I have a coolant loss problem that is gradually getting worse. I finally figured out, by checking under the hood immediately after a good drive, that it's leaking where the top plastic part of the radiator is clamped on.

Is that seal serviceable/replaceable or do I just have to bite the bullet and buy a new radiator?

 

I can't say for sure, but 95% sure you can't replace it. If you go with a new radiator, go to radiatorbarn, i have one from them and it's holding up great.

 

Just buy a new one. I have heard good things about radiator barn. But i go to napa and it comes with a free life time warranty.

 

My radiator is made up of 70% jb weld. Im sorry to hear about yours... it would be stupid to have to replace the whole thing for that one little part.

 

Heh, I'm a big fan of JB Weld myself, but it won't do me any good on this. And, if it's just a dried out seal (as it seems), yes, it would be a hell of a waste to replace the whole radiator. Unfortunately, it looks like the metal band clamp that holds the radiator together is not made to be removed and reinstalled.

I did just check Radiator Barn and their price is better than both O'Reilly's and AutoZone. They might just be the answer I need.

 

how much are the radiators there?

I just did a quick search and saw them for 82.00 which includes shipping on ebay. If you need a quick fix at a low price it may be worth considering.

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/New-2...#ht_3818wt_939

 

www.performanceradiator.com has a good product
www.go-part.com has KOYO radiators for many models.

The EPC does show some replaceable parts for the radiator, but it probably better due to its age (and possibly cheaper) to just replace it.

 

^ No offense to either supplier, but both of the cheap options are plastic tanks, IMO plastic tanks aren't worth the time, my radiator barn is copper/brass and only cost $130 i believe.

 

x2

Why is there a plastic radiator in your 94? They came with all metal. I replaced mine with an all-metal radiator last year from radiator barn. ZERO issues.

 

Plastic and aluminum for me. Dont like the plastic. But hasnt caused me any problems. And cools like a mofo

 

I just talked to my local NAPA today...

~$136

stated looked like metal??

I'll be picking it up tomorrow.

Repo

 

Yeah, it's got plastic, it's got metal (mostly the aluminum fins) and more plastic. Yeah, that's what they put in the 94s and pretty much everything with the devil horn T ever since. The ones at Radiator Barn *look* like they might be all metal, but the ones available from the local retail stores listed as "OEM" look like plastic.

Not sure if I'll be able to get to work tomorrow, but I've got several jugs of water to ease my way. I got concerned that I might have a head gasket problem, so I set about checking the compression on each cylinder. When I got the spark plugs out, I saw that the back most two, (3 and 4?) looked gunky while 1 and 2 (front most) looked mostly clean. The back-most (4?) plug actually had a metalic short, looked like it had welded some crap into a wire to short the plug out. Might explain the recent (last 2 weeks) miss firing. I figured out about 4 weeks ago that the exhaust manifold gasket was leaking at the rear most connection, in case that factors in anywhere.

My compression test results may be skewed/screwed by too much cool down time. Checked the rear cylinders first; within 4-5 complete cycles, cylinders 3 & 4 pumped up to about 120 psi. Then I explained some stuff to my 11 year old son, then checked 1 & 2. They pumped up to about 100-110. Then I checked #4 again, because I was concerned about cooling during my BS, I mean, education time. It measured about the same as 1 & 2.

 

CSF radiators work great and they aren't pricey. All metal, and they always fit like OE radiators. http://www.autopartswarehouse.com/se...csf%20radiator

 

Depending on the age of it,and whether the tank is actually cracked or not,yes it is fixable. The metal crimps get weak over time and can loose their hold. A radiator shop can compress the the gasket with a tank clamp,and re "sqeeze" the tabs down,then release the clamp. Does it always work? No. Is it a long term repair? Not usually,but sometimes we're surprised and customers get a lot of use out of it before it fails again. We only try it as a temporary fix for people that can't afford to replace it yet. You can get replacement gaskets,and sometimes tanks for those,but in the end it's usually not worth it. GM crossflows are about the only ones we have good success with and actually replace the tanks on. Unfortunatly,new replacement radiators these days are not built worth a crap. Even the all metal metal ones are typically crap. Those CSF ones mentioned above,flimsy poor quality crap. And that's all we have to sell,plastic/aluminum crap,or flimsy metal crap. Those CSF ones come back after about 1-3 years (or less) with the bottom tank starting to bulge,the outside 2-3 rows of tubes and fins bulging/coming apart,and the top seam leaking. They're not even worth fixing usually. I just over hauled one the other day that was not as bad as they usually are,so I actually ended up rebuilding it,blocking off the outside rows of tubes with solder (to help keep the core bulge down a little) and we (I) fill the seams all the way up with solder. Now it will hold up a little longer as long as the materials themselves hold up.

 

I ran a NAPA plastic and aluminum rad (~$110) for about 6 months. It cooled fine, but the crimp began to leak. They refunded me and I got a radiator barn all-metal, 2-core (non-heavy duty) one shipped for ~$130. Definitely worth it for better construction, better cooling, etc. and so on. From what I understand, copper/brass is often more conductive than aluminum, and since it's a stronger and stiffer material the cores can be made a bit thinner which improves heat transfer.

 

That's interesting to know. I will try to effect a temporary repair today, but will order a new radiator anyway.

Well, you're just full of good news, aren't you?

"Wish a Toyota pickup
would still last 20 years, like it should"

/to the tune of Merle Haggard's "Are the Good Times Really Over"

 

I have never had a CSF radiator come back. Installed 3 last week, and we see trucks regularly that we've installed CSF's in years ago that are doing fine.

Actually, I am yet to see a bottom tank 'bulge'. It's always the top tank that seeps at the seams, in every radiator I have seen, OE or not.

I would NOT fix a plastic tank. Its glued on

 

Just to add my .02$ I've bought two radiators from NAPA. The first was an OEM replacement, all metal, that was a 3 core for my 86 pickup. The most recent, like 2 weeks ago, was also an OEM replacement although it's aluminum finned with plastic tanks and also 3 core. Both came with lifetime limited warranty and so far I liked both for differing reasons. The all metal one seemed more durable but the aluminum/plastic one cools a hell of a lot better while on the trails. The only down side is that the aluminum one might cool too much. It takes a little longer to get up to operating temp and if you let the rig sit for 10 minutes or so the rad will be "outside temp" very quickly, the all metal one seemed to hold head a little longer so there was less "cold idle" after sitting for a few minutes. One thing to note, and a lot of folks don't know or don't care about this, is make sure and reinstall your fan shroud as it's designed to get maximum air flow and cooling. I still need to install mine on the 4runner but I can't find the damn bolts.

 

pretty sure the one in my '86 pickup is all plastic except for the "tanks" which are aluminum....it cools GREAT