Radiator replacement

Looking to replace my stock radiator this December. Anyone have any experience with a good replacement rad that is near drop in? I have an automatic xj. Have hear so many mixed opinions in champion, cad, and even griffin. Looking for some guidance..

Just rad. Will do e fan swaps when I get the extra cash

Thanks

Adam

Hard to help without the year of your Jeep.....

Search is your friend here.....

A replacement for my 98 was around $150 5 years ago and was a drop in unit.

92 xj AW4, bought one at O'Reilly, about $99. Fit perfect. Great time to do thermostat, water pump, serpentine, fan clutch, since access is so good. If budget allows of course.
Removing the 10 or so screws to remove the rad support header makes removal super easy.
I had to look real hard in the box for the brackets that are the A/C condensor "stand-offs".
But overall, easy enough job.

Apologies, 2001 aw4 with tow package

Thank you

spend the extra coin and buy the mopar replacement. Do a search and you will find that many people here have replaced the radiator with even the high dollar aftermarkets and only to end up chasing overheating problems that only were solved with the mopar radiator.

Really? Buy another mopar radiator with the cheesy plastic end caps ?

all oem radiators are plastic tank with an aluminum core these days, and last well over 100k miles. Any aftermarket brand like spectra are also going to be a plastic tank.

Run a search on champion radiators and you will find most are having to replace them after a year because they start leaking. Can't speak about griffen cause no one has pockets deep enough around here to want to buy one.

Good luck finding a brass/copper replacement as no one makes new ones that I can find.

For the love of your patron deity, spend the $300 and get a Mopar HD XJ radiator (52080104AC) from the dealership and not online. If you buy online there is a chance they will send your a non-mopar oem replacement that is gauranteed not to work as well as the mopar. You'll be happy and save yourself a lot of trouble.

Check out my overheating issues and solution.
http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?p=246008099#post246008099
I'm one of many with the same story BTW...
Forget the Champions, they either don't cool enough or crack at the welds.

I know plastic sounds cheezy, but... think about the number of times the radiator changes temp from cold to 200+ degrees. I think the plastic end caps and rubber seals just work well for the material expansion versus welding which I think creates brittle hot spots that crack with all the heat cycling. I've read that even the griffin $600 radiators don't last for as long as people would like but still better than champions.

Purchased a radiator from RadiatorBarn.com about 7 years ago for my '98. 2 row with metal tanks for ~$125 shipped. Nary a problem from it.

I thought radiatorbarn doesn't exist anymore. Actually that's what got me over to radiatorsexpress where I had all of my problems. I wouldn't recommend them, but that's just my story of one radiator. Maybe they are nicer and more helpful to other people =)

does yours need the 52080104AC or the 5191930AA?http://www.CompleteCherokee.com/prod-259.htm

I've replaced the radiators in both '01s with CarQuest dropins. Easy installation and good function over the 2 years.

Not all that expensive at about $130 across the counter.

Qban said:

I thought radiatorbarn doesn't exist anymore. Actually that's what got me over to radiatorsexpress where I had all of my problems. I wouldn't recommend them, but that's just my story of one radiator. Maybe they are nicer and more helpful to other people =)

Click to expand...

Hmm, just checked it out. Didn't realize they weren't around anymore...