Radiators, oy vey!

[nthach]

A classmate/friend wants me to change the radiator in her 98 CR-V. I'm running a Spectra Premium and G-05 in our beater Quest and it works just as good as the OEM Johnson Controls radiator. I've never bought a radiator for a import car, but most of them are made in China or Thailand. I have a few choices here -
Spectra Premium - $85 via Rock Auto
Visteon or Proliance - $95 via Rock Auto
Koyo - $140 from 1-800Radiator, locally stocked.

Now, I've ordered from 1-800Radiator 2 times, 1 time with flaky radiator and the most recent with the Spectra Premium. But with shipping, I can get a radiator cheaper from Rock Auto. But the question I'm wondering is how well are aftermarket radiators in Hondas? I'm leaning towards the Visteon since I know their Honda ones are made in Korea.

 

[tomcat27]

I agree with your Visteon choice

 

[BovineScapegoat]

The one in my house is works nice and is warm. I can't see a brand name though

 

[The Critic]

The Proliance radiators from NAPA have a lifetime warranty.

Or, you can go and purchase a Koyo High-Performance radiator from eBay:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/97-98-99-...=item3354f90b3e

 

[JimPghPA]

The best radiators that I know of for an every day vehicle (not a high power high dollar light weight race car) are American made. The name of the company use to be Modine, now it is Proliance. They will cost about $100.00 more than what you pay for a cheap Chinese Radiator. The cheap Chinese Radiators last about 12 to 18 month and begin to leak with many small leaks around the sides. The Modine, / now Proliance last for over 10 years. I flush mine every 3 years.

The radiator I have is a "Modine Gold Bata weld", and I also have a Modine heater core. Both over 10 years old and not a drop of a leak on either one.

JimPghPa

 

[Chris142]

Spectra Premium
Visteon or Proliance
Koyo

If I was going to sell you a radiator I would choose the Koyo. We have had good luck with those.

All of those are made in China now unless you find a Visteon or Proliance thats been in a box a few years.

From what I see the Chinese ones are just as good as the Canada or USA made radiators. Except for Silla. Stay away from those.

 

[Chris142]

Originally Posted By: JimPghPA
The best radiators that I know of for an every day vehicle (not a high power high dollar light weight race car) are American made. The name of the company use to be Modine, now it is Proliance. They will cost about $100.00 more than what you pay for a cheap Chinese Radiator. The cheap Chinese Radiators last about 12 to 18 month and begin to leak with many small leaks around the sides. The Modine, / now Proliance last for over 10 years. I flush mine every 3 years.

The radiator I have is a "Modine Gold Bata weld", and I also have a Modine heater core. Both over 10 years old and not a drop of a leak on either one.

JimPghPa
Proaliance is gone now too. They got bought out by Visteon and are getting radiators from China too.

 

[artificialist]

Carquest sells Denso Aftermarket products, and I'm 90% sure that your Honda got a Denso from the factory.

What I don't know is if an aftermarket Denso is made in Japan or the USA like the OE ones are.

 

[nthach]

AFAIK Denso, Toyo Radiator(TRAD), Calsonic nor Showa source radiators to the aftermarket.

 

[bustednutz]

How many fan blades does the Honda have? I think that 5 blades is a Valero and 4 blades is a Denso.

 

[BearZDefect]

The two KOYO radiators I bought over two years ago were made in Indonesia. Both were for Hondas - a 1994 Civic and a 1995 Accord.

I don't know if they were better than the imports from China. About five years ago I put a Chinese radiator purchased from AutoZone in my 1991 Accord, it was still fine three years later when I sold the car.

I don't own any Honda anymore.

 

[eljefino]

Sadly you might be disappointed by the quality or country of origin of the more expensive radiators too. Spectra is a decent enough name which means they might crack the whip on their suppliers WRT quality.

rockauto ships rads insanely fast with just the cheap option.

 

[EricF]

spectra radiators are made in china. It doesn't mean their quality is bad. I haven't seen any issues with spectra's at all.

with Visteon, I heard that they began life making parts strictly for Ford (and still do). They expanded to the aftermarket, and had pretty good success and reputation. Their parts to my knowledge were made in Mexico and China and the USA.
Story goes, Visteon began pulling out of aftermarket because they got tired of the constant warranties by over the counter consumers, heater cores and radiators alike.. a lot of people don't know how to properly install things, we all know this.
So Visteon began pulling out of the aftermarket, and now just makes parts for Ford exclusvily.

 

[Kruse]

Originally Posted By: JimPghPA
The best radiators that I know of for an every day vehicle (not a high power high dollar light weight race car) are American made. The name of the company use to be Modine, now it is Proliance.


The last Modine that I purchased was for my Aerostar about 4 years ago. I still have the box and it says "Made in Mexico" on it. That's when I gave up on Modine.

 

[nthach]

My plan of attack is to flush the cooling system 3 times with water 'till it runs clear and then completely drain the system. Then I'll change the hoses, install the new radiator and fill up with Honda coolant. I usually take the time to flush out the cooling system and use the proper coolant when I do radiator replacements.