Are all radiator brands about the same?

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Hokiefyd

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Are radiators pretty much commodity items these days...meaning any one brand is likely to be the same (even made in the same factory) as another?

After finding a little bit of corrosion on the ATF cooler inlet washers on our MDX, I am electing to just replace the radiator.

Advance has the Ready-Rad brand. A few others carry Spectra. Napa has a Napa brand, but the part number appears to be a derivative of the part number that Spectra uses (like of like how brake pads have standardized part numbers). I can get a TYC brand on Rock Auto, but would prefer to buy local for this part. O'Reilly carries the Murray brand, but the part number is identical to the Ready-Rad brand at Advance. All of them are in the $200 range, plus or minus 10 bucks.

I plan to buy the one at Napa. Anyone with a Napa radiator have good or bad service with it? OEM Denso is closer to $300, so that's out as well.
 
If you order a Spectra from Amazon (good prices) you will often get a KOYO (there is an arrangement between the two companies where they cover holes in each other's inventory) and KOYO has been OEM on Toyotas. We have 95 Camry xle V6 we got for our son which needed a radiator, the replacement KOYO was EXACTLY what was in the car. Too bad the plastic tanks crack after 100K or so, the one we pulled was clean as could be inside. The replacement was about 100 bucks with free shipping from Amazon. If you have a car you really like and plan to keep for a long time you can buy better made units for more dough, but for the 100 bucks in a Camry you get OEM for far less than the dealer price.
 
Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
Please do your research.


That's what I'm trying to do! Have you had good or bad experiences with any one brand? I've generally had good luck with parts from Napa, so plan to buy the Napa radiator. But if they're known to be junk, then I won't. Not much turns up on the internet. I'm hoping some folks here have experiences with the Napa brand or any of the brands that make radiators for my application.

Thanks!
 
Re: corrosion, see my other thread in this subforum recently regarding ATF coolers. The ATF cooler connection at the bottom of the radiator is prone to failure due to corrosion, and coolant will get into the transmission in that case. Replacing the radiator eliminates the problem.
 
I guess I'm unfamiliar with your application,didn't sound to bad at first.

FWIW i put a NAPA rad in the kids sunfire about 3 years ago and it's doing just fine here in MI with our salt and slop.
 
I would avoid the aftermarket copper/brass CSF radiator, mine had hairline crack and I warranty exchange it for an aluminum / plastic tank one.
 
NAPAs radiators used to be made by Modine.Dont know if they still are or not,but Modine (who used to make those industrial overhead space heaters you used to see in factories) was a very good brand.Of course everything now has been cheapened everywhere and China/Mexico is the normal source of these things mainly (dont know the status of Modine though).
 
Originally Posted By: daves66nova
Why not bypass the cooler And install an external one and avoid the possibility of ever having water in the trans?


I dunno, I've gone back and forth on it honestly. I figure that installing an external cooler is just as much work as installing a new radiator, and a new radiator will mostly eliminate the issue. It is true that an external cooler would guarantee that the fluids would never mix. But I'm also thinking that aftermarket radiators wouldn't suffer the same design issue that the OEM radiator had. I could be wrong on that though.
 
I have found Spectra to be excellent quality (made in Canada). When you buy from Amazon, the combination of price and value is unbeatable.

As for your original question, No, there are huge differences.
 
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Originally Posted By: user52165
I have found Spectra to be excellent quality (made in Canada). When you buy from Amazon, the combination of price and value is unbeatable.

As for your original question, No, there are huge differences.


Thanks...indeed, the Spectra (CU2740) from Amazon is only $118, plus $19 shipping. Rock Auto actually has it for the same price, and $11 shipping. I'll see of Autozone will match Rock Auto's delivered price of $128 (they have the same radiator for $214). If not, I'll order online.

Thanks for your experience with the Spectra brand.
 
Originally Posted By: NHGUY
NAPAs radiators used to be made by Modine.Dont know if they still are or not,but Modine (who used to make those industrial overhead space heaters you used to see in factories) was a very good brand.Of course everything now has been cheapened everywhere and China/Mexico is the normal source of these things mainly (dont know the status of Modine though).
Modine is dead. Bought out by GDI then GDI got bought out by Pro-Aliance.

The 4 Radiators we refuse to sell at my shop are..........In order of Terrible to bad are CSF all metals Radiators(CSF plastic tank rads are ok),Silla,Spectra (SPI) and Reach. These 4 have a huge failure rate and we refuse to sell junk.
 
I have an all aluminum Silla. Installed it 14 months ago. No issues so far, but I'm waiting. It was advertised as a 3 row with a core thickness of 1.87 inches. It arrived as a single 1 1/4 row.

This is my 4th radiator in 10 years on this vehicle. I spend a lot of time near the ocean, and the copper fins on the leading row always turned to dust while my aluminum tranny cooler lasted through all 4, so I'm hoping the salt does not get it. Hopefully if it was poorly made, I would know it by now.
 
Originally Posted By: Chris142
Originally Posted By: NHGUY
NAPAs radiators used to be made by Modine.Dont know if they still are or not,but Modine (who used to make those industrial overhead space heaters you used to see in factories) was a very good brand.Of course everything now has been cheapened everywhere and China/Mexico is the normal source of these things mainly (dont know the status of Modine though).
Modine is dead. Bought out by GDI then GDI got bought out by Pro-Aliance.

The 4 Radiators we refuse to sell at my shop are..........In order of Terrible to bad are CSF all metals Radiators(CSF plastic tank rads are ok),Silla,Spectra (SPI) and Reach. These 4 have a huge failure rate and we refuse to sell junk.


OK - what DO you sell?
 
Originally Posted By: user52165



OK - what DO you sell?
In no particular order. CSF Plastics are ok,Valeo,Visteon(when I can get one) Delphi Koyo, Loyyo and Behr.

I'm watching Koyo and Loyyo as their quaity seems to have taken a hit lately.

Been talking to American Eagle. Have not bought from them yet. Hopefully their products are better than their customer service.

I have heard that Silla has improved their products. Especially their all aluminum radiators. When we had a Silla wherehouse 2 blocks down the street we bought a few from them. They never fit correctly!

Everything was off just enough to make instalation a pain. So we stopped using them and a few weeks later they moved out.
 
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FWIW, Recently replaced the son's 97 Jeep radiator due to a leaking seam, with a NAPA radiator of similar construction - platic tanks, aluminum fins, brass ATF cooler fittings. It fit fine and no problems so far. Lifetime waranty, but I'll be happy if it lasts as long as the original. The NAPA radiator box said made in China.
 
FWIW, I bought a radiator from AAP last night for my old Ranger. It's a Ready Rad and has a limited lifetime warranty (I'll keep the receipt, for sure) and is made in Mexico.

Haven't installed it yet but the project it's involved in will start sometime next week.
 
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