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I have a small radiator leak and want to use this an excuse to upgrade but I don't see many options out there. SHould I just stay with the stock unit or is there a better one out there?
I have a small radiator leak and want to use this an excuse to upgrade but I don't see many options out there. SHould I just stay with the stock unit or is there a better one out there?
Go with a 2 row Modine unit.I went with the 3 core GDI rad and still had issues with overheating.
If you do not subject your XJ to extreme usage a stock unit will do fine for you.
Wayne
I have the 3 core GDI and all I think it really did was delay the onset of overheating. I've heard good things about the Modine, but no first hand experience. I tow a camper in the summer, and the GDI, like the stock radiator, is fine as long as you are moving about 15-20 mph. But in stop and go driving, I hit the redline in about 10-15 min with the A/C on while towing.
I put in a 3 row GDI and had overheating problems, even after installing a very large tranny cooler... I could hit 230°F after just one hill blast...
I've replaced it with a CSF 3 row from Dirk www.dpgoffroad.com but the weather has been cool since then so I don't know if it helped.. I have yet to hear anyone complain about the cooling power of the CSF... I did have some install problems (lower tranny fitting was too large and needed to be reduced (sanded and polished)... The build quality of the CSF looks very good...
Come spring, I'm cutting holes in the hood and installing Grand Prix vents.
I have a small radiator leak and want to use this an excuse to upgrade but I don't see many options out there. SHould I just stay with the stock unit or is there a better one out there?
If you sit down and do the math, a 2 core OEM or Modine has approximately 10% more flow than a Transpro (GDI) 3 core radiator. The tubes are larger on the 2 core ... and should give you 120K miles if the cooling system is flushed per factory recommendations.
After much research, I finally decided to install the OEM HD 2 core radiator---the one with the plastic tanks. I wasn't exactly pleased they went to plastic tanks but after comparing the OEM with the brass tank Modine ... I decided to take the chance with the OEM.
What I did notice is the OEM plastic tank radiator came with a 16 lbs cap... 2 lbs more than the original OEM. It's been installed for three weeks and my cooling system is operating like new again---but keep in mind everything is new except for the pump.
The temp normally stays between 190-200 ... and has yet to go past the 210 mark when sitting at idling over 15 min. in traffic---SoCal really sucks when they're working on the roads.
All I can say is my original OEM went for 150K miles... I guess it depends on how much money you're willing to spend.
I have a brand new GDI 3-row and it still overheats. I've had many people, even non-XJ owners, tell me that a 2-row should be better. Especially since I have the AC condensor and tranner cooler in front of the rad.
How things change. A couple or three years ago the GDI 3-core was THE answer to cooling problems in the XJ. I put one in my '88 back in December of 2000 and since then it has consistently run cooler than the OEM heavy-duty radiator ever did. I have heard that GDI's quality has taken a nose-dive since then, so perhaps the cooling capability went with the quality.
