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Radiator Interchangeability Across the Years

Anak

Stranger
NAXJA Member
It looks like I am in the market for a replacement radiator. Jeep came to me with a radiator that looks pretty new, but it has developed a leak. Appears to be the passenger side tank. Also appears to be a common problem with aftermarket radiators.

Searching around here I came across this bit of information regarding an '01:
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.

That radiator is apparently for a '98 to '01. I have a '96. The dealership would have me run a 52028133, now superseded as a 5191929AA, and about $100 cheaper.

Unfortunately neither of those radiators are in stock, so I can't compare them.

My question is whether or not the more expensive radiator is a better unit (in theory you get what you pay for) and will it fit an earlier model (not going back to the Renix closed systems, but an open system with an overflow bottle)?

How much did the radiator support sheet metal change over the years? Did the radiator inlet/outlet move? What sort of fitment issues should I look for?

I am in SoCal. Weather tends hot much more than cold. Once I finish sorting out issues with this XJ it is likely to be used for travel and to be towing a pop-up camper. I want all the radiator I can get.

1996, 4.0L, manual trans, 4x4 and AC if that matters to the discussion at all.
 
Well, since this subject is so well documented...:eyes:

I went ahead and bought both radiators.

Here are pics for the sake of comparison. The 52080104AC is the one which is bounded with steel mounting top and bottom, whereas the 5191929AA has aluminum mounting points top and bottom.

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It looks to me as though all the important features are the same. I am not sure why the pins on the bottom of the 52080104AC are threads, but I don't see why that would prevent me from mounting it. I would wonder though if there isn't an improvement to be made in the mounting when I swap over?

I haven't pulled the top mount off my existing radiator to compare the use of the already present studs vs whatever it is that clips into the aluminum one, but I am betting I can make that switch. Again however, I wonder if there isn't a particular piece of hardware I should be looking for in order to accomplish that most gracefully.

It would appear that the reason to switch over to the 52080104AC is because it is a dual row core. I can't photograph that difference, but I can stick a finger in the tank and feel it.

Does anybody see anything that would preclude use of the 52080104AC ('98-'01) radiator in a '96?

FWIW, both of these are made in Mexico.

The parts guy at the dealership was very understanding of my questions about the differences and was disappointed in his own catalog in terms of the information offered. He isn't supposed to order two radiators for the sake of comparison, but he humored me and is going to allow me to return the one I don't use.
 
I know in the late 90s to early 00s there is a change for the lower transmission cooler fitting, some years use one style while some years use the other. I am not sure what the exact change is and yours are both the same... :confused:

90 down use a radiator with no filler neck as they have the filler on the expansion tank, 91 up use the style you have there.

I have always just ordered whatever and made it work. They fit in the same spot and the only difference for me has been that lower trans cooler fitting.
 
I left the rubber caps on the one radiator. I probably should have pulled them off before taking the pics, but yes, they are the same on both radiators (other than a slight difference of angle which I expect is a matter of tolerances).

Since I have a 5 speed it really doesn't matter much for my application, but it could make a difference for someone else. If someone knows when that difference occurs and what form it takes it would be worth adding in here for the next poor soul who thinks like me.
 
I left the rubber caps on the one radiator. I probably should have pulled them off before taking the pics, but yes, they are the same on both radiators (other than a slight difference of angle which I expect is a matter of tolerances).

Since I have a 5 speed it really doesn't matter much for my application, but it could make a difference for someone else.

Use the trans cooler for your power steering. Just hook the return line into it.
 
That thought has actually crossed my mind.

I need to pull the power steering pump to replace the O-ring between the tank and the pump. (Anybody have specs or a P/N for that O-ring? All Napa has to offer is a complete rebuild kit, and they don't even have it in stock.) I figure that would be the time to play with re-routing hoses.
 
So what was the conclusion? Were you able to install the 52080104AC ('99-'01) in your '96 and run it with no issues?

Thanks

Yes.

And no.

The 52080104AC fit perfectly. In fact, if I were to have tried to run the "correct" radiator I would have needed to figure out what hardware was required at the top in order to mount the isolator bushings for the upper radiator support (rubber bushings between the radiator and upper support sheet metal). I don't know if a previous owner changed something on my Jeep, but I was grateful that the 52080104AC had the studs in place to mount the isolators. I expect earlier years have some sort of stud on a clip that fits in the slots on the radiator, but I don't have those and don't know what they should look like.

