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good radiator?

CSF 3 row all metal radiator is a great unit! I got 7 years out of one before it started giving me trouble. I have since gone on to an all aluminum Champion 2 row unit but I believe Champion has discontinued making the Cherokee radiators but if they made them again or still do now I would recommend them as they are slightly cheaper than CSF in some cases and are all metal and fully welded together. If I had to buy another radiator without Champion being an option it would certainly be a CSF 3 row!
 
gird123 said:
http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=1063223

I read this and it left me very unsure.
Click to expand...

If you notice I am actually the third post on the first page of that thread haha You can also find where I responded several times throughout the thread and discussed the purchase and installation of my Champion 2 row radiator with pictures!

Don't let that confuse you though. In the Cherokee world the most common radiator to go with is the CSF 3 row as it is an upgrade from the factory OEM in it being a 3 row core unit instead of a 1 row core unit. The CSF is also an all metal construction unit compared to the OEM one that has an aluminum 1 row core crimped to plastic tanks on either end. You will absolutely be happy with the 3 row CSF as it provides more than adequate cooling, long life, and drop-in easy installation. So buy with confidence my friend!
 
birchlakeXJ said:
Is this a daily driver or a trail rig? An all metal 2 row is adequate for most applications as well.
Click to expand...

This is true! If it is a 2 wheel drive daily driver or even a 4 wheel drive that rarely sees off pavement duty and is all stock then a 2 row radiator will be perfectly adequate as well.
 
I have the CSF 2 row in a 2001 XJ for about 2.5 years now and have put about 30,000 miles on it with no issues. It even took a mild front end collision with no damage to the radiator, but the grill, header panel, fender and factory bumper are smoked.
 
I agree with the 2-row suggestions. A 2-row rad came with the optional tow package, and
it was also outfitted on new XJs destined for sale in the Middle East.

My '98 XJ, 2WD, auto came with the tow package and factory 2-row plastic rad.
The temp gauge always hovers around 200º; and on really hot days it stays around 207º.
I can't remember the last time when I heard the electric fan kicking in while the AC/defrost was off.
 
So, I talked to a few(3) different radiator shops and they all tried to talk me out of the CSF and champion. All of them recommended theVista-Pro Ready Rad 432335 or something very similar it is a single core. Said it is a better rad. Thoughts?

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/PLI-432335/
 
gird123 said:
So, I talked to a few(3) different radiator shops and they all tried to talk me out of the CSF and champion. All of them recommended theVista-Pro Ready Rad 432335 or something very similar it is a single core. Said it is a better rad. Thoughts?

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/PLI-432335/
Click to expand...

Shops recommend them because they work with OEM replacement parts which are exactly identical to what went bad to begin with. For the everyday average car owner those parts are perfectly fine but you are here because you wan more than "fine" you want something better. Shops also don't like to recommend parts that aren't OEM because they can't guarantee the fit, quality, and function. CSF and champion go outside of the OEM design which regular shops run scared from due to that very fact. Jeep designed a great vehicle no doubt about that but they also were thinking with cost effectiveness in mind and a single row radiator with plastic tanks is cheaper to make and the plastic is likely to fail at some point which brings you back for repairs for them to make more money.

I had a shop tell me that my rear u-joints were bad and they replaced them with with no name Japanese OEM spec u-joints that they said would be just fine in my Jeep. They severely failed in 2 1/2 years to where the Jeep was violently shaking running down the highway because the bearings had disintegrated and the post half way ground away inside the caps. They may have been fine in a stock daily driver but my lifted Jeep needed something better than that. Now Spicer is OEM for Jeep but we all know the quality and toughness of their products is superior to most out there.

Point is you want something that will last longer and out perform that cheap plastic junk Jeep put in there to begin with.
 
I bought an American Eagle(by Champion) AE1193 all aluminum radiator with two 1" cores last year. I finally installed it a few weeks ago and it works great. I had to cut, relocate, and jb weld the shroud tabs to work with my 2nd stock e-fan setup. I also had to elongate the a/c condenser's two holes so that AE's studs could slip in. I don't care too much for the 11# cheapy rad cap it came with, but will swap it out in the future. This ebay pic shows plastic ends, but the description is all-aluminum and my AE1193 is all-aluminum: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Jeep-Cherokee-1991-2001-American-Eagle-2-Row-Radiator-Fit-Guaranteed-/300732872109?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&fits=Model%3ACherokee|Make%3AJeep&hash=item46051375ad&vxp=mtr
 
Last edited:
I was torn on the whole 2 Vs. 3 row debate but I ended up with a CSF all metal 3 row(from DPG offroad) a few years ago and have been very happy. Here in AZ it has been over 110 often this past month and sitting in traffic or out literally in the desert my temp has been just fine.
 
I have the all-aluminum FFD radiator. It's top notch in my opinion.
 
iwannadie said:
I was torn on the whole 2 Vs. 3 row debate but I ended up with a CSF all metal 3 row(from DPG offroad) a few years ago and have been very happy. Here in AZ it has been over 110 often this past month and sitting in traffic or out literally in the desert my temp has been just fine.
Click to expand...

While I haven't checked, I can't imagine that the offset in price when amortized over the length of ownership of the vehicle would make someone go with OEM. I have a CSF 3 row and love it. It worked when nothing else would.
 
oldcancer said:
was this a direct replacement?
Click to expand...

Yes, it fit my 2000 XJ without any major problems. It doesn't have the upper trany fitting like the OE style, but I added a trany oil cooler, so that didn't make any difference since I ran a hose and used clamps. The FFD has a lifetime warranty if installed by one of their dealers. I didn't go that route since I was adding a coolant by-pass filter, external trany filter, and trany oil cooler all at the same time. I also added the FFD triple fan kit and removed the mechanical fan.
 
dieselenthusiast said:
Yes, it fit my 2000 XJ without any major problems. It doesn't have the upper trany fitting like the OE style, but I added a trany oil cooler, so that didn't make any difference since I ran a hose and used clamps. The FFD has a lifetime warranty if installed by one of their dealers. I didn't go that route since I was adding a coolant by-pass filter, external trany filter, and trany oil cooler all at the same time. I also added the FFD triple fan kit and removed the mechanical fan.
Click to expand...
awesome, that's pretty much everything i needed to know, i need a new radiator and i was considering upgrading so i don't have to later, good to know it's basically just a yank it and drop it install :D
 
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