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Good choice. I bought a CSF 2 row a while back when RadiatorBarn.com was still in business. I've only had it 3 or 4 years so not super long term but I'm happy so far. It fit just like the original except the drain cock was in a different spot so I had to trim the fan shroud.
New csf 3 row radiator came in and my new windshield was installed today.
there was only surface rust and not any holes or pitted areas. Yay
he did a really good job. Safelite did the work. I wasn't here but Lauren told me he was super careful and said he had her help to make sure it was straight because he didn't want to mess it up with all the work im doing to it.
The rest of my parts will be here today so yesterday i put my new radiator in, perfect fit btw. Its a csf 2306.
i was also working on the body work and filler on the rear wheel arches and finally came to the conclusion that I'm in over my head a bit on that. I called my buddy who owns the body shop, that I've bartered with for the last 13 years and he came over to look at it. He told me that he was impressed with what i accomplished (knowing I've never done this before) and offered some tips and pointers.
he put some filler on and blocked it a bit at the roof line to show me something, he did better in one wipe of filler than i get done in 3. Then he told me to get the engine in running shape and he would tow it to his shop. We are going to trade work, he is going to finish the body work on the rear arches and let me use his paint booth to paint it and im going to change the timing belt on his tundra and give him a dryer. That's a pretty good deal if you ask me!
here is the civic he did for me about 8 years ago. He does a really good job.
He did a great job on the Civic. A pro at anything can make things look easy and is always a joy to watch. It takes time to get body work down. It will get easier as you get more experience. It is frustrating when you work your butt off to do a job and a professional does the same thing with a few swipes.
That's a great trade of skills and goods! A nice paint booth makes a huge difference. Good lighting is just as important as any other step in the recon process.
Great thread. And inspirational. Its good to see another guy doing the work while balancing being a dad, husband and working man. Getting some work done here and there until finally reaching completion.
I've had my 95 4runner for a year now and will be putting new tags on it in the next few weeks to finally have it as a daily. I've got a 3 year old and #2 is in the oven. I can certainly empathize that the spare time (and even with spare time - the spare energy) for bringing an old truck back is hard to come by. But long term, it pays off.
Great work - especially for being self taught. Glad this old truck stayed in the family and can drive on for years to come. Kudos for keeping it low budget by recycling the appliances/ bartering too.
Last edited by gyoas759; Mar 10, 2017 at 08:55 AM.
Great thread. And inspirational. Its good to see another guy doing the work while balancing being a dad, husband and working man. Getting some work done here and there until finally reaching completion.
I've had my 95 4runner for a year now and will be putting new tags on it in the next few weeks to finally have it as a daily. I've got a 3 year old and #2 is in the oven. I can certainly empathize that the spare time (and even with spare time - the spare energy) for bringing an old truck back is hard to come by. But long term, it pays off.
Great work - especially for being self taught. Glad this old truck stayed in the family and can drive on for years to come. Kudos for keeping it low budget by recycling the appliances/ bartering too.
Thanks for the compliments! Spare spare time and energy is exactly why this is not finished. Just the last 3 days i have 40 hours at work. I did 30 hours wed and thu then left a little early yesterday.
some sad news for me though. I mentioned earlier that i was trying to get this truck finished so i could let my grandfather see it and take him for a ride. I didn't quite get it done fast enough.
he has been in the hospital on a ventilator for the last week. His lungs have given him all they can give. They took him off the ventilator yesterday and have him on a simpler machine. He most likely won't make it through the weekend but he says he is ready. It has been a hard last few years, losing his wife, living alone and struggling just to breath every day.
We have been sick so can't go visit but will be video chatting with him today. He will be missed but he led a good life, raised great children and taught me and my siblings so much. I feel blessed to have had all these years with him.
So while changing the new parts over i found probably the largest reason for the hard starts. The factory wire from ignitor to distributor had corroded and cracked. Can't believe i didn't find that earlier, i took the cap and wires out in one piece.
So i finished putting all my new parts in, realizing that 22re forgot to put the distributor cap o ring in, I'll call them Monday for that.
i bled the coolant and this time did not get a huge rush when the tstat opened, meaning that before, it stuck, overheated, and then blew it out when it opened. It was still messy however.
when i tried starting the truck this time it fired right up on the second crank, so i fixed my cold start problem.
the only thing i noticed was a slight misfire. This could be due to the year old gas or the cheap ignitor wire i got at oreilly. I had to buy a whole set just for that one wire. I might try to find an oem wire at the junk yard.
yesterday i picked up a free dryer from a guy that needs a 9 dollar part to fix. That will be part one of my deal with my body man. The tundra timing belt will be part two that I will likely do while my body man works in the bay right beside me.
i do appliance work as a side gig. I pick up broken appliances, fix and sell them. My body man needs a dryer and our deal was he would finish the body work and i would do his tundra timing belt and get him a dryer
Thanks for sharing, 92ehatch
Did you also leave out the trim on your windshield? ( I did on mine because I don not want it catching and trapping dirt and moisture, especially saltwater)
Please do keep us posted on how the CSF radiator performs.
And may I know if the upper rad hose is OEM, or where you bought it / Part number? Mine does not have as good a shape that it rubs against the flexible intake hose.
Originally Posted by 92ehatch
New csf 3 row radiator came in and my new windshield was installed today.
there was only surface rust and not any holes or pitted areas....
Feb 28, 2017 | 03:56 AM
