Bad experience with Koyorad radiator

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After reading rave reviews about Koyorad on different forums, I decided to get one to replace the leaking unit in my I35. After installing it, I went to fill up coolant when I noticed fluid leaking out of the top seam underneath the upper rad hose. Quality control must've been half asleep when they waved this radiator through because it was obvious the seam wasn't crimped enough.

So after all that work and getting coolant and ATF all over myself, I had to take out the POS unit and send it back. Bought another company's rad from Advance Auto Parts and it's working fine. Just my luck having a bad experience with a supposedly great quality product
frown.gif
 
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I have a Koyo radiator sitting in my garage waiting for me to find time to change it in my 2003 Honda CRV which has 175,000 miles. The CRV has the original Honda radiator made in Japan by Denso with no leaks.

The replacement Koyo I have is made in China. I am considering selling my China made Koyo after reading this.

Yesterday I was at my local Honda dealer and saw someone purchase a radiator for their CRV and it was a Denso radiator made in United Kingdom. He paid over $400.00 for the radiator!!! My Koyo was about $60.00.
 
Originally Posted By: Kool1
I have a Koyo radiator sitting in my garage waiting for me to find time to change it in my 2003 Honda CRV which has 175,000 miles. The CRV has the original Honda radiator made in Japan by Denso with no leaks.



Why are you looking to change it if its not leaking?
 
Originally Posted By: bvance554
Originally Posted By: Kool1
I have a Koyo radiator sitting in my garage waiting for me to find time to change it in my 2003 Honda CRV which has 175,000 miles. The CRV has the original Honda radiator made in Japan by Denso with no leaks.



Why are you looking to change it if its not leaking?


Plastic tank rads like this are well known to fail around 15 years or 150k miles. They usually start leaking at the top seam with the aluminum is crimped, also another weak point in the top hose neck where the fill neck is also located, they usually crack there from age, heat and pressure stress, it is better to swap out and do preventative maintenance than have it suddenly fail out on the road.
 
I plan on driving to Las Vegas this summer which means I'll be driving through Death Valley when it sometimes gets up to 115 degrees. With 175,000 miles on the radiator, I don't feel comfortable with the radiator holding up as I've had two other family member's radiators start leaking at about 120,000 miles when the cooling system was strained. I look at changing the radiator as cheap insurance against a radiator failure.
 
Originally Posted By: Kool1
I plan on driving to Las Vegas this summer which means I'll be driving through Death Valley when it sometimes gets up to 115 degrees. With 175,000 miles on the radiator, I don't feel comfortable with the radiator holding up as I've had two other family member's radiators start leaking at about 120,000 miles when the cooling system was strained. I look at changing the radiator as cheap insurance against a radiator failure.


Look into the Denso "First Time Fit" line. Pretty reasonable prices and OEM quality.
 
Koyo is one of the better brands. Only have a 3% or so failure rate which is very good. BTW the denso first time fit are also made in China now.

I'm wondering if there's only 1 or 2 factories and every body buys from them. Seems that way with water pumps.
 
Im a fan of CSF radiators. 65k miles and 5 years later, still looks new. The plastic top is still very black. When the black plastic starts to fade and turn brown, it's a good idea to change it out.

here is a perfect example
DSC02170.jpg
 
Originally Posted By: mclasser
After reading rave reviews about Koyorad on different forums, I decided to get one to replace the leaking unit in my I35. After installing it, I went to fill up coolant when I noticed fluid leaking out of the top seam underneath the upper rad hose. Quality control must've been half asleep when they waved this radiator through because it was obvious the seam wasn't crimped enough.

So after all that work and getting coolant and ATF all over myself, I had to take out the POS unit and send it back. Bought another company's rad from Advance Auto Parts and it's working fine. Just my luck having a bad experience with a supposedly great quality product
frown.gif



Always test fill with water before installation.
 
Originally Posted By: mongo161

Look into the Denso "First Time Fit" line. Pretty reasonable prices and OEM quality.


+1....Rock Auto carries the Denso. [/quote]

+1 on Denso FTF products
RockAuto is a good place, but if you need it tomorrow and have Prime, cross check the part # on Amazon.
 
