[KB-GT]

The other week I decided to buy a Mishimoto radiator despite the problems people have had with them. It came in the other day and I had no problem getting it into the car. I did however have a problem getting the male transmission lines to thread into the female thread welded into the radiator. I have not read about anyone having this problem but I thought someone might be able to help.

[dcook_14]

You're sure that the two fittings have the same threads? Have you tried running a tap and dye on it?

[wishIhada5.0]

if you woulda bought a stick you wouldnt have that problem welcome to the forums buddy! post up some pics of your ride!! by the looks of your screen name your part of the kenne bell brotherhood

[ajm]

Go to lowes, home depot, etc and buy you 2 1/4 npt male-male fittings, and 2 female couplers of the same size and use those. You will need to get the trans line fitting into the female coupler quite tight or it will leak.

[ajm]

If that dont make much sense to you just let me know and ill explain it a bit better.

[KB-GT]

Originally Posted by dcook_14 You're sure that the two fittings have the same threads? Have you tried running a tap and dye on it?

The female thread in the radiator is pipe thread and the thread on the trans lines are compression. I figured I would try and talk to the mishimoto support before I tap and dye it but, its looking like I might have to do that if I dont get a response or find a fitting.

Originally Posted by wishIhada5.0 if you woulda bought a stick you wouldnt have that problem welcome to the forums buddy! post up some pics of your ride!! by the looks of your screen name your part of the kenne bell brotherhood

Haha true true. I figured the blower might make up for it not being a standard and ill get some pics up asap.

Originally Posted by ajm Go to lowes, home depot, etc and buy you 2 1/4 npt male-male fittings, and 2 female couplers of the same size and use those. You will need to get the trans line fitting into the female coupler quite tight or it will leak.

I went to lowes this past weekend and couldnt find the right fitting. ill have to go check out home depot and ace this weekend.

Thanks for the help!

[Lefty]

Aaron, didn't you have issues with yours as well?

[ajm]

^ Yea. The threads are absolute garbage plus being soft aluminum....Combine that with trying to thread in the line while its in a bind it just doesnt work well...With the oem rad the line sits parallel with the port on the radiator. Once the thick radiator moves it back the line then sits at an upward to the port. So you have to flex the line back, flex it down, and try to thread it in straight on all at the same time, any slight misalignment just tears the cheap ass threads up, or catches the first few and then rips them out. Best way to do it is get a male-male fitting and coupler. Thread the 2 fittings together, thread it into the radiator and get it pretty snug, then thread in the trans line and get it tight as hell, problem solved.

They also make a version of the radiator with male ports vs female which is really nice compared to the female ones, but only 1 of the 3 ive had so far have been that design, every one ive had also had a different drain plug design...found that odd.

Damn good product but just unreliable....so far...After this one springs a leak im going back to oem. Not that they leak horribly bad once they do take a dump...its just a real small drip, im just tired of changing radiators and having to send pics to mishimoto and pay for shipping & fluids each time.

I figured I would try and talk to the mishimoto support....
Good luck with mishimotos customer service when you call about the trans line. Theyre good about warranty but I think they know damn well about this problem and try to put it off on the customer. I actually was able to get mine threaded on the first one after a little patience but it constantly had a small leak I couldnt get to seal for shit, and any tighter prolly would have stripped the junk.

I called about the problem to see if theyd warranty it and of course first thing they said was "was it professionally installed" I said yes...so since you claim theres a lifetime warranty does it cover such issues. Guy says no sounds like its just cross threaded, nothing we can do for you. So then I did some thinking and figured out the fitting thing.

[BurninRubb3r]

Wow... who did you talk to over at Mishimoto? That doesn't sound like them.

What other ways of contacting them did you try?

[KB-GT]

I called support after my previous post and emailed them some pictures of the female thread that came welded into the rad and the factory female thread. They said they would send me out another so I payed the shipping and it came today. There are a few differences between the two radiators but it looks like the thread is still the same. I'll see if I can get it on this weekend and let yall know how it goes.

[suprajay79]

Just curious, why do you guys put in aftermarket radiators?

I was always told that as long as my cooling system kept my engine cool, I should just leave it alone. Have you guys had cooling problems in the past?

[BurninRubb3r]

They might not want to worry about having problems in the future. When you mod and add power makers over the winter when the car is down, you would start to worry about how everything will be once the summer hits. Just a guess

[fmxona500]

Have you guys ever thought about putting teflon tape on the threads before threading them in? I understand that the threads on the radiator itself can be an issue on some models, but on your male ends comming from the tranny, a couple of wraps of teflon tape should keep you nice and tight and drip free. There's absolutely no reason that you would have to tighten down anything so tight it would break. It's a common problem with metal on metal products that are under pressure and wet. Look at your valves under your sinks for example.

[ajm]

Originally Posted by fmxona500 Have you guys ever thought about putting teflon tape on the threads before threading them in? I understand that the threads on the radiator itself can be an issue on some models, but on your male ends comming from the tranny, a couple of wraps of teflon tape should keep you nice and tight and drip free. There's absolutely no reason that you would have to tighten down anything so tight it would break. It's a common problem with metal on metal products that are under pressure and wet. Look at your valves under your sinks for example.

No need...tapered threads... The problem is with the soft threads on the radiator. If you dont get the line threaded in dead on on youll mess the threads up as soon as you try n thread the male end. This is why using the brass fittings work well....If youve done one before youll know how much of a pain in the ass it is to get that line in dead on due to the thickness of the radiator it pushes the line back, when that happens the straight part after the 90* bend is no longer parallel with the port it kicks out at an angle towards the driver side as well as up.