Any recommended radiator brands?

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MNgopher

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My '88 Jeep Cherokee appears to have decided that the current radiator must be replaced (or repaired - we'll see). The current unit is a brass/copper heavy duty cooling Mopar replacement (only 6.5 years old). I believe it was made by Modine. The OEM version made it nearly 15 years before giving up. I've been running G-05 since this radiator was new.

Anyone have any recommendations for the good, the bad, the ugly? The only one I've heard (on the jeep boards these days) to stay away from is GDI. CSF has some good recommendations on their three-core, but others think its too restrictive.
 
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It really depends on the vehicle itself. I've seen good and bad models from the same manufactures (Denso) for different application (bad for Honda, good for Toyota, etc).

For aftermarket make sure you buy it locally, those lifetime warranty online is a gimmic unless you have a fleet of identical vehicles and have a spare in the closet to swap out and wait for the warranty to arrive. I hated my CSF copper/brass but the Jeep guys seems to like them a lot, and I'm sure you can say the same about every single brand out there.
 
Not sure about longevity buy we have been getting TYC at work and the seem OK so far. When things change they come with adapters that work.
 
Modine is no more. Modine is now part of Pro-Aliance. I have seen boxes with the Modine name on them but the radiator in them is not the old Modine that we all knew.

Just a cheap radiator thats living on an old name.

Your probly not going to find an all metal replacement radiator except for a CSF piece of junk.

You will need to consider a ptr this time around.
 
The ricer scene has a lot of all aluminum welded radiator for about $250 to $350, they do not have transmission fluid cooler in there. If you don't mind hunting down a mounting bracket, that's probably good.

Stay away from CSF all metal, I just send one in for a slow leak along a the bottom due to a hairline crack, with only 80k on it, worse than my original plastic tank.
 
How about Proliance?

NAPA's radiators are made by Proliance, and NAPA usually sells high quality parts.
 
Proliance (Ready-Rad) is pretty much what all the local shops seem to carry (or should I say able to quickly get in stock). The heavy duty "heat buster" version is advertised by all as a copper-brass radiator still - not a PTR. Of course, since none of them actually have them in stock, I'd have to special order one to verify if it is truly still an all metal.

I could downgrade to the regular one core radiator that they do have in stock - and that is a PTR. I'm leery of doing so given that Cherokee's run hot under the hood - airflow is an issue, I am equipped with Air Conditioning (Ice Cold R-12!) and an Auto transmission, and believe it or not, it actually does routinely get into the 90's from time to time here in Minnesota!

For every + I get on the CSF's, I get a - too. Sounds awfully hit or miss...
 
I got a Spectra Premium in the beater van. Works every bit as good as the OEM Johnson Controls. Made in Canada, not China.
 
Originally Posted By: MNgopher
For every + I get on the CSF's, I get a - too. Sounds awfully hit or miss...


I think you have to take into the consideration that almost no new R&D and production facility goes into the brass/copper all metal radiator anymore, so the factory is probably running on some old processes that are hit or miss, like the old cars you get back in the 70s and 80s.

If you want all metal and don't mind attaching an external ATF cooler, fluidyne is top notch, and made in USA. I think they are welded aluminum, and expensive.
 
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Pro Aliance only has 2 places where they build radiators. Mexico and China.

They still build cores in the USA but not completes.

Honestly the Chinee radiators are not that bad except for Silla. We had a Silla wherehouse in town for a while a couple years ago and there quality was pretty bad.

The all Aluminum radiators are neet but are not repairable for the most part.
 
Originally Posted By: Chris142
Pro Aliance only has 2 places where they build radiators. Mexico and China.

They still build cores in the USA but not completes.

Honestly the Chinee radiators are not that bad except for Silla. We had a Silla wherehouse in town for a while a couple years ago and there quality was pretty bad.

The all Aluminum radiators are neet but are not repairable for the most part.


Usually it is the plastic tank that crack first, and it would be not worth repairing when it die. The only brass/copper radiator brand left seems to be CSF and they are hit or miss, and when miss it is usually a hair line crack that is hard to notice, not worth it in my opinion.
 
Originally Posted By: PandaBear


Usually it is the plastic tank that crack first
Thats true with the OE radiators. The aftermarket Radiators usually get leaks where the tubes go into the header.
 
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I got a Spectra Premium in the beater van. Works every bit as good as the OEM Johnson Controls. Made in Canada, not China.


I've had SPI rads over the years, no complaints. However, they are switching to aluminum/plastic rads for A LOT of applications. And these are not made in Canada. I do have to say though, that the al/plastic rad I ended up getting for my '73 Nova (Brass no longer an option) fit properly, and appears to be a quality piece.

Alex.
 
I've had no problems in the 4 years I've been running the Buick around with an aluminum core/ plastic end tank radiator and there is a lot of vibration going on.

I went from a stock 3 core brass radiator to a 4 core, and finally to a 2-core aluminum. The aluminum cools sooooo much better than the old 4 core and it's only 3/4 as thick. You could feel the air coming off the fans was actually hotter. Before, the return hose was always hot. Now, I can watch the thermostat cycling and the return hose is usually luke warm.
 
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