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Tired of replacing radiators...

OverlandZJ

OverlandZJ

NAXJA Member # 101
Location
Bristol,PA
Seems i'm replacing the rad in my XJ's every 3 years or so. They all keep splitting at the plastic tank.

Where can i get a metal tanked rad?
 
Yea, or from radiatorbarn.com. I love my 3 core CSF from radiatorbarn, and their warranties are extraordinary. They are an honest and good company. I've heard good things about Dirk too but never bought from him.
 
Blaine B. said:
Yea, or from radiatorbarn.com. I love my 3 core CSF from radiatorbarn
Click to expand...

When you order from radiatorbarn online, do you select "radiators" or do you select "CSF racing radiators" ?

When I go to "CSF racing radiators", there is no option for a jeep.
When you select "radiators", it does not say anywhere it is a CSF. How do you know then ?

One more question, what do the following lines in the radiator description mean ?
Transmission Oil Cooler: YES
Engine Oil Cooler: NONE

Thank you,
Andrey
 
Blaine B. said:
Yea, or from radiatorbarn.com. I love my 3 core CSF from radiatorbarn, and their warranties are extraordinary. They are an honest and good company. I've heard good things about Dirk too but never bought from him.
Click to expand...

True - but Dirk is a sponsor, and Radiator Barn is not. I'd rather see a sponsor get supported, if it comes to mail-order.

If you're in a hurry, check local shops. I usually pick my radiators up locally (Autoland on De La Cruz, for those in Santa Clara County) for a reasonable price - I'm usually in too much of a hurry for mail-order (read: gratuitous failure.)

Brands to find in stores that work well are Modine (Canadian) or Performance Radiator (Thai, oddly) - but both have worked well for me, and both are all metal - copper/brass.

I've heard consistently good reports from the field on the CSF units, and I may order one when I start working on a build that doesn't need one straight away. I've been getting mixed reports on Go-Dan - they used to be a good outfit, but they've not been doing well lately.

But, I've heard consistently good reports from the field on both Dirk and the CSF radiators - support a sponsor, if you have the few days to wait for the thing to come in. Win-Win...
 
Spanaway Mudder said:
hmmm..this is kinda funny...I guess all the metal ones are here in the pacificNW!!!!

get a 91 or newer 4.0 model radiator ...that way you dont have to deal with the closed loop junk...just a thought
Click to expand...

I don't think it's an "open loop vs. closed loop" issue (and my feelings on that debate are well-known...) but that he's been getting cheap radiators that have plastic side tanks crimped onto a metal core. I won't use them - they're barely fit for scrap metal. (Gawd knows how many I've replaced for other people. I refuse to use them myself, even if it means getting a replacement made...)

They're cheap, they cost less to make, and they last just long enough (usually) to make it out of warranty coverage. The beancounters at work again...
 
Slonopotam said:
When you order from radiatorbarn online, do you select "radiators" or do you select "CSF racing radiators" ?

When I go to "CSF racing radiators", there is no option for a jeep.
When you select "radiators", it does not say anywhere it is a CSF. How do you know then ?

One more question, what do the following lines in the radiator description mean ?
Transmission Oil Cooler: YES
Engine Oil Cooler: NONE

Thank you,
Andrey
Click to expand...

You just click "radiators." The transmission oil cooler is a cooler in the radiator for the transmission. Jeeps aren't equipped with an engine oil cooler so, the radiator wouldn't have one. I guess some vehicles (probably large trucks) have both an engine oil and transmission cooler in the radiator as well.
 
Blaine B. said:
The transmission oil cooler is a cooler in the radiator for the transmission.
Click to expand...

I have a stick and I do not have any transmission oil coolers - it is a separate part in stock XJ. Are you saying that these 3 row radiators will have a transmission cooler integrated, as one more row of fins, probably, restricting air flow, and I won't be able to separate it and throw away ?

Thank you,
Andrey
 
No, it won't restrict flow. If you have a 5 speed you simply don't connect any lines to the radiator's transmission cooler.

All of the Jeep radiators came with it I believe, even if you didn't have an AW4 auto.

It'll be fine. You'll be happy you got all metal though. Especially with the amount of flexing the XJ unibody does, that's probably why the metal crimped radiators fail so quick (or a contributing factor....alot of them are crap from the get-go)

Whoever you go with im terms of buying, you can't go wrong with CSF.
 
Blaine B. said:
All of the Jeep radiators came with it I believe, even if you didn't have an AW4 auto.
Click to expand...
Nope. Mine does not have it - I am sure, parts list shows transmission oil cooler as a separate part.
 
All of the aftermarket radiators come with the built in cooler, I've not seen any without unless the car in question had an external tranny cooler from the factory like a vette.
 
Blaine B. said:
Are you talking about the aux (external) cooler or the cooler built into the trans?
Click to expand...
I do not remember anything dedicated to oil cooling in the manual transmission. It is suggested that CSF and all other aftermarket radiators have a transmission oil cooler attached or built into it.

OEM radiators are different for manual and auto transmissions.
 
Slonopotam said:
I do not remember anything dedicated to oil cooling in the manual transmission. It is suggested that CSF and all other aftermarket radiators have a transmission oil cooler attached or built into it.

OEM radiators are different for manual and auto transmissions.
Click to expand...

OEM can be different, but aftermarket units are not. It's no trouble using a radiator "destined" for an automatic in a manual - I've done it on several different vehicles.
 
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