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Plastic tanked radiator any good?

Unclewolverine

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Kansas
Just noticed my second all aluminum Chinese amazon radiator in a year is leaking where the core goes into the tank. I suspect its partially due to the extreme rough driving conditions of my mail route. Would one of the plastic tanked models have a little more flex, or am I just doomed to either spend an insane amount of money for a really good one or replace cheap ones every year?
 
Plastic tanks are probably a little more forgiving because of the rubber o-ring. I would try to fix the cause of your flex/vibrations before investing in any new radiator.
 
Good shocks and a good bumper will handle that!
 
Just noticed my second all aluminum Chinese amazon radiator in a year is leaking where the core goes into the tank. I suspect its partially due to the extreme rough driving conditions of my mail route. Would one of the plastic tanked models have a little more flex, or am I just doomed to either spend an insane amount of money for a really good one or replace cheap ones every year?

I am pretty gun shy with plastic tank radiators. I was 12 miles down the beach on a camping trip and a tank burst. Took all 13 gallons of water I had and several cool downs to get off the beach. What has worked fairly well for me is buying a radiator with metal tanks (CSF 2 row from Rock Auto, a little under 200) and replacing the isolator bushings when one goes bad. The new bushings really seem to lock it down secure. I'd like an aluminum radiator but they are too spendy for my tastes.

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All my XJ's had plastic rads. & all the replacements have been as well - mainly because that's what they are (not that there's a lot of choice here - at least that's remotely affordable). Thinking back, the same was true of 3 Cadillacs - & 3 Jaguars before them. In fact, I'm pretty sure that's been the standard construction for must be 50 years now, probably since what used to be called X-flow rads. became the norm. Bit late to start kicking against traces now.
 
Something you might try is supporting the ends of the radiator. When you think of it, it does make sense you have a lot of weight on the ends outside of the bottom mounts. A fairly common failure point, supporting the radiator ends with foam seemed to help. I went through a lot of radiators driving desert dirt roads, I had fewer end tank failures once I started supporting the ends.
 
Mine is mostly roads and hiways. I do use the CFS 3 row bass radiators. I bought mine from DPG Offroad. Just a warning that I learned the hard way because I didn't listen to what I read: If you use a 3 row or thicker radiator, the aftermarket clutch fans are a bit longer. So, not enough space between the fan and the radiator. So, you need to use a MOPAR clutch fan.
 
All three radiator failures for me have been the solder has given out where the tubes meet the end plate in the upper left corner. The only radiator shop in the area, (which I believe is just lazy,) has said they were un-repairable.
 
All three radiator failures for me have been the solder has given out where the tubes meet the end plate in the upper left corner. The only radiator shop in the area, (which I believe is just lazy,) has said they were un-repairable.

I believe your assessment of radiator shops is pretty accurate. None of them want to repair anything anymore. Radiator repair is becoming a lost art.
 
Mine have all failed in the same place, although I would've said that was the right corner - but depends how you look at it.

Getting rads repaired isn't a problem - unless they're plastic (as I understand it, the heat required to repair the core will melt the plastic) - but it is expensive: after I had one done, I found out a new plastic one would've cost less than 1/2.

That same shop advised me ally rads are fine for track use but won't stand up to normal road use & brass is best. That was some years ago but I doubt much has changed.

By coincidence just been watching fitting a Mishimoto rad on Martinbuilt Utube channel. He'd got fed up with replacing Champion ones (are they cheap? Brand means nothing to me) which seem to have failed just like the plastic ones - only more often!

There maybe something in 8Mud's theory, given where the weight is, where they're mounted & where they fail. Not sure I like the idea of foam though, which will soon become sodden, might play with some blocks of expanded polystyrene though.
 
I got a Crown radiator (one-day shipping local retail) that was built like a brick. As soon as I lifted it up I noticed it weighed way more than normal offerings. I tried to research who made it and made in Taiwan was as far as I got. No idea if they still stock it, but I can recommend it for being built well. The end tanks were made of thicker than normal bakelite. All the mounting holes lined up.
 
No wonder China has it in for Taiwan, their products have a much better reputation.

My quick search of the interweb revealed the only "Crown" radiators are those supplied by Crown Automotive, that well known purveyor of all things Jeep. One thing I spotted trying to make sense of the baffling choice (just for Cherokees) was that one for 4.0's changed in '97 which didn't ring true as all mine - '96, 8 & 9 - are the same - then I spotted RHD ones changed in '93; dunno, you tell me - but then I've never understood the RHD radiator; actually, I've never understood why the trans. heat exchanger's on the wrong side on LHD ones (which seems to be the only difference).

Bakelite! Are you sure? I mean it was a '50's product which I thought was superceded by plastics & wasn't aware of any modern application. Mind you, it could be due a renaissance, being organic, presumably bio-degradable, & better for the environment.
 
Yeah, the only difference between rhd and lhd is the trans cooler is on the other side and the fan shroud mounts are different. I have extended my lines so I use a lhd radiator, I just modify the fan shroud mounts.
 
No wonder China has it in for Taiwan, their products have a much better reputation.

My quick search of the interweb revealed the only "Crown" radiators are those supplied by Crown Automotive, that well known purveyor of all things Jeep. One thing I spotted trying to make sense of the baffling choice (just for Cherokees) was that one for 4.0's changed in '97 which didn't ring true as all mine - '96, 8 & 9 - are the same - then I spotted RHD ones changed in '93; dunno, you tell me - but then I've never understood the RHD radiator; actually, I've never understood why the trans. heat exchanger's on the wrong side on LHD ones (which seems to be the only difference).

Bakelite! Are you sure? I mean it was a '50's product which I thought was superceded by plastics & wasn't aware of any modern application. Mind you, it could be due a renaissance, being organic, presumably bio-degradable, & better for the environment.

Looked like a newer offering made with old-school manufacturing. The end tanks may not have been bakelite but it sure looked, felt, and had the same properties dense, solid, and thick. The whole radiator was just plain old heavy. I could see where they might have some issues during shipping, the packaging wasn't well thought out, the filler neck was right up against the outside cardboard, I imagine they had a lot of returns for cracked filler neck. No idea if they still sell them or not.
 
I doubt they are using Bakelite--it is probably too brittle for the application. Most likely some sort of glass fiber reinforced composite. But I can see how there is a similarity to Bakelite.
 
Yeah, agreed. Probably fiber reinforced polymer (FRP). You can sometimes tell from the texture being a little bit rough depending on the mixture. At any rate I'd definitely trust a good plastic for longer term crack resistance to poorly designed metal.
 
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