any tips for when changing radiators? This weekend i plan to buy an aluminum radiator so i was wanting to know what to look out for.

 

nothing comes to mind except basic things like
make sure car is cold (hasnt been running in past hour or more)
drain fluid
disconnect all hoses
disconnect and remove cooling fan
remove top mount
loosen bottom mounts (only on some models)
pull radiator out
intallation in reverse of removal pretty much

 

Bleed the system when refilling it. I'd also put on new hoses at the same time unless the ones in your car are already quite new.

 

ok how much do new hoses cost

 

can the fan be used? or do the aftermarket aluminum ones not use a fan?

 

You have to have a fan. It's really only necessary to keep the radiator cool when sitting still for a while, but that is essential for any daily driver car. I would think the aftermarket radiators will have mounting points for the stock fan. There are of course aftermarket fans, but I think those would be rather pointless on a Civic as when the car is moving fast, the fan makes only a relatively tiny effect on air flow thru the radiator.