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So far so good as far as the return/warranty process, looks to be about $50 for me to pay for shipping to and from the place. The following was my initial email and their response.
"Dear uyunira (ebay seller),
Can you please provide information on how to warranty a radiator I purchased on February 17, 2014. I have proof of purchase via paypal and the item was advertised to have a Lifetime hassle free warranty. The radiator now has a leak. Thank You.
Purchased on February 17, 2014.
TOYOTA PICKUP 4RUNNER ALUMINUM CORE RADIATOR 22R 22RE T
$169.95
Item #181313913809"
"Dear Greg,
Hello,
Yes you are covered. We will need you to send it back with a return label for postage. We will send you a new one and take up the warranty with the manufacturer but the manufacturer does not cover shipping. So if you would like send it with the return label or a money order for $24.95 to cover shipping back to you. Send it back with a note explaining the defect. Pretty much anything is covered unless it is caused by collision damage. Send to:
Japan Racing Products
9870 Poplar Ave
Fontana CA 92335"
I won't be able to pull the radiator until this weekend, so it will likely be about a week before I can send it out.
So continued good email communication from Uyunira (ebay seller)
My response to the the seller's response:
"Dear uyunira,
Hello,
Thanks for your response. I will be able to send it back early next week and will either include a return postage label or a money order for $24.95.
Greg"
And seller's response back to me the next day:
"Dear Greg,
No problem Greg. Normally the manufacturer attempots to fix it but the best solution would be to just give you a new one right away. Please make sure you include your proof of purchase inside the box and we will send you the new one as soon as the old one arrives here
The CSF 2314 radiator arrived and in a few hours I had the truck back up and running. The radiator fit my OEM cap, a Futaba R134, and Stant 10227. I read other posts where they said the OEM cap didn't fit, no idea what happen to theirs or maybe they made some changes so it now fits. I re-used my Toyota OEM cap, kept the Futaba as a spare to use with the Aluminum radiator when I hopefully get a new one back, and returned the Stant.
One thing of note; Unlike the Toyota OEM and this aluminum radiator, the CSF 2314 radiator does not have the hanging tabs incorporated into the design. For the price of a 3-row all metal/brass, why skimp out on the design? The lack of these tabs is a minor inconvenience during install, instead of hanging and walking away to grab the bolts and wrench, you need to be more mindful of holding it up while simultaneously hand starting the bolts. Potential for damaging the fins during install increases.
My dash temp gauge sits in the same place as the aluminum, the only difference I can tell is the weight between the two radiators. Aluminum one was significantly lighter.
Per their instructions I typed up a short letter telling them the problem with the leak and even attached photos even though the radiator is being sent, included a copy of the receipt, email with the ebay seller, and a UPS return shipping label. The cost for me was only ~$20 each way so it saved me $10 in total. So the total cost of this warranty return will be my time, inconvenience, and $40. I'm going to call it a total of $100 in economic costs.
I had some bubble wrap and put it in a trash bag in case any fluid is still in the radiator. I also re-used the CSF radiator box to ship it back to them...maybe they will get the message of where their sales go when one gets past quality control.
Last edited by Grego92; Dec 13, 2015 at 02:10 PM.
Reason: Additional Information
Hey Terry! nice to hear from you. Yes, he is growing up fast.
Well, so the warranty did work out quick and easy. I sent this off on Monday morning via UPS with a return shipping label, and on my doorstep Wednesday afternoon was a brand new radiator. Albeit, the place of business is in Fontana, CA....about a 1 to 1 1/2 hour drive from me.
I won't be installing this right now, but I think I'm going to pick up one of those harbor freight radiator pressure testing kits and test it out to be sure and to know I have a working radiator ready to go when the CSF develops a leak. Been reading about guys having pinhole leaks on the CSF after a while. CSF have a two year warranty, IF you do some pressure tests and include the readings on their warranty card before sending it in. So maybe if I get the kit I can test both of them.