Now, as to the "And no" part of the equation...Moving up to the thicker radiator is a bad idea if you have bad motor mounts. I should have been smarter than this, but nope. I had to do it the hard way. I knew my motor mounts were in poor condition. Replacing them was on the list of things to do. I even told The Bride that if she needed to use the Jeep, take it easy with it because the new radiator gets in closer to the water pump and the motor mounts are sloppy. She was smart enough to not tempt fate. Me, I wasn't that smart. It was probably a week of getting away with it, and then coming home, one stop sign away from home, I felt a worrisome grinding noise and then 200 yards later steam started coming out of the hood.

So I got to purchase a second radiator.

And a set of Brown Dog motor mounts/brackets.

Dumbarse that I am.

:looser: << Me
 
I bought the MOPAR 5191929AA radiator and found it to be quite different. I've been on the phone with the dealership and still can't find what I need to run this radiator.

The new radiator doesn't allow me to use the old bracket that bolted to the radiator and to the condenser to the radiator. It doesnt have the existing standoff's on the plastic end tanks to bolt that bracket to it. So I'm not able to remove the studs and mount it with the radiator up top. I found someone with a '00 (year of the part number), and he has the Same setup as my '98 had. So i guess this is a max-cool setup. It seems like the previous poster from me has the setup i need.

I have that radiator bracket resting on top of the old one.
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When I replaced my OEM with a HD CSF I removed any brackets from the OEM over to the HD CSF. Your new radiator appears to have three different permanent bolt connections, not quite the same as the old radiator. I would try fitting one of the bolt connections to determine if one of them lines up. Possibly you can make your own bushings if needed for the top and possibly the bottom if missing.

IIRC correctly the radiator is bolted at the top using a cover plate that possibly mate with an A/C condenser. May have bushings on the top and should have some rubber bushings the radiator sits on underneath.
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An OEM radiator for a 2000/2001 is suppose to fit earlier XJ's, possibly some slight modification may be required.

Take a look on Rock Auto XJ 2000, which has several Mopar radiators for the year 2000. XJ owners have purchased these radiators and easily installed them in their earlier XJ's.

http://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/jeep,2000,cherokee,4.0l+l6,1363384,cooling+system,radiator,2172?a=Referer+www.google.com+URL+%2F

Rock Auto has HD (heavy duty) and SD (standard duty) Mopar OEM radiators. (I'm not certain if Mopar produces a copper/brass radiator any longer, that were commonly used years ago)

OEM HD (heavy duty) normally use a two row aluminium core, this dates back a number of years as I've seen HD two rows at the JY the older ones at the JY normally have metal sides.

Todays OEM's it appears there are two types of OEM's one with plastic sides and another with metal sides.

(assuming metal Sides)

Because of the price I'm assuming these Mopar (OEM) radiators have metal sides as their more expensive, and assume the lesser expensive one is a single row as it's not labled as Heavy Duty.

MOPAR 52079682AF Info
101.0" Wheelbase; 4 door; Automatic trans. $263.79

MOPAR 52080104AC Info
101.0" Wheelbase; 4 door; Automatic trans.; W/ ENGINE COOLING - HEAVY DUTY $291.79

(assuming plastic sides)

This Mopar (OEM) has a two row aluminum core, I assume because of the price the sides are made from plastic.

MOPAR 5191929AA Info
101.0" Wheelbase; 4 door; Automatic trans.; W/ ENGINE COOLING - HEAVY DUTY $131.79
 
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I have a 91 XJ, and having moved to southern Arizona, found my cooling system wasn't up to the task. I bought the 5191929AA to replace/upgrade the 26 year old radiator, and ran smack into this same problem. The answer was pretty simple, however. The studs on the original radiator are M5-0.8, so I got 6 M5-0.8x25mm flat head machine screws. I used a large, flat-head screwdriver to gently pry the notches a bit wider to get the head of the screw started into the notches. I have a short piece of aluminum bar-stock that I used as a punch to avoid marring the top of the radiator as I tapped the screws into the notches to press them into service as studs. They did want to spin when tightening the nuts, but I was able to hold them with pliers. Turns out the that 25mm was too long, so if I were to do it again, I would get 15mm screws, but in my case, I just cut them down. The need for hardware should not deter you; if you can install your own radiator, you can install this radiator. :)
 
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