DrD123 Posted January 10, 2023 Share Posted January 10, 2023 So I think I have a crack in the upper radiator hose attachment point on my radiator - trying to source a replacement and getting a little confused/frustrated - the OEM radiator for the GT (45111AJ09A ) is 5th gen GT specific - when I look at say RockAuto, the replacements it shows all look like they have transmission coolers in them. Can we run a radiator for the regular 2.5i and just plug off/not use the transmission cooler? All of the replacements on say RockAuto show that they are the replacement for 45111AJ10A which is the one for the car with the CVT (so has a transmission cooler) I suppose I can buy the OEM one, but it's a little spendy and no idea how quickly it would get here... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrD123 Posted January 10, 2023 Author Share Posted January 10, 2023 Long story short - I thought it was leaking at my upper radiator hose, so I replaced it then it was still leaking so removed the upper radiator hose and the flared part of the radiator inlet came off with it... pretty annoying. Lots of places list "guaranteed fit" for the car, but they have a transmission cooler in them. What is concerning me is the radiator for the 2.5i 6mt is different than the GT (p/n 45111AJ09A for the GT vs 45111AJ01A for the 2.5i, then 45111AJ10A for the CVT... the specs for the core in the service manual are the same for the 2.5i and the GT, but the fans are different Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scubaboo Posted January 10, 2023 Share Posted January 10, 2023 If the tranny cooler is the only diff I wouldnt mind just plugging it. Its simply a heat exchanger pipe passing through the bottom tank and shouldnt cause any problems if it isnt used. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrD123 Posted January 10, 2023 Author Share Posted January 10, 2023 That's my school of thought as well - the thing is, the radiator is different for the manual transmission legacy with the 2.5i and the manual transmission legacy GT and I am not sure why! It looks like it could be the position of the outlet or it could be the fan mounting points or it could be the core - the specs for the water pump output are the same, the external dimensions of the core are the same, but the fans are bigger (320 vs. 300mm) and higher wattage (120 vs. 90) and the lower radiator hose is different (position of the water pump/thermostat cover is different, though, so it could be due to that or could be the outlet is different on the radiator, too... I'd really like to find out what the differences are before going with one for the 2.5i only to find out while installing it that it won't work for whatever reason! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverton Posted January 10, 2023 Share Posted January 10, 2023 turbo cars have extra coolant ports. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scubaboo Posted January 10, 2023 Share Posted January 10, 2023 Yes often, but the 5th gen does not have the top coolant turbo tank and the corresponding barb on the radiator passenger side that that the WRX/STIs of those years had. My alum rad is listed specifically for the LGT and another model, let me check. That models' rad will probably work in our cars too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scubaboo Posted January 10, 2023 Share Posted January 10, 2023 Ok so my rad is listed to fit 2010 Foresters as well. Maybe one of those will fit too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrD123 Posted January 10, 2023 Author Share Posted January 10, 2023 (edited) Looking at pictures for used parts on eBay, I am having a hard time seeing any differences between the radiator for the GT and the one for the NA legacy (both with manual transmissions) - if there's a difference externally, it's subtle (doesn't mean it would fit everything properly, but they look pretty darn similar...) - maybe there is something different in the core? Comparing the two, the opening in the tube to the overflow container looks smaller for the NA radiator. Edited January 10, 2023 by DrD123 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scubaboo Posted January 11, 2023 Share Posted January 11, 2023 I doubt there will be any small gotchas, even the STI to LgT rad swaps the main problems were with the increased thickness and the extra barb at the rad for the turbo coolant tank line. I dont remember any major problems with fan and body mounting. Should be no diff in overflow, the tanks and lines are common across a wide variety of models IIRC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverton Posted January 11, 2023 Share Posted January 11, 2023 Straight from Subaru. Specs of the 2005 Legacy GT and NA cooling system. Turbo NA 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrD123 Posted January 11, 2023 Author Share Posted January 11, 2023 Well, there must be some difference - it would not be a very financially sound decision by subaru to have different radiators if they could just use the same p/n for all of them... (doesn't mean they didn't do it, just that it would be dumb) For 2012, the service manual looks pretty identical for the 2.5i NA radiator and the 2.5GT radiator, plus in the 5th gen there is just the normal inlet/outlet and overflow lines on both - no additional connections for the GT, so why are there two different part numbers and at least on parts.subaru.com they say the GT one only fits the GT and the 2.5i specifically does not... for the core, the only info they really give is the outer dimensions - maybe there's something different internally? hard to believe there would be as the number of fins looks to be the same... looking at a picture of the 2.5i radiator and comparing it to the GT the only difference I can see is the inner diameter of the tube going to the overflow tank, but I don't know how that would matter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverton Posted January 11, 2023 Share Posted January 11, 2023 (edited) the only difference is fan sizes, which might also mean fan mounting points? Edited January 11, 2023 by silverton 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scubaboo Posted January 12, 2023 Share Posted January 12, 2023 The core specs look identical, I dont think there is a diff in the core itself. Id be more concerned there might be a diff in fan mounting given the fans are different in power and size, but the mounting looks the same, they may share the same fan holder. Silverton, do you have specs for the STI? Curious if they have bigger and/or higher wattage fans than the LGT, might be an upgrade. