hi,

vehicle is 90, p/u, ext cab, 4WD, v6, no air, 5 speed manual, 182k miles

just had my mechanic install a timing belt, water pump, front seals, themo and idler. while in the process he brought to my attention the fact that my radiator has a tiny pinhole leak.

so, i'm looking at replacing the radiator, as i'm told the stop leak stuff can be bad for heater cores. and the thing is 21 years old and who knows when the next leak will start.

the oem is around $550. but NAPA has a replacement for $180 and my local rad shop has one for $241.

in general i tend to go with toy oem whenever i can, but the price diff in this case is huge. both of the non-oem tanks are all metal—brass/copper.

i'm hoping to keep the truck running for another 3 to 4 years.

does anyone have any experience with non-oem tanks? i'm thinking even if the quality is not as good as a toy tank it should be good enough for a few years. or, am i looking for trouble?

thanks for any replies.

 

i would go with napa... it will last you another 5 years easily. bang for your buck! just use fresh antifreeze every time instead of just regular water.

 

I bought a new radiator from NAPA in Feb 2005 for $160 after a tree jumped in front of me. Never had an issue with it, if that helps.

 

That was more than 60,000 miles ago, too.

 

Go NAPA.... I have installed a lot of their rads over my 5 years that i ran a shop and never had an issue with one.

another place to check is 1800RADIATOR some times their prices are 30-60 cheaper than NAPA FYI...

 

Got mine from AMazon.com for about $100; no shipping and no tax for my 3.4 swap. Same specs as the stock 3.0 and it works and fit perfect.

 

i have an oem one out of an 88 4runner that is used that i could sell you pretty reasonably if you want. it is rather old, but no cooling issues or anything. was working great when i took it out of the truck.


....edit: nevermind. just realized you have a v6. mine is 22re.

 

you can get exactly same as OEM by buying an aftermarket denso... look at densoaftermarket.com

when I say exact, I mean exact... denso is THE supplier for toyota after all

the other choice is to find a koyo (not the racing type, but the regular stock replacement kind).. they are an OEM supplier for other japanese makes, so their quality is also excellent

 

Have you tried Advance Auto Parts? You can buy it online and pick it up or have it shipped.
Enter the code RADX at check out and save 25%
It is the plastic tank with aluminum core.
I put one in last week and so far so good.

 

radiatorbarn.com has great radiators at good prices...