99 protege Radiator Leak / Replacement Help

[gnome]

On Easter Sunday my gfs car over heated on I-95. We got to our destination luckilly only a few blocks away. The coolant was bone dry. Once car cooled down enough so we could look at it, we put water in the radiator. It started leaking on the bottom. I removed the fan today and bought some of that liquid aluminum radiator sealent from pepboys. It held for about 15-20 mins then I drove around the block at 20-25 mph. The pressure caused the leak to spray again. It is a pin sized hole that sprays 1-2 feet.. very thin stream.

Does anyone know how hard it is is to remove the radiator and put in a new one? I am no mechanic. I can change my own oil, air and fuel filter. Changed my brakes, lights etc. Is it going to be removing all sorts of engine parts just to pull this bastard out, or is it free standing by a few bolts? I got the fan and the plastic piece for the air filter off above the radiator off with 4 screws. ALL ADVICE / INPUT / RECOMMENDATIONS ARE WELCOME!!

Thanks!!

[Witchdoktor]

with my turbo setups it's been so long I was stock I forgot what a stock 99 engine bay looks like. if you did brakes and change oil I'd think you'd be able to do it yourself. two brackets hold the radiator at the top, the bottom sits in round rubber housings. unscrew the nuts to the top brackets and disconnect top and bottom radiator hoses. radiator should be able to lift straight up and out of the car. then again it's been so long I don't remember if there's anything in the way of the radiator lifting up and out at this point. other than the cooling fans (that you already seen how to remove) I don't think anything gets in the way.

if you haven't bought a replacement I'd recommend getting an OEM replacement. don't go cheap and get a knock off from ebay. they're cheaper but you get what you pay for. excellent place to get a factory replacement:

http://onlinemazdaparts.com/

they're a vendor on the forum. mazda parts vendor but cheaper than your local dealership. just make sure you specify year, make, model, and transmission (auto or manual). after you install everything back fill up the radiator with coolant/water mix (not sure what the factory ratio is) and make sure you burp the system to get the air out.

[Witchdoktor]

burping the radiator:

http://www.ehow.com/how_7369_burp-cars-cooling.html