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverton Posted January 12, 2023 Share Posted January 12, 2023 (edited) The core and the reservoir tank is the only difference with an STi vs legacy turbo, though I find it funny it has an AT and MT spec. The tank is .48 vs .5 quarts ???? Edited January 12, 2023 by silverton 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scubaboo Posted January 12, 2023 Share Posted January 12, 2023 Thanks Silverton! Thats probably the GR? The GR STI AT is down a bit on HP and a lot on torque in consideration of the 5EAT, maybe thats why its got the thinner rad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverton Posted January 13, 2023 Share Posted January 13, 2023 (edited) All three were 2005 for consistency Just now realizing I'm in the 10-14 section Edited January 13, 2023 by silverton 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverton Posted January 13, 2023 Share Posted January 13, 2023 Here's 2012 for the curious. Legacy NA Legacy Turbo 2012 STi 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scubaboo Posted January 14, 2023 Share Posted January 14, 2023 Huh. My LGT has the 9 blade/11 blade fan, not the 5 blade/7 blade. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrD123 Posted January 15, 2023 Author Share Posted January 15, 2023 they should move more air, so that's a good thing! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scubaboo Posted January 15, 2023 Share Posted January 15, 2023 True, dont mind I have them, just curious. Maybe it's another US/rest of the world difference for the 5th gen LGT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrD123 Posted January 26, 2023 Author Share Posted January 26, 2023 So is it hard to pretty much get any part nowadays? It's been a comedy of errors from the places I am trying to buy from - first found one for sale by a Subaru dealer up in the northeast on fleabay (brand new in the box - pictures and everything) - I had called the local dealership (which usually charges msrp+10% - true to form they were doing the same thing, plus said there was but 1 radiator in the country (which seemed odd) so at a bit over half of what they were charging, I could get the one shipped from the northeast. So I figured - done! Bought it, then asked a few times if they had an idea when it would ship - got the "we are processing it now" sort of response twice, then a week after buying it, I get an email saying they don't actually have it, and they cancel my order. So I figure, well that sucks, so went ahead and ordered from a dealer I usually buy from in CO - they said it is showing as orderable, then a couple of days after the order, they got confirmed tracking info that it was en route to them, so I figured I was all set - they were supposed to have it this past monday, but it was delayed and now they are supposed to get it tomorrow.... they assure me the part is real and they will have it, so with any luck, maybe early next week (!) I'll have it in hand here and be back on the road again. Still saving $100 over the local dealer, but it's costing me time. (I am really fortunate I was able to grab my kiddos car, so I am driving that and she is carless for the start of the semester at school) - the worst part is that maybe a day after they cancelled my order, the dealer has the flipping thing back up for sale on ebay! Even supposing they did find it misplaced, they could have reached out and asked if I still wanted it! that being said, to save $50 (plus being shipped across the country) I am not really inclined to do the experiment and buy it from them again (in my mind only to have the order cancelled in a week again...) It shouldn't take weeks to get a part! (but at this point, I am on a mission!) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scubaboo Posted January 27, 2023 Share Posted January 27, 2023 (edited) Well that sucks. Hope you find one soon. Or you could do an STI rad upgrade, documented already somwhere on here. I doubt those are in short supply. Edited January 27, 2023 by Scubaboo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrD123 Posted January 27, 2023 Author Share Posted January 27, 2023 The STi radiator has an extra connection/tube to it for the surge tank so I'd have to figure out how to cap that - it's supposed to be at the dealership in Colorado today (delayed from yesterday...) so we'll see... my kiddo hasn't revolted yet for not having their car, so I am in good shape as far as that goes... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrD123 Posted January 28, 2023 Author Share Posted January 28, 2023 and now the freight company up in Denver is having issues, so the pallet of stuff my radiator is in is stuck in their terminal until next week. it just keeps getting better... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FLlegacy Posted January 28, 2023 Share Posted January 28, 2023 Fwiw I used an epdm nipple plug from the oem replacements section of the local auto parts store to plug that extra connection on my aftermarket radiator. No issues with that so far. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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