For my 89 4runner with 22re.

I emailed the seller for specs. What's this thing made out of for the price......cardboard?

I do need a radiator, but is this just too cheep? Thanks.

vmax84

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/NEW-8...spagenameZWDVW

 

There are a lot of things that I'll try to save money on but my cooling system isn't one of them. I bought an OEM replacement from NAPA to the tune of 109$ and it's worked out great.

Just my opinion but I'd pass on the one you're looking at......

 

there isn't even a pic of the box it comes in much less the radiator itself. I'd skip it even though the seller has a good rating.
I don't even think you could get your radiator re-cored for that price.

 

Hard for me to imagine that would be a solid radiator for that price. I mean, look at the prices of metal these days. How in the hell is someone able to sell a radiator that cheaply? Unless you can get better info on the manufacturer and materials used to make it, I'd keep looking.

What's your spending budget, anyway? Plenty of quality options for around $100-$150. I bought an alum. core rad at O'Reilly within the past few months. I've been very happy with it. Cools really, really well.

 

there is a nice alum radiator on ebay for like $129

 

That's the all aluminum rad, isn't it? I'd almost went with that one, but I figured in the even of downtime I didn't want to hassle around with shipping and subsequent costs. Damn nice rad, though. Warrantied, to boot.

 

That radiator is the cheapest of the cheap in terms of quality. Taiwan built, shotty spot welds on the straps, and will last you about 2 years, maybe.

But, its the same crap that Napa, Schucks, Autozone, Performance Radiator etc etc sell.

The way to match OEM quality IMHO is to buy OEM, be it used or new.

Aftermarket parts are always going to be cheap....both in quality and price.

A good rule of thumb in auto parts is: You get what you pay for.

 

Personally i would pass.

Mine went out not too long ago, and ended up trying a pepboys one for just over $115 which was junk, had plastic tanks/neck that looked too prone to developing a crack so i returned it

Then i tried a modine one from napa for $150(this is what i had previously which was good quality) The one from napa had the packageing melted all over the radiatior, so i returned that one, which i wasn't too thrilled on the build of either.

Then a mechanic friend of mine refered me to a csf one for $200 which looked superb, Im not sure what type but it is all metal, and is good quality.

Its up to you, but i just wanted an all metal one because they seem bunch better quality to me anyways.

Good luck

 

Here is a link if you want

http://www.csfimports.com/home.asp

 

No kidding, I got quoted $40 from 2 local radiator shops for a boil on my radiator. I got a used but damn near new Performance Radiator for $50 and I'm happy with the price. I don't think I would trust a $25 radiator brand new. You do get what you pay for.

P.S. Performance Radiator puts out a very high quality product, I've used them for 3 of my own personal vehicles, my mothers Camry, and the shop I used to work for put in Performance Radiators for every replacement we did with good results. They are kind of pricey new but well worth the cash.

 

If I may just throw in some input based on internet/rad shop/professional dude input....

There are alot of cheap radiators out there....true. I wouldn't buy cheapest of cheap radiators to save a buck considering the alum head/iron block Toyotas (and others) have. When I needed a new one months ago, I'd deliberated for two weeks + on choices including Modine, ND, Griffin, GDI, etc. I'd have no hesitation on buying a top brand/top money rad that would last longer than my truck. But, g'damn....the price tag is unreal! Money just isn't there. So, the more I dug into research, the more I found that a number companies that everyone has relied on for a number of years has been bought out, renamed, consolidated, etc. into larger conglomerates. (Proliance, is a good example. Look'em up.) So, the what hell was I going to do and what was I going to be able to afford and still get a good radiator? This brought up the best materials for a rad and what companies were making them.

Copper core radiators have their issues just as alum/plastic rads do. There's a movement to improve on their short comings just like the materials and design for alum/plastic ones is advancing. Overall, the alum/plastic rads cool better, but the downfall is the tanks. They can be repaired just as easily by the same shops that repair copper/brass rads. The mitigating factor is if the shop has the right training and equipment/materials to do so. (Can't expect a good pizza at a Mexican food restaurant, can you? Enchilada sauce on pepperoni? Hmm..) But, the downfall of copper/brass is the size of the tubes and require more rows and therefore more metal (weight factor) to cool. Plus, the welding in key areas can fail.

So, what of companies? Can't argue....Denso makes great units. But, there are plenty others....of which I can't remember all the names...and still couldn't afford them.

When asking a number of shops and the Toyota dealership, the overall consensus was that if the cooling system was well maintained alum/plastic rads could last as long as copper/brass. Not to mention, alum/plastic rads are going into a lot of new cars without all the alarming warranty claims I was under the impression there were. Still, no one complained about a good copper/brass unit, either.

Obviously, if someone can't afford an OEM unit (I simply wouldn't buy a used one unless it was near new) one has to have an alternative. O'Reilly sells a Proliance rad for around $150 with a lifetime warranty. Ever any problems with it, you get a new rad. No questions asked. What's the return rate on them? Very little. It comes in a box with another name on it....TransPro, but it's a Proliance. Proliance bought TransPro and Modine. Guess who else that company owns? GDI/GoDan Industries...... the rad 4crawler has in his machine.

I guess what I'm trying to say is....research. If you don't have money for OEM, there are still good radiators out there. Just don't buy cheap, get a warranty, and research warranty claims. I hope this made sense.

And, DeathTooter.....you can bust my chops all you want.

 

i would buy it. whats the worst that will happen? it will blow up? so what. it might be great, and then you have a new radiator for 65 shipped to your door. these guys have sold 23,000 things over 5 years and have 99.8 for a feedback score... they must sell ok stuff. if it was a race car, maybe then i would buy something else. but for a 22r, why not? if it is junk, you are out of 65 bucks at the worst. i would take a chance with it...

 

i got an aluminum/plastic rad. at napa for around $115, works great!

 

Thanks for the responses. I'm down here at work, so won't be home for another hour or so, but wanted to say thanks for the help. Haven't read all the responses yet due to time, but your input is appreciated.

Gotta run.

vmax84

 

I agree. I looked at most of the big chain stores offerings and was not impressed. I finally found this all metal CSF at a smaller local store and purchased it with these 2 things in mind:

First, I've purchased a CSF before for my mini van with good results, and second it's all metal, it will be easier to find a radiator shop that can repair a crack in a metal tank than a plastic tank, should the need arise.

 

OEM used is still better than aftermarket new IMO, thus I don't sell aftermarket radiators. A good radiator shop can make an old one like new with some TLC.

LOTS of Toyota used parts places and you can find a good 3 core V6 Toyota rad to fit in the same 4 cyl space, so you get even better cooling capacity.

They don't call it cheap arse for no reason cause if you go cheap that is where you can expect to take it.

As my Irish grandma used to say, "Common sense ain't!" Steve.

 

I agree...I would rather run a used Toyota radiator than a new aftermarket one

 

I would choose OEM (Denso) aluminum radiator as long as $$ is not much concern.

If tight-on-budget (who is not! in this bad econ..), go with Koyo Aluminum/Plastic tank, that is the closest to Denso in terms of quality. You can find Koyo rad. shoud run aroun 130 in ebay.

Been using koyo in my other cars (honda, acura etc), haven't had any issue so far.

 

Radiator barn,they will ship a name brand readiator to the house net day.Great prices.

 

I bought a 100 dollar one from Advance Auto parts 4 years ago.. Its all aluminum , no plastic and haven't had a minutes problem.. now that i have bragged though.......................