I took off my ARB bumper today and noticed my triple core CSF radiator was touching the frame. When I inspected it closer, I noticed not only was it touching, but it was pushing into the radiator. Now there are gouges on the bottom of the radiator. It’s not leaking at all, but I’m wondering if there’s anything in the bottom of the radiator where these gouges are, as these rads come equipped with the ports for automatic transmission cooling. My truck is a manual, so does not have anything hooked up to those ports. Can I solder just to be safe? What do you think?

 

Looks like the bottom tank to me so eventually you will have a problem. I’d figure out a way to protect it there. Perhaps some type of rubber bumper in between or something.

 

You might space the radiator back a tad, using washers between the mounts and the core support..

 

Thanks for the replies. So after researching a little bit more, and investigating the mounts, it appears the front radiator/core support bushings/mounts are shot, as would be expected for a 25 year old truck. I believe this is what led to the lower tank ever so slightly resting on the frame. So, the plan is (as I was planning to anyway) to replace the body mounts. Hopefully a fresh set from energy suspension or prothane will get everything sitting correctly. Anyone have a part number for a mount kit that just has the body mounts? LCE has a kit, but no part number and I’d love to save a few given I may be out another $200-250 for a new rad. The real pain is that this radiator is only a year old and one of the nicer copper brass out there. Ugh. Next question, is can I solder and repaint those dents to reinforce, or is that a bad idea? Like I said, she doesn’t leak, yet.

 

Update... What I ended up doing, is purchasing a body bushing kit from energy suspension, which contains the two radiator support bushings I need to get things properly in place. It arrived today and I’m extremely satisfied with the quality, so far, Ive yet to installed it. I’ve used their bushings before on sway bars, end-links and shocks, and I was impressed then. I also had performance radiator take a look at the gouges in my csf.. we determined that it wouldn’t be worth the risk so I ordered another 3 core copper/brass CSF 2314, it should be here this week. I did some research however, because I really wanted to find an all aluminum three core radiator. After spending several hours shopping and doing research, I really didn’t find anything I felt super comfortable with. Years ago on another truck I bought an all aluminum radiator from Yota1 Perfomance, it was quality, but the have since discontinued those. There were a couple 3 core all aluminum options on Amazon, but again, nothing I was stoked about, as I’ve learned over the years that often the mounting holes or shroud holes rarely line up.. not a risk I wanted to take in this case. So, the question is, does anyone know of a quality all aluminum 3 core rad out there, for less than $250?? I’d love to know where Yota1 was getting theirs awhile back, as they fit perfectly and were nice and beefy. What happened to the one I had? Well, I blew it up running a leaky head gasket (combustion gases, my hypothesis).

 

I’m interested too in a upgrade radiator, isn’t the 3 row CSF unit quiet a bit better than stock?? Also is it a direct drop in?? Wouldn’t mind a nice upgrade in my 1990 22r 4x4.

 

Yes, both the CSF 895 (2 core) and 2314 (3 core) are direct bolt in units for the 22RE, and yes, both are a significant upgrade to what I usually see in 20-35 year old Toyota’s. Well, that depends on what came in the vehicle originally. If it was a copper brass Toyota/Denso, then I’d say it’s a fairly close. Some advice, if you’re running larger tires, a lift kit, bumpers etc, go with the 3 core (larger volume and cooling surface area).

 

If you hit up Amazon and search 22RE radiator, you’ll see an option for a 3 row aluminum sold by “AutoRadiator”. It has a few (7) positive reviews and is the one I contemplated this week. They list dimensions (which all look good except the length < > when compared to the CSF. With COVID shipping delays I decided instead to go with a direct replacement of my damaged CSF 2314 (shown in the images above). No problem with it in about a year of use, but I’m still curious about the Amazon Aluminum 3 core. I just wasn’t willing to not have it fit AND be forced to wait another 5-7 days..

 

Got mine from Summit Racing. Made in Indonesia, Not Poorly Made In Communist Bully of Asia.
An aluminum radiator was mentioned in my "running hot" page, but it is made in China.
Planning to install next weekend.

