Best Aftermarket radiator and where to buy it?

[Hall]

The plastic / Aluminum radiator in my 1991 Ford F-150 is currently 25 years old. (Last replaced in 1998).

The replacement has lasted a LOT longer than the OEM one. What brand was the replacement ?

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Eric O, the guy from South Main Auto, says OEM only for radiators. He gets other parts from NAPA, "not a sponsor", Advance, etc but for radiators and "sensors", he will only use OEM. Yes, I understand he's not the one paying for the parts but he does have to deal with come-backs, receiving bad parts right out of the box, and so on.

 

[brianl703]

Eric O, the guy from South Main Auto, says OEM only for radiators.

That's fine if the radiator is still available from the OEM, but I guess up where he works most stuff rusts out and goes to the junkyard before the OEM radiator is discontinued.

 

[JeffKeryk]

I would just get a Denso and be done with it.

 

[Malo83]

Went with a Murray from O'Reillys 5 yrs ago and she's been leak free and clean inside, but I change out the anti freeze every 2/3 yrs.

 

[John105]

@John105, could you provide a link to that discussion? Thanks!

I tried to google to find it, but did not....this was part of it....if I'm not mistaken there was some dealer in FLA that warranted parts for life, so replacements were free, but inconvenient. I'm probably the only person on earth who actually pays a tow truck for a tow then pays full retail for a repair

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls...hird-radiator-leak-with-denso-replacemnt.html

 

[billt460]

The replacement has lasted a LOT longer than the OEM one. What brand was the replacement ?

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Eric O, the guy from South Main Auto, says OEM only for radiators. He gets other parts from NAPA, "not a sponsor", Advance, etc but for radiators and "sensors", he will only use OEM. Yes, I understand he's not the one paying for the parts but he does have to deal with come-backs, receiving bad parts right out of the box, and so on.

I honestly don't know the brand. I called a local radiator shop and they had one in stock. So I grabbed it. It's been a good one.

 

[SC Maintenance]

I honestly don't know the brand. I called a local radiator shop and they had one in stock. So I grabbed it. It's been a good one.

I would hazard a guess the cheapest from 25 years ago would be a premium brand at this point - post pandemic and Chinese quality.

 

[Warstud]

Went with a Murray from O'Reillys 5 yrs ago and she's been leak free and clean inside, but I change out the anti freeze every 2/3 yrs.

I think he's more concerned with it cracking because it's plastic .

 

[ripcord]

The average car in the US is about 12 years old. I guarantee that the vast majority still have their factory radiator and will still have it when they get hauled into the junkyard at their EOL.

The side tanks may be made out of plastic, but the heat exchanger for the transmission is aluminum or brass. If the coolant has been changed on time, the chances of an exchanger leak is pretty dang slim.