Best replacement radiator for the money today... (2 Viewers)

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FWIW -

+1 Denso. Ordered via carID, pulled/replaced a bunch of stuff, and turned right around and sent it ~3k miles on a two week wandering roadtrip Sea > Yellowstone > Tetons > Sun Valley > Sea. Pretty much drove it 80MPH the entire time, in July heat, with alot of smoke. Didn't skip a beat.

In the spirit of the subject of the string, for $195, I'm a happy customer. That being said, I think the final look of the Mishimoto installed is much more bad ass. Just depends on what else you could use the $200 difference to accomplish. In my case I had competing priorities so I took the lower cost rad route.

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I installed the Mishimoto a couple days ago. It fit perfectly, no issue at all so far. Hope it stays that way!

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Would be interested with your post-install vs pre-install coolant temps @JJ_SC and @Gnarwgn
 
Would be interested with your post-install vs pre-install coolant temps @JJ_SC and @Gnarwgn
I monitored my temp during the summer and it hovered around 194-196 during normal driving with outside temps in the 90s. During an off road trip in the eastern sierra, and over mountain passes it would climb to 205, but usually not higher than that.

Today I drove a lot, over the hill, back over the hill... sat at idle for about 2 hours. It stayed between 185 and 194. 194 being the over the hill part. But, it's really hard to make anything of that, because outside temp was a high of 60 today.

Time will tell. But, I doesn't seem like it's going to result in a major drop in operating temps. It does LOOK pretty though! Ha.

(For the record, my hoses and thermostat and fluid has always been maintained/replaced on time and it looked brand new coming out of the old radiator.)
 
Something to keep in mind with operating temps is that the thermostat in our truck doesn't open until a set temperature. So you would not see temps below that.
I'm still collecting my notes to put up a longer post of my radiator replacement, but this point I found most interesting. I tested the replacement thermostat on the stove top in a pan of water and found it closed at 179 degrees. Now driving around the Scan Gauge is often at 179 degrees. I'll never replace a thermostat again without testing it ahead of time, just to bench mark.
 
I said this a few pages back but I’ll repeat. I did the Mishimoto all aluminum about 8 months ago. 98 degrees in the Florida sun going 75 on the interstate with the AC at full blast and my scangauge rarely gets up to 189. In less extreme cases I usually sit steady at 184. The thing is amazing.
 
I'm still collecting my notes to put up a longer post of my radiator replacement, but this point I found most interesting. I tested the replacement thermostat on the stove top in a pan of water and found it closed at 179 degrees. Now driving around the Scan Gauge is often at 179 degrees. I'll never replace a thermostat again without testing it ahead of time, just to bench mark.
I said this a few pages back but I’ll repeat. I did the Mishimoto all aluminum about 8 months ago. 98 degrees in the Florida sun going 75 on the interstate with the AC at full blast and my scangauge rarely gets up to 189. In less extreme cases I usually sit steady at 184. The thing is amazing.

Totally not discounting either of your cases, just want to remind people that the all aluminum radiator cant do magic and make your engine operate at like 130 degrees F.
 
Totally not discounting either of your cases, just want to remind people that the all aluminum radiator cant do magic and make your engine operate at like 130 degrees F.
I agree, I wasn’t expecting a significant change. I also think the VVTI motors run hotter based on info from the fuel boil threads. (Mine’s an 06)

Still looks cool though.
 
I agree, I wasn’t expecting a significant change. I also think the VVTI motors run hotter based on info from the fuel boil threads. (Mine’s an 06)

Still looks cool though.
Interesting! I didn’t know the VVTI ran hotter. The Mishimoto one does look really good.
 
Well I have a brand new leaking Mishimoto. I installed it last weekend, and noticed a small bit of coolant on the ground two days later. I was finally able to find the leak tonight. It is coming from a weak spot in a weld at a bolt hole on the bottom. A buddy put a pressure test on it to about 25psi and then got a black light out. It showed up pretty clearly in person, but the picture kind of captured it. I'll be reaching out about a replacement under warranty tomorrow.

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Well I have a brand new leaking Mishimoto. I installed it last weekend, and noticed a small bit of coolant on the ground two days later. I was finally able to find the leak tonight. It is coming from a weak spot in a weld at a bolt hole on the bottom. A buddy put a pressure test on it to about 25psi and then got a black light out. It showed up pretty clearly in person, but the picture kind of captured it. I'll be reaching out about a replacement under warranty tomorrow.

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Bummer! Have you reached out to Mishimoto about the warranty?
 
Bummer! Have you reached out to Mishimoto about the warranty?
Yes, I reached out this morning and got a response this afternoon that they were sending me a new one. No questions asked. I had to pay shipping, which I was a little annoyed by. I did review the terms of the warranty though, and it specifies that a charge for shipping of a warranty replacement will be required. Hopefully the second one won't leak, but I'm mostly annoyed by my time loss to do this job twice. Fingers crossed it's only twice...
 
Yes, I reached out this morning and got a response this afternoon that they were sending me a new one. No questions asked. I had to pay shipping, which I was a little annoyed by. I did review the terms of the warranty though, and it specifies that a charge for shipping of a warranty replacement will be required. Hopefully the second one won't leak, but I'm mostly annoyed by my time loss to do this job twice. Fingers crossed it's only twice...
I get it. It is very annoying to have to go through another radiator swap. However, good to hear the warranty process seemed pretty seamless. What of the leaking one?
 
I get it. It is very annoying to have to go through another radiator swap. However, good to hear the warranty process seemed pretty seamless. What of the leaking one?
They didn't ask about it. I think the I read somewhere that I was supposed to discard or destroy it. It looks to be an easy fix for someone that can weld aluminum though, so it will sit in the garage once the replacement goes in.
 
They didn't ask about it. I think the I read somewhere that I was supposed to discard or destroy it. It looks to be an easy fix for someone that can weld aluminum though, so it will sit in the garage once the replacement goes in.
Yeah that should be an easy fix for someone handy with a MIG.
 
Warranty claim was filed with Mishimoto Friday, and I just got notice that the replacement radiator shipped today, Monday. I really don't want to spend the time reinstalling another flawed radiator, so I will likely try to leak/pressure test it before I make the swap.
 
If there are tabs at the bottom of your radiator shroud make sure they are properly aligned. The Spectra radiator I put in my '99 (different than yours, CU2282) was perfect fit in every way.

My Spectra CU2282 has been perfect in every way. It fits and cools perfectly. I use OEM hoses and OEM clamps without issue.
When it's not full of mud, the coolant temp sits at 184.

I will say that the Spectra radiator takes a lot of abuse during off-roading.

It is regularly filled with mud and wood chips from logs that people throw into the mud holes in an attempt to fill up the holes.

When I get home, I use a pressure washer to clean out the mud and wood chips. I need to flush it from both directions, then follow up with a regular pressure nozzle on a water hose. I've had to pressure wash the radiator roughly 14 times during the past 18 months. It seems to be a tough radiator.


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