 

I looked at the CSF units and was considering a 3 core but really wanting all aluminum too. My current setup works well not sure if it’s ever been replaced but I prefer to find a all aluminum unit. Is yours a 22r? Most of the larger units I find are for the 3.0 only. Does the 3.0 unit fit with the 22r?
And mine is a standard tranny but I also noticed some of the units I looked at mentioned was both water/oil cooler. Is there oil lines running to the radiator on a Toyota 22re truck?
Lastly I’m wondering how many core a stock unit was in a 89/94 22re pickup??

 

Yes, the CSF 2314 3 core will fit the 22r. It’s really all about height.. 15.75”. Obviously, there are a lot of different core sizes.. So, a different dimension core may still work as long as the brackets line up AND your hood will close.

Something else worth mentioning with my many experiences, is fan shrouds. Don’t waste time and money buying aftermarket Chinese, get a Japanese shroud that fits correctly. It’s well worth the extra cash.

Also, as I’ve decided to replace my body mounts and radiator, I went ahead and ordered a new grille. The chrome on my 25-year-old truck was bubbled and chipping. So, I’m wondering if anyone knows of a good kit that includes grill clips, the nut grommets for fenders, nut grommets for cornering lights etc.? There has to be a good kit out there for restorations..

 

Some people in this forum have used radiator for the 3.0 on their 22R-E. I think they said they had to modify mounting because rad ended up too tall to close the hood.
Don't know if performance improvement is significant compared to simply using the CSF 2314 which drops into the 22RE and supposedly an upgrade over the 2-core stocker.

 

I was taking a look at my radiator today and noticed I have no shroud behind it. I’ve never seen the temperature climb at all while sitting so the fan is still keeping it cool. My system appears nice and clean although it does have the green fluid In it. I’m going to have to switch it out to the Toyota stuff.

 

the shroud would be a good addition, but why switch to red coolant? oem in my ‘87s was green, and i’ve put 96k on one of them, all with green.

 

The red seems to last much longer and I’ve never had a corrosion issue with the Toyota coolant. As for the shroud I will definitely have to get one before I do any type of off road but i will say it stays pretty cool through traffic everyday. Definitely need to get one in there.

 

Some trucks do seem to run okay without the shroud. I guess it just depends on load, your climate, and the health of the rest of the cooling system components. But no one will argue against the fact that it's better to have the shroud on there.

Original equipment coolant was green at the time these trucks were made. Green is cheap and available at every single gas station. The red Toyota stuff is expensive and less attainable if you need a top-up somewhere away from home. I've noticed the red coolant somehow tends to leak/weep more, and I've heard this from others too. I'd recommend green.

 

Yes, Redis called extended life coolant. However, don't fix what's not broken. Materials in the cooling system might not work well with the red one, but it's your truck.

 

Well I thought I had read that either the red or pink was used in the 1990 model pickup. If that’s not the case I’ll stick with the green. And I do agree it’s better to have a shroud than not. Any recommendations before I make that purchase??
Everything I’m finding says Toyota started using red in the pickups around 87/88 mines a 1990.

 

Coolant is one of those things… A few years back I got all technical about it, called Jim at 22re Perfomance to ask his opinion. Now, obviously Jim sells the red on his website, but when I talked with him over the phone, he pointed out to me that at the time of manufacture none of these oldwe trucks came with red coolant. He also mentioned to me to watch out for sulfates, never did find much to that.. Red versus green? If I had red, then I would stick with red. But if your truck already has green in it and it’s been fine, don’t mess with it. It’s hard to get all of that liquid out of the system- heater core hoses etc., and they don’t mix, usually. Fan shroud? There’s no question you want one. I ran without one for a while myself, but it’s not worth the risk of needing one when you don’t have one. You won’t know you need one until it’s too late and you’re overheating, comprising gasket strength and motor longevity.

 

Definitely getting the fan shroud ASAP. As for the coolant I would rather have the pink but being the green is already in it I was thinking the same thing keeping it to avoid the risk of mixing. It’s not easy to get all of the old out.