Hi,
I am in the market for new radiators on my 997.1TT. One was replaced under CPO but now one or both of the others are going. I would like to replace these with better quality and CSF radiators looks like it's the solution.
However....
In March of this year (2015), there is a thread on the 996 forums on CSF radiators and problems with leaking hose to radiator connections.

https://www.6speedonline.com/forums/...-radiator.html

It appears that in April, CSF announced that they have a new design which gets around these issues. Now that's great if true, but what about for the 997? Is it fixed for these too? What if I get some old stock from a local dealer? Being in Canada, i'm not crazy about dealing with warrantee issues to the USA and having my car off the road for a few weeks.
I understand that there is a distribution center in Toronto. Can I order from there, removing one sales tax as well?
Anyone have any experience here? Are 996 radiators the same as 997 radiators?
Thanks

 

mine work fine

 

Sorry for the late reply. I got your pm, but I'm traveling overseas..
1) all of the radiators that we have in stock are the new design with no issues. We're selling them well this summer, and no reported problems.
2) 996 & 997 turbo side radiators are the same (CSF #7055 & 7056).. Center radiator for 997tt is #7054 and is different from the 996tt model.
3) yes we do have a candian HQ and distribution center in Toronto, but we don't sell direct to the end user and try to support our distributors when they are available in the local market. In this case it would be JRP. Please contact them to purchase the CSF radiators that you are looking for.
For the Toronto weather and road conditions, the all-aluminum design is definelty the way to go.

Let me know if you have any other questions

 

i just installed these radiators this weekend as my passenger right oem had failed. So far i didnt notice any leaks from the hoses. Well when i had them replaced, i also did the rubber O-rings just in case.

 

Thanks for all the replies. Looks like the growing pains are over and it's a solid product. BTW, did the rads come with clamps and o rings? Or did you purchase these? What about hoses? Did you replace these and if so do you have the part numbers?
Thanks

 

Radiators came with the metal clamps, but not the o rings (part # 99610680102) You will need 4 of them, two for the driver side radiator and two for the passenger side. There is also two that is needed for the mid radiator, but they are smaller (different part number) and i didnt bother changing them. To tell the truth, when i took the hoses apart, the O rings and hoses are still in great condition, but my car only has 28k miles.

 

Thanks to everyone who has replied. These will definitely be on my to do list, assuming my OEM rads fail at some point (one has been weeping a tiny amount for at least 30k km).

Have you guys been installing grills to protect the new radiators?

 

Good luck on that, if i were you, i'd change them out now even if its just a weeping tiny bit. I was in a similar scenario where one was just weeping, then it turned into a huge leak out of now where, with me being over 30 miles from home and in the middle of the night.

 

Great info! Any difficulties in the installs? Any hints? I'll most likely wait until September then get on with it.
Thanks

 

I dont think this project was difficult at all. Just take a long time. Took me 8 hours, but that was with having a few beers with friends during the process and also wiping down dusty areas.

I did remove the two AC condensers as i showed in my picture. Honestly i dont see how you can do it without removing them. So that means you'll need to recharge them afterwards.

 

Oh,
Really? How much does it cost to recharge the AC?
So far this is going to be around $2800 canadian dollars. Oh well, nobody said these cars are cheap. Just the designers lol, I mean come on, plastic tanks on a 150k+ car?
Thanks

 

I only got the AC recharged today. It was a hookup from a friend though. Was $100 bucks and done the right way using a Snap On AC machine. Not all shops will have this machine, i would avoid letting anyone do it old school. My guess is if you dont have any hookups, should cost about 150.

Machine does a multi step process.
1. empty out any left over fluid
2. clean/flush system
3. remove all oxygen from the system
4. Lubricate system (VERY IMPORTANT)
5. fill with 134A freon to the exactly 1.99 lbs as stated under the hood sticker

 

Hi, Ok. Is this a picture of the radiator with the air conditioning condenser on it? If so apparently you do not need to remove the refrigerant? Of course I heard this about the 997 and not necessarily the turbo.

http://www.pelicanparts.com/techarti...mall/pic03.jpg

ThnKS

 

Youre probably right, there are ways to swap out the radiators without unbolting the refrigerant lines. I just found it easier for my self to do it the way i did. Felt that my way minimized damage to the condensors and new radiators when re installing and possibly knocking into them. You'll see when you take the bumper cover off.

 

Ok
Good info.
Interestingly the parts diagram for the 997 turbo no longer shows the o rings. Tom