All in all, not too happy about having to warranty the radiator just under 2 years, but happy with the quick and painless lifetime warranty replacement. I'll make a single post in the open forum so guys can search and find some relevant information.
Additional email from ebay seller I received today.
"Dear Grego92,
Please excuse us for the issue with the radiator. Just as a precautionary measure we have found a solution to the leaky corners. When installing the radiator back on the truck we have found that using 2 rubber washers on each bolt one in front of the radiator and one behind it on the bolt hole will keep the radiator from leaking. We found the issue to be related to vibration. Most of the OEM radiators failed when the brackets separated from the tanks due to vibration. With these solid aluminum radiators the have no flex so it overloads the core and causes it to leak. I got some of those washers from Home Depot for my 4runner for about $2 for the pack of 10.
- uyunira"
I believe the seller is referring to these washers, although I'm sure any equivalent rubber washer or vibration reducer would give the same result. I suspect the added washers may require longer bolts. If this in in fact effective, this could be a good cheap practice for installing any radiator, specially for those who added a header which increased vibration (me being one of them with an LCE header)
Well, I purchased some of the rubber washers from Home Depot and used them on the already installed CSF radiator, kind of pain to go back and put them on when the radiator is already installed. NOTE: I did need to use longer bolts, I have a ton of them from the junk yard so just used some that were about a 1/2" longer. We'll see what happens in the long-run.
Also replaced an original hose that goes from the throttle body to the air box. It's the one that actually attaches to the throttle body. I've wrapped the cracked one a few times with silicone tape and electrical tape and the crack would just keep getting larger and larger and then it finally came apart. I made that hose last 24 years, and it felt more like hard plastic than soft rubber! Dorman makes an aftermarket piece, but I went with Toyota.
Replaced the tailgate latching hardware, the rubber loses its elasticity, but the metal pieces I didn't need to really change. They were cheap so did it all. I had already tried inserting a spring to help support the worn out rubber like I've read on a post, but it didn't seem to help much. Included pics with part numbers for future reference and others convenience.
Great to see you able to replace some of the things with original parts that time just takes their toll on. Being the original owner and keeping up with things like that makes it so much easier to keep the new look to it. I was looking thru your thread recently looking for some information and just got a reminder of how well you have taken care of this truck. Great job!!
Sooooo...let me update with a big ol' FUBAR situation. All I wanted to do was pay my next years registration. In Cali we have to get a smog check every other year if it's older than 5 years. I learned from a past experience that you want to make sure your timing and idle are within spec or you'll fail right off the start.
i couldn't get my timing set, I was showing about 40 BTDC jumpered and 30 BTDC without the paper clip plugged in. I spent morning to evening focused on the TPS but got nowhere. Next morning I adjust my rockers and bam! I'm spot on with my timing again. My rockers were waaayyy out of spec. Those that should have been tight at TDC were loose and likewise when I did the full rotation to do the others...both intake and exhaust were out of spec. The worse was the #4 piston exhaust side.
I guess driving it everyday I didn't notice how loud the ticking was getting, and I never noticed any hard starts or loss of power? I did notice once in a while my idle would fluctuate.
So anyhow....this two day ordeal came to an end but ruined a weekend. There were some comical events during my troubleshooting, searching, running to the auto parts store and then repeat over and over and over and over again..... but I'll save everyone the details.
What I did become was an expert at loosening and/or removing the bottom TPS screw I came up with a method of using a little $3 ratcheting right angle screwdriver from harbor freight and a standard tip screwdriver to apply pressure.
Luckily I keep an extra valve cover gasket on hand.
Idle kept changing and noticed my idle adjustment screw kept moving after driving around. Had to use an X-acto knife to carefully cut mine out, it was hard and flat, and gave no resistance to the screw.
I had a Storehouse metric size kit on-hand from Harbor Freight and after finding this post I was surprised to find the dimension that Mudhippy had stated in the post as the correct size: 7.8 x 11.6 x 1.9
I am back to having trouble getting my timing done. I guess the valve adjustment was just a coincidence. I'll be checking to see if my aftermarket dorman balancer slipped tomorrow during my lunch break. Any help would be appreciated.
