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CSF 3 Row Radiator the best way to go?

dieselenthusiast said:
I think your reasons are certainly notable. Is Champion the radiator that requires a slight cut to the radiator support in order to drop it in?
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Not the radiator support. It drops in and fits fine. The lower trans cooler line won't quite clear the sheet metal under the airbox. A quick cut with a grinder fixed it. The other area that is tight is the cap sits closer to the top radiator support. I ground a tiny bit off the edge of the cap and it worked for me.
 
Ben824 said:
Yes, Champion is the radiator that will require very minor modifications to drop in on some model years.
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I have a 2000 XJ. Is there any modification to drop it in for my model year?
 
DrMoab said:
Not the radiator support. It drops in and fits fine. The lower trans cooler line won't quite clear the sheet metal under the airbox. A quick cut with a grinder fixed it. The other area that is tight is the cap sits closer to the top radiator support. I ground a tiny bit off the edge of the cap and it worked for me.
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What model year do you have DrMoab?
 
DrMoab said:
01
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Perfect! Sounds like there is very minor modification to make this work. I'm assuming the Champion is a two core, correct? What are your overall thoughts so far?
 
dieselenthusiast said:
Perfect! Sounds like there is very minor modification to make this work. I'm assuming the Champion is a two core, correct? What are your overall thoughts so far?
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Mine is a three core but they make both I believe.

So far I've been happy. I switched to two stock electric fans at the same time and the jury is still out on that. It hasn't overheated on me but it's got a little warm. This has been at 100* and going very slow through steep neighborhoods with the ac blowing full blast. On the highway it runs a lot cooker than it used to and I never have to run the second electric fan.
 
I got my Champion 2 row in today! I will be installing it tomorrow in my free time. Hope this won't be too much trouble!

IMG_0994.jpg

IMG_0995.jpg
 
I still haven't gotten mine yet. I will have to cut the middle shroud tab and reweld it closer to fit the 2nd e-fan.
 
DrMoab said:
In this thread, toward the beginning there is a link to an eBay seller. That's where I bought mine. They are cheaper directly from champion but last I heard they were backordered. The company on eBay had quite a few.
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The three row is on backorder and do not know when they will have more because I was trying to get a 3 row but they had 2 rows in stock and they are cheaper than the 3 rows anyways. Mine, which is the one pictured above, is a 2 row which I am sure is just fine for what I need but we shall see.

I will say so far since I have started installing this thing the upper transmission line on my 97 does not work with the fittings on this radiator. I will try and take pictures of the problems I run into and what I did to fix them but I am running into the same problems that other people posted earlier in this thread.
 
So I just got mine. I saw the box and was ready for some disappointment. I had to tap two tabs back in place and had to wack the cap to get it to come off(dunno why it says 11 or 1.1 on the cap when it's supposed to be a 16#er(looks like a pos anyhow):
001-1.jpg
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Ok I just put in my Champion 2 row and it went in great and didn't encounter any unexpected problems other than the mentioned tranny line modifications that were needed. I will write up a review with some pictures as soon as I get some driving time in. Hopefully will have the review up by tonight.
 
Ben824 said:
Ok I just put in my Champion 2 row and it went in great and didn't encounter any unexpected problems other than the mentioned tranny line modifications that were needed. I will write up a review with some pictures as soon as I get some driving time in. Hopefully will have the review up by tonight.
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Very cool! Pics of where you had to modify would be very helpful. Looking forward to the review.
 
My heep came with a CSF that had been installed about 4 yrs ago by the previous owner. It started leaking a bit a few months back so I ordered the AE one the other evening. Should be here beginning of next week. Looking forward to checking it out.
 
fasteddieyj said:
My heep came with a CSF that had been installed about 4 yrs ago by the previous owner. It started leaking a bit a few months back so I ordered the AE one the other evening. Should be here beginning of next week. Looking forward to checking it out.
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This kinda scares me about the CSF. I’d be all for them but I keep hearing rumblings about them leaking after a few years of service. If my OE radiator lasted 11 years, then I would think a quality aftermarket should last at least 9-10 years.
 
dieselenthusiast said:
This kinda scares me about the CSF. I’d be all for them but I keep hearing rumblings about them leaking after a few years of service. If my OE radiator lasted 11 years, then I would think a quality aftermarket should last at least 9-10 years.
Click to expand...

Its gonna happen, You can't possibly manufacture something perfectly every time. Sometimes failures make it out of the plant.
 
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