Radiator recommendations

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keVIIIn

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So my 1 year and 8 month old radiator has sprung a leak..this time coolant. This radiator has been leaking trans fluid from the fitting since I put it in, no matter how much I tighten the fitting going into the pressed in fitting on the radiator it still leaks, even with thread sealer. I have bad luck with these parts store radiators. I went through two of them when I had my thunderbird, put one in when I bought it in 2004 and then put another in right before I sold it in 2008 so that one lasted 3 years approx, all of them have sprung leaks from the plastic side tanks as well as leaking trans fluid from the pressed in fitting. I'm done with these sh*tty auto zone/pep boys radiators. Are there any other GOOD brands of radiators for these cars? I'm sure pep boys, auto zone, orielys etc. all get them from the same supplier. If I can't find a quality radiator I want to go the cobra radiator route which I have heard fits with minor modifications..with of trans cooler of course. If anyone has a write up of how to install one and what needs to be modified post it up! Thanks in advance!
 
Its kinda hard to tell wherr you have your cooler mounted, I suppose its directly in front of the a/c condenser, but on my car the feont bumper fastens to the core support right there. Where your trans lines go would be right where the bumper is I believe...unless you ran the lines through those small openings in the bumper?
 
My 95 was leaking trans fluid. I got a radiator from PB's around $100, and it was made in Canada, not China.
 
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I drilled a hole in the header panel and secured the cooler with a couple of tough zip-ties at the top. You'll need to push your hood latch down, and make sure that it just barely touches the top of the cooler (if youre using the same cooler I am)

20130808_105038.jpg


I also redid the bent lines and got some 90* fittings to allow more clearance with the bumper.

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You can see where the lines run under the lower core support, I took a small piece of hose and cut a slit down the length of it, then slipped it over the edge of the core support to protect the lines from rubbing on it.
 
Something else to consider, for the mechanically inclined/budget oriented self-mechanic , you could spend about $17 on some RightStuff , pry the tank tabs out, remove old gasket and fill it , you'd have to make sure to use enough to fill the gap, but not so much that it'd be sloppy on the inside risking covering up the water ports

On a known leaking tank its worth a shot, worse that could happen is you still end up buying a radiator
 
I just really hate the design of these radiators having plastic tanks crimped to the radiator core..not sure how the factory made them but they seemed to last longer than the aftermarket ones..I mean come on my replacement radiator was less than 2 years old with maybe 10k? miles on it and it leaks from the side tank already..and when pressurized it pisses out. Not to mention the trans fluid leak where the fitting is sealed to the tank.
 
keVIIIn said:
I just really hate the design of these radiators having plastic tanks crimped to the radiator core..not sure how the factory made them but they seemed to last longer than the aftermarket ones..I mean come on my replacement radiator was less than 2 years old with maybe 10k? miles on it and it leaks from the side tank already..and when pressurized it pisses out. Not to mention the trans fluid leak where the fitting is sealed to the tank.
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At least 4 times in the last couple years I've had bad radiators right off the shelf, install them and they leak everywhere. The best one was about a year and half ago, a Passport came in for a leaking radiaitor. Replaced it with a new one that had welded shut trans ports, so it caused the transmission to burn up. Fun stuff
 
are you driving that car yet JD? what temp is the TF with that cooler? mine stays about 190 with the oem cooler
 
dnsherrill said:
are you driving that car yet JD? what temp is the TF with that cooler? mine stays about 190 with the oem cooler
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Nope, its down still getting body work done, still debating the exact color. Thinking about black with a dark blue pearl over it, followed by 3-4 coats of clear

The OEM cooler is the Radiator which is a terrible design. Mainly because of the leak issues they have, but also, its just silly to cool 2 fluids with 1 device

With my setup, if either have an issue, I don't loose both fluids doing a repair
 
question=with a stand alone cooler, how much a temp drop is seen...ROUGHLY
----
if you paint your car white, silver or ivory, every dent disappears!
 
dnsherrill said:
question=with a stand alone cooler, how much a temp drop is seen...ROUGHLY
----
if you paint your car white, silver or ivory, every dent disappears!
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There's too many factors to give your question an answer

And I don't like white cars, and my car is an original black, the jams and engine bay and under body are already sprayed black, I'm not tossing some random "hide my dings" colors at my car.
 
I just use fake bullet hole stickers to cover up dings. Looks great and gives me tons of street cred.
 
Last edited:
Lownslowlsc said:
I just put those fake bullet hole stickers on to cover the dings. Looks great and gives me tons of street cred.
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Oh you mean speed holes?

[video=youtube;XVV_COOey0E]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVV_COOey0E&feature=youtube_gdata_player[/video]
 
Sapperfire said:
There's too many factors to give your question an answer

.
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I was being facetious re; paint color change...BUT, I'm prety sure EVERY used black car has dings, even after a gah-zillion hours of prep work
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so there's no real means to quantify the benefits of a stand alone larger trans oil radiator?
 
The size of the cooler, where you mount it in accordance with air flow, if you're giving it its own fan, any valve body work on the trans will all factor its running temp.

And no dude, my car will not have dings. Not only am I using the best fillers, I'm using the best blocks and paper, and not only do I have 1 professional body guy assisting me, ive got 3
My cars also not driven often, I haven't even pulled it out of my bay in over a month. Its only seen about 20 miles all year
 
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