I'm currently checking this catalog:
http://www.wermopar.com/parts-catalog/jeep/cherokee/1996/sport/4-0l-l6-gas/cooling-system/radiator
What is the different between Max Cooling and W/O max cooling? The one with max cooling is much cheaper. Not sure why.
I happened to see this thread recently when browsing for something else.... and it rang a faint bell.
I can't now remember where I read the details (must have been some Jeep forum). But the explanation is not as simple as some replies seem to suggest.
Jeep offered (at least back in the days when they produced my 1993 XJ) an OEM option called the heavy-duty or max cooling package. It may also have been part of the "towing package" option.
In the standard XJ cooling system, the transmission oil is cooled by running through a separate circuit inside the normal radiator. That's why there are two hose-connections for the tranny oil as well as the usual inlet and outlet hose connections for the coolant which flows to and from the engine block. This means of course that (a) there is less capacity within the radiator itself, because there is a transmission-oil circuit also inside there; and (b) the whole system has to work harder and often runs hotter, because the coolant has to absorb the heat not only from circulating round the engine, but it also has to cool down the tranny-oil circuit of pipes which runs inside that radiator.
Towing, or heavy duty/hot climate use, really stresses such a system. So Jeep's solution (or option) for the towing kit was to install a separate oil-cooler for the tranny oil outside and in front of the radiator and a/c condenser. The main radiator then had to cool only the engine-coolant, and because there was no tranny-oil cooler circuit inside it, it also had more capacity so was more efficient in reducing the temp of the coolant flowing through it. Hence the "max cooling" label. That is also why this 'max cooling' radiator is cheaper: because it's simpler - it doesn't have the internal oil cooler and the extra connections for it.
With the manual transmission there is no auto-box fluid to cool, so the manual version of the XJ can use either radiator (if the radiator has the tranny connections for the internal circuit they are just blanked off).
Obviously therefore, the point to beware of is that if you have an auto-transmission XJ, you should only fit the "max cooling" radiator if you already have - or if you install - a separate oil-cooler for the tranny oil.
There are of course multiple aftermarket radiator options - 2 or 3 core, all-aluminium, etc - and some of these are bigger capacity or higher-flow, so may be marketed as heavy duty or high efficiency. But the fundamental point remains. If you have an auto transmission, you must either fit a radiator with the inbuilt tranny-oil cooler, or you must ensure you have a separate external oil cooler.