A few months ago, I replaced the radiator in my truck (1988 4WD, 22RE) with a Murray Heat Transfer one. (It was what the local parts store had :-() Ever since, I have had a problem with it blowing coolant around the cap when it gets to operating temp and above. The radiator does not use the stock cap (or the one that was on the radiator I replaced, anyway), but a larger one - Murray part #7013. Coolant blows out around the cap, instead of being directed to the overflow tank, as it should be. The radiator & cooling system does hold pressure when cool - when I remove the cap after the engine cools off, there's a definite pressure release. Coolant loss is maybe a quart or so in 100 miles, depending on temperature, speed, and amount of climbing. More than I want to deal with now that temperatures will start to go below freezing.

I did find this decade-old thread which seems to describe a similar problem: https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f116...diator-228172/ However, the OP says the company fixed the radiator to use the stock cap. This is definitely not the case with the one I got - the cap opening is a good bit larger.

Has anyone else encountered this problem, and fixed it? Or should I just give up and get a different brand of radiator? I don't need anything beyond the stock one: I just use the truck for hauling stuff and occasional dirt road & snow driving.

 

If it started doing this at any time during the warranty period, I would have exercised warranty provisions, starting with a complete return/refund.

Mine's an '89 2wd 22RE engine.and a Spectra Premium radiator from Rockauto works good; lasts long time.

If its a brass and copper, maybe a radiator shop can fix it. I suppose you could try a different cap.

 

Few months? I'd contact the parts store about returning for a refund. Seems kinda dorky if a oem stock cap doesn't fit.
But I know nothing about Murray other than what I briefly read. I'm not a huge fan of the aftermarket plastic tank radiators. Oem plastic ones seem pretty durable, but aftermarket, not so much.

 

I don't know anything about Murray, but a bad seal at the cap makes it pretty useless. I'd take it back to the parts store and request help returning.

 

Just to clarify, I don't think there's anything wrong with the radiator itself. (That's why I haven't returned it.) I think it's the cap not being right for it, and not allowing coolant to be sucked back into the radiator from the overflow resevoir. But I don't know how to go about finding the right sort of cap for it.

 

I am NOT a fan of aftermarket, plastic tank radiators. At ALL!
I have an all metal 3 core I put on my pickup some 25 years ago, or more, and it still works great. I had one in my 87 4Runner, but it recently blew it's top....tank. So it lasted nearly as long.
RockAuto, I believe, has CSF all metal radiators for very reasonable prices. They usually fit as though they were made to go in there by Toyota. It also has caps that fit perfectly. Might be something to check.

Good luck, whatever you decide...
Pat☺

 

Oem plastic tank radiators are pretty decent, at least the Toyota ones. Aftermarket ones tend to be pretty low quality, and the nominal price reflects it.
if a metal tank develops a leak you can nurse it home. When a plastic tank splits open you’re done.

I’d still drag the parts store that sold the radiator back into the conversation and have them source out a cap. They got skin in the game and need to help. They can’t sell a semi working component then wash their hands of it.

 

Here ya' go: https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/mur...ators.1133219/

 

I think my real problem is that I don't really understand how the recovery system works. The first half is obvious: the coolant heats up, expands, and when the pressure gets high enough lifts the radiator cap valve so that some coolant flows out to the tank. So far, so good. But when it cools off and the pressure drops, it should somehow suck coolant from the overflow tank back into the radiator. But this would seem to need some sort of valve to allow the reverse flow, and the radiator would be at atmospheric pressure when it gets cold. But in my case, there's a pressure differential, though I don't know if it's higher than atmospheric in the radiator, or lower.

 

https://duckduckgo.com/?t=ffsb&q=und...tb=v1-1&ia=web

Life has become so easy with computers and internet... You got a junk radiator. Return it and buy and OSC from rockauto if you want to DIY...

 

Well, maybe. I actually did try a similar search before asking this question, though with Google. Didn't find anything that really explained how the coolant recovery works - or maybe it did explain but I just didn't understand :-( Which leaves me with still with the question: IS it a junk radiator, or would it work adequately well if I just found the right cap? (As for asking the parts store, the cap's the one they sold me when I took the radiator back to complain about it not using the same size cap as the original. Which I assume to be OEM, though I've only had the truck around 10-15 years.)

 

Is there a rubber gasket on both surfaces of the radiator cap? (inside and for top of neck)

 

Yes, gasket on both. Here's a photo:

 

Seriously, bring whoever sold you that radiator into the picture before they wash their hands of it.

I can't really offer any other advice when dealing with a poorly made part. and especially a radiator.