OEM Radiator Options Question.

lawsoncl said:

Google says otherwise. If you google for images of the Mopar Max-Cooling radiator (p/n 5191929AA) it clearly has the internal tranny cooler connections. For example right here on , there is a thread with pictures of both. http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=1110640. As I recall, the main differences were an aluminum 2-core, possibly a bit thicker and longer, and that the mounting brackets were a bit different.

As for reducing capacity, it's not as bad as you might think, since the stock tranny cooler is just a small exchanger inside the end tank. That's intentional, as having it inside the radiator also helps warm up and regulate the temperature of the tranny in colder weather. The towing option didn't remove the internal heat exchanger, it adds an additional external one inline with the original (before it as I recall). If you only drive in hot weather, you can plumb just an external one if trans overheating is a concern.

Click to expand...

I don't think I ought to argue with Mr Google - or indeed with Mr lawsoncl! I also don't know why both posts seem to appear twice (is there a website glitch?). In terms of the actual information, I confess that I was commenting from my own recollection of something I had read elsewhere a long time ago. I didn't research or check the Mopar part numbers (or other possible sources like Rock Auto) before posting. So I'm happy to be corrected.

The discussion does leave me a bit puzzled, though, as I have seen XJ radiators without the tranny cooler included. Are they therefore only for manual transmission vehicles?

I have never had the chance to look closely at an XJ with the towing option installed. It does seem a bit elaborate if in the towing setup the tranny oil runs through the 'normal' cooling circuit inside the radiator and then also through an additional external oil-cooler as well. Twice as many connections, twice as much risk of leakage or failure, and thus more complicated.

It also doesn't quite explain why the (Mopar?) "max cooling" radiator is cheaper than the standard one (as the OP noted). If the max cooling one is thicker, or has more cores, then logically it should be more expensive. And I cannot see any reason - if both radiator options are offered to fit the XJ - why the "max cooling" one would have different mounting brackets.

More questions than answers..... but then I have often found it a challenge to figure out the logic behind some of the Jeep OEM parts options and specifications. As I'm in the UK I'm forced anyway to source non-OEM parts, so in most situations I'm just glad to find any alternative that fits!

A quick follow up to my latest post (above) on this topic. Thought I'd just have a quick look at the Jeep/OEM/Mopar parts listings to see what they show.

My Jeep XJ factory OEM parts catalogue shows (for my 1993 vehicle) two radiators:
without max cooling - part no 5202 8134 -but then it notes "stamped 5202 8131" !
with max cooling - part no 5202 8133

The moparamerica.com site also lists two radiators, but with part nos that are presumably Mopar rather than Jeep. They are:
with max cooling - part no 5191929AA (as mentioned by lawsoncl), price $127.68
without max cooling - part no 5207 9682AF, price $257.40.

As if that isn't already a bit confusing, Rock Auto adds further complexity.
For my 1993 XJ it only lists the radiator without max cooling, p/n 5207 9682AF, which it says is 2 core.
But if you look at, say, Rock Auto's listing for the 1997 XJ, it shows both that one, and another one with yet another p/n 5208 0104AC - which it says is heavy duty, aluminium, Middle East spec w/auto trans, and is even more expensive.

As they say...... go figure!