Come on China. Let's get it right.

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No matter who I buy from or which brand I get they all are from China now. We have had a slew of new radiator failures in the last few weeks. Blown seems mostly.
Been trying to figure out what's causing this.


Today I figured out a way to pressure test the caps pop off pressure on a new radiator. The neck is too tall which won't let the cap vent excessive pressure. Defective radiator!

I plugged the connections on the radiator and put a cap,actually several different brands of cap on it.


It should release @13 psi. I put 25psi on it and it didn't release. I stopped there before my plugs blew out.

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With so many customers being price sensitive for the part itself I imagine these failures are incredibly annoying.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted by BMWTurboDzl
With so many customers being price sensitive for the part itself I imagine these failures are incredibly annoying.

Its gotten so bad that I sometimes do the same job 3x. The supplier trys to tell us that its the caps or an engine problem. I can now prove them wrong.
 
Originally Posted by Chris142
Originally Posted by BMWTurboDzl
With so many customers being price sensitive for the part itself I imagine these failures are incredibly annoying.

Its gotten so bad that I sometimes do the same job 3x. The supplier trys to tell us that its the caps or an engine problem. I can now prove them wrong.


Normally I would say you should switch to using OE radiators, but since you are in the middle of nowhere logistics wise that isn't an option. Wish you were closer, I would at least hook it up on the Ford and Mazda radiators.
 
The body shop I use is forced by insurers to use China parts. They frequently don't fit. When they don't, they bill the supplier for the install and removal labor costs in addition to returning the part.
You should bill the supplier for your labor costs. Since it's happened more than once, bill for the troubleshooting and test time also.
 
Originally Posted by ArrestMeRedZ
The body shop I use is forced by insurers to use China parts. They frequently don't fit. When they don't, they bill the supplier for the install and removal labor costs in addition to returning the part.
You should bill the supplier for your labor costs. Since it's happened more than once, bill for the troubleshooting and test time also.


I'd rather have a used oem part. Even for a fender that's a different color. If the shop is good they will prep, prime and paint it properly. And the fit should be spot on.
 
Originally Posted by bdcardinal
Originally Posted by Chris142
Originally Posted by BMWTurboDzl
With so many customers being price sensitive for the part itself I imagine these failures are incredibly annoying.

Its gotten so bad that I sometimes do the same job 3x. The supplier trys to tell us that its the caps or an engine problem. I can now prove them wrong.


Normally I would say you should switch to using OE radiators, but since you are in the middle of nowhere logistics wise that isn't an option. Wish you were closer, I would at least hook it up on the Ford and Mazda radiators.

Our customer base wont pay that price. They only want the cheapest stuff and will walk for $1.
 
The worst part is that Denso is an OE supplier and makes so many OEM radiators in the US and Japan, but they won't rebox those OE filters for the aftermarket
smirk2.gif


They used to make the aftermarket radiators in Taiwan at their subsidiary Cryomax, and those radiators are good quality, but they stopped using Cryomax Taiwan. and started using China for their aftermarket radiators
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It appears only Ford, GM, and the Europeans still offer easily-attainable OE quality radiators.

Nissens makes most of their radiators in Denmark, if you're lucky enough to find one

Originally Posted by ArrestMeRedZ
The body shop I use is forced by insurers to use China parts. They frequently don't fit. When they don't, they bill the supplier for the install and removal labor costs in addition to returning the part.
You should bill the supplier for your labor costs. Since it's happened more than once, bill for the troubleshooting and test time also.


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Originally Posted by diyjake
That is very creative test method!

What vehicle was that for?

Those are the plugs that we test radiators with. I modified one to use as the air source. We normally use the radiator cap spot to put air in it. But since I needed to test the radiator and cap together I used that thing.
 
Originally Posted by Chris142
Our customer base wont pay that price. They only want the cheapest stuff and will walk for $1.


Sometimes it is best to fire a customer.
 
Originally Posted by bdcardinal
Originally Posted by Chris142
Our customer base wont pay that price. They only want the cheapest stuff and will walk for $1.


Sometimes it is best to fire a customer.

We would be out of business! It's the entire area and not just a few people. Remember that I'm very close to our southern border and most of the people that came from south of us are still in a poverty mind.
 
When I replace radiators, the problem I see most are fittings not lining up or caps not fitting right and the only fix is to use another shoddy cap. I try to keep the OEM radiator on the cars I maintain.
 
Test 3-4 brands, film it all, post it up on YouTube with a wowee headline WHICH RADIATOR IS THE BEST, LET'S FIND OUT! and watch the bucks roll in.
 
Originally Posted by MrMoody
Test 3-4 brands, film it all, post it up on YouTube with a wowee headline WHICH RADIATOR IS THE BEST, LET'S FIND OUT! and watch the bucks roll in.


Maybe drop Project Farm a DM !
 
I've seen tons of early failures also on the aluminum/plastic radiators. The one on my Caprice is new about 12-14 years ago, so part of me feels it's on borrowed time and could fail any time and part of me wonders if I just got so lucky it's going to last a long time. I can't bring myself to replace it now and possibly have to do it again in a year or 2.
 
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