were to get 3 row rad.?

i want to up grade and i dont know what kind is good or were to get one. i also plan on puting a radiator cap on and get rid of the plastic one.

I would go through Dirk @ http://dpgoffroad.com/

got mine from dirk also...looks good, perfect fit and works great

I take it you have a 90 XJ with the stock cooling system, am I right?

There have been a lot of discussions on here about conversions. I considered it but the later version radiator does not have the fitting for electric fan switch in the cold tank. For that reason alone I decided to stay with the stock configuration.

I did a write up on things to do to your cooling system. I have had the GDI 3-row which I got at Autozone but I replaced it after 4 years when I found it was leaking from the end tank seam. I went with a Modine 2 row radiator which I purchased at the Modine Distributor in town.

From the expansion tank on the firewall I have determined that the modine holds more coolant than the GDI.

I vote for staying with the stock configuration, install a modine, change thermost, mechanical fan clutch, radiator hoses, heater hoses, and the pressure bottle. I get the thermostat, radiator hoses, heater hoses at the dealer. I get the fan clutch at the parts store, and the pressure bottle form quadratec.com for $20.

I was driving to Chicago on Christmas Eve and it was 10F in Indiana. As I went down the road I'd watch the engine get to 190 then heat up to 205 then the load of cold water would enter the engine and drop to 190 and start over again. It would cycled in less than 2 minutes. I am VERY happy with my modine, I felt unsure with the GDI. The modine came with a brass drain while the GDI had a plastic drain.

Depending on your town any parts store should be able to get you one. There are also web sites where you can order one.

ther talking about a csf not the gdi. it wouldnt be that hard to mount a fan switch.

I know nothing about a CSF radiators. I wish you would of given more detail in your initial question.

I am not sure why you want to convert, along with the fan switch mounting you will hae to install a recovery tank and not sure if you can install the recovery tank in the same location as the post 90 XJs.

There also an issue of the heater control valve and the heater hoses. You system has a straight pipe threaded into the water pump I believe the later XJs have a pipe with an elbow. I guess you can just get a piece of hose and put it in place of the pressure tank and the hoses attached to it. Had you considered the heater control valve or removal of the pressure tank?

Do a search for Craig H's web site on here, he did a big write up on the conversion. I still think it is more trouble than it is worth, just replace those worn out items with new ones.

Is your XJ running hot, why the sudden interest in a new radiator? If your radiator is the one it came with in 1990 then you are WAY over due for new radiator. So don't blame the cooling system design for a plugged up old radiator.

I'm with Martin on this ... if you have good factory (HD cooling) parts there's no reason to convert to a three row just for the sake you have a three row. I also know nothing about a CSF, but did extensive research comparing a 2-row Modine to a 3-row GDI... talked to their engineers and have all the specs.

If you do the math, the fact is a 2-row Modine (Chrysler OEM) has approximately 10% more cooling capacity than a 3-row GDI due to fewer, but larger tubes---allowing better flow over the long term. Any new radiator will be an improvement over the old just due to the fact all the tubes will be clear and open. As it was explained, another vital spec other than the number of tubes and the tube diameter are the number of fins-per-inch ... at that point I stopped my pursuit of the perfect pre-manufactured radiator.

As a result, I decided to replace my original factory 2 row with another factory 2 row ... the new ones are aluminum with plastic tanks and so far the cooling is excellent with zero problems. Keep in mind I have the factory heavy duty cooling system to begin with.

I would be interested to see the engineering specs on the CSF and where it's manufactured ... and would be surprised if the tube size and fins-per-inch are any different than the GDI.

Good luck whatever you decide.

I changed mine,stayed w/ 2 row, runs "cool as a cucumber" now, actually too cool, need to change to a hotter thermo. Did a search on line, found type of rad. I wanted and then found a decent price, no regrets, I was going to change system over, but this is my DD, so I needed it fixed ASAP, rad. was overnighted to me, had it up and running the next day.

There is nothing wrong with the closed system. The key point here is to replace and upgrade the weak points which are the plastic pressure bottle and the plastic mixing valve. I understand the new aftermarket mixing valves are all metal now and the pressure bottle can be upgraded via the eagle method of using an aluminum one from summit racing, that one uses a standard radiator pressure cap.
On my 98 it will more than likely get a modine when the time comes unless I am really flush then I might go for a beecool maybe or a griffin for the polished 'bling' factor

But above all the single most important issue is to use distilled water and to flush the system every year or two.

I agree about the closed/open conversion. Isn't any need if the system is tight and in good operational condition. I used CSF from Dirk almost a year ago and couldn't be happier today.

But, no matter what rad you use, don't forget to qualify/replace those motor mounts. If you don't the engine fan may very well ruin your new radiator.