Originally Posted By: Kool1
I have a Koyo radiator sitting in my garage waiting for me to find time to change it in my 2003 Honda CRV which has 175,000 miles. The CRV has the original Honda radiator made in Japan by Denso with no leaks.

The replacement Koyo I have is made in China. I am considering selling my China made Koyo after reading this.

Yesterday I was at my local Honda dealer and saw someone purchase a radiator for their CRV and it was a Denso radiator made in United Kingdom. He paid over $400.00 for the radiator!!! My Koyo was about $60.00.


Don't worry about the Koyorad unit. I put the exact same part no. Koyorad in my 2003 Honda Element last month and it is every bit as good as the Honda OEM (Denso) radiator it replaced.
 
"Holy Uniformity garlicbreadman" the top tank of that radiator looks like it was cast that color!

Are you saying the radiator in the picture has faded from black to that even color tan?

Actually, the feature of a heat stressed part indicating its age with a color change would be a cool feature. Kira
 
Originally Posted By: GiveMeAVowel
Originally Posted By: bvance554
Originally Posted By: Kool1
I have a Koyo radiator sitting in my garage waiting for me to find time to change it in my 2003 Honda CRV which has 175,000 miles. The CRV has the original Honda radiator made in Japan by Denso with no leaks.



Why are you looking to change it if its not leaking?


Plastic tank rads like this are well known to fail around 15 years or 150k miles. They usually start leaking at the top seam with the aluminum is crimped, also another weak point in the top hose neck where the fill neck is also located, they usually crack there from age, heat and pressure stress, it is better to swap out and do preventative maintenance than have it suddenly fail out on the road.
+1 The Koyos I have seen for Toyotas look just like the OEM.
 
Originally Posted By: GiveMeAVowel
Originally Posted By: Kool1
I plan on driving to Las Vegas this summer which means I'll be driving through Death Valley when it sometimes gets up to 115 degrees. With 175,000 miles on the radiator, I don't feel comfortable with the radiator holding up as I've had two other family member's radiators start leaking at about 120,000 miles when the cooling system was strained. I look at changing the radiator as cheap insurance against a radiator failure.


Look into the Denso "First Time Fit" line. Pretty reasonable prices and OEM quality.


Denso first time fit are not OE they are apparently made by Koyo. LOL
Quote:
Well guys I just got off the phone with a Denso representative from their headquarters in cali and I can't stop laughing. After 15 minutes chatting she told me THAT KOYO MAKES THEIR RADIATORS . So I guess I might as well get koyo since it's lifetime.


http://forums.acuralegend.org/koyo-vs-denso-t27428p2.html
 
Originally Posted By: Trav
Originally Posted By: GiveMeAVowel
Originally Posted By: Kool1
I plan on driving to Las Vegas this summer which means I'll be driving through Death Valley when it sometimes gets up to 115 degrees. With 175,000 miles on the radiator, I don't feel comfortable with the radiator holding up as I've had two other family member's radiators start leaking at about 120,000 miles when the cooling system was strained. I look at changing the radiator as cheap insurance against a radiator failure.


Look into the Denso "First Time Fit" line. Pretty reasonable prices and OEM quality.


Denso first time fit are not OE they are apparently made by Koyo. LOL
Quote:
Well guys I just got off the phone with a Denso representative from their headquarters in cali and I can't stop laughing. After 15 minutes chatting she told me THAT KOYO MAKES THEIR RADIATORS . So I guess I might as well get koyo since it's lifetime.


http://forums.acuralegend.org/koyo-vs-denso-t27428p2.html
So I wasn't seeing things...this time. Speaking of OEM, my son bought a set of Bosch plug wires for his 633 CSI "project", two were missing and there were two #5 and two #4 instead. Half the plug connectors wouldn't grab the threaded rod on top of the plug. LOUSY quality. Brand new box. NGK wires are twice the price, but he's going with them.
 
NGK make a good wire, really well made.
What a lot of people dont realize is that manufactures have 2 lines OE and aftermarket, a set of Delco OE wires are twice the price of Delco professional aftermarket, there is a big difference in quality.
You get what you pay for.
 
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