Well.....lo' and behold, my engine sounded and ran noticeably better going to work this morning. I just changed the o-ring on the idle adjustment screw.
I had my timing light in the cab.....and guess what? After parking my truck I checked my timing and the mark was showing 8 degrees! (not jumpered). I've since checked it 4 more times throughout the day and it stays the same. I'm hopeful that not only did the o-ring replacement fix my idle problem, but it also addressed an unknown vacuum leak.
Before adjusting my distributor, I'm going to go through the process of re-adjusting my TPS in the morning since the vacuum leak appears to have been the culprit and so it might be slightly off since that is now fixed.
I also received some new hoses that are starting to crack and/or are hard like plastic. So I will do that in the morning also. For my own sake I'm posting pics of my part numbers I recently purchased for future reference.
This one is connected to the valve connected to the power steering unit and goes to the AC idle up screw valve.
This one is connected to the same power steering valve and goes to the manifold.
These are the woodruff keys that I thought I might need in case my harmonic balancer was moving and the key somehow broke.
This hose goes from the manifold to the front top of the valve cover.
You'll notice how close I was passing on HC (PPM) - Measured 94 and Maximum Allowable is 95 at the 15 MPH TEST. The CO(%) and NO (PPM) were higher than average but still passed respectively.
But if you look at the 25 MPH TEST, you'll notice I passed all three tests with flying colors. Now, look at the difference between the 15 MPH and 25 MPH numbers for all three test. Significant difference right?
My smog guy (been seeing him for about 14 years now) said that's because my truck sat about 15 minutes before being tested. He then looked at his assistance with a scowl, and said "I told you to warm that truck up good and gas it to 2,500 RPM for a couple of minutes!" I also think it was because I had my idle down to about 700 RPM, I set it to my harbor freight tool to what I thought was 750, but their machine said 700.
Also, my gas cap O-Ring is starting to crack. If it was cracked all the way through it would have failed visual inspection. Got to order a new one.
Found a killer deal! $20 delivered on ebay, it was a buy it now price, I wonder if the seller meant to set it as a starting bidding price.....this thing is $100+ from the dealership.
1992 leather shifter knob for an SR5 4Runner....brand new still in package.
Perfectly matches the 4WD knob I found at the junk yard....matching set now.
Wow, nice find!! Good to hear you finally passed smog too.
Yeah, pretty lucky I think. Thanks, I was glad also....was pretty frustrating and a waste of two weekends trying to fix that timing issue. Ends up being a $.25 o-ring, crazy.
Originally Posted by Nervo19
Those knobs are a nice touch. What did the floor liners come from? I've never seen them for older 4Runners.
Those are Husky Liners for my 92' pickup. I looked for them for my 88' 4runner, but can't find them.
Research Project I've started regarding the dual stage thermostat that 4crawler had initiated. Attempting to find same quality for a more reasonable price. Appears many vehicles (european market?) use this same thermostat. Just notes for now:
TOYOTA 90916-03070 - $32.44 (Partznet.com)
KIA MOTORS - 0K0181517Y Kit includes Thermostat KE5D315171 - $12.76 (Kiapartsnow.com)
CHINA - Chinese made wholesale - 8AB5-15-171 80 88 Coolant valve thermostat - $2.50 per 100
^^^That's interesting, I'd be interested in finding a less expensive, but good quality alternative. I just spent $33 on the toyota 2 stage thermostat plus another $4.50 because it didn't come with a gasket. That was after reading that article on 4crawler. I haven't had any of the symptoms of temperature gauge overshoot like I was since installing it.
Dec 7, 2015 | 11:10 AM
Dorman makes an aftermarket piece, but I went with Toyota.
but I'll save everyone the details. 
I also think it was because I had my idle down to about 700 RPM, I set it to my harbor freight tool to what I thought was 750, but their machine said 700.
