 

[tbst]

http://www.ncttora.com/fsm/1996/SIL/techinfo.toyota.com/ileaf/02toyrm/02toypdf/02rmsour/2002/024runne/co5vzfe/radi/remo.pdf

 

[AaronHartwell]

Thanks guys! I thought the filling process was a bit tricky to get all of the air out and the fluid level to the top.

I'll give it a go and let folks know how it went.

 

[AaronHartwell]

Well, I wouldn't say that it was as easy as changing a tire but I successfully installed my new Koyorad radiator today.

While I was in there I also:

Installed a new thermostat
Changed the oil and filter
Installed a new air filter
Installed new spark plugs and wires

She's running smoooooth.

Here are a couple of pictures:

https://skydrive.live.com/redir.aspx?cid=db470b57c7fc0206&resid=DB470B57C7FC0206!1355&parid=root

 

[z28forlife]

Nice and clean. A perfect canvas to start a build.

 

[AaronHartwell]

Only downside... It's a 2 wheel drive! As much as I like the look of the lifted 4x4s I'm seeing on here, I don't think it makes sense with this rig. Maybe there are still some things I can do with it.