Is the tank actually cracked or is the solder cracked?? Either way you can have that fixed at a radiator shop if you have one in your area, or try to fix it yourself, at least to get it back on the road.
Is the tank actually cracked or is the solder cracked?? Either way you can have that fixed at a radiator shop if you have one in your area, or try to fix it yourself, at least to get it back on the road.
Tank itself is cracked - I'll try to get a better picture tomorrow. I'll probably try to solder it just for the hell of it while waiting for the new unit to get here.
5 years ago when I installed my turbo I also installed a Ron Davis radiator. This past summer my fan exploded and destroyed that radiator. I went back to an OEM and believe it not it actually works better than my Ron Davis....significantly better. no clue why, but I'm very happy with the OEM.
I live, and off road in Arizona, my first factory Toyota radiator (my truck is a 94 so it's a brass core radiator) lasted 26 years. I had no problems with my 26 year old radiator, but i felt it was a good idea to replace it after 26 years of use seeing as it uses plastic tanks.
I replaced it with another factory Toyota brass radiator. My temps in the summer time off road range from a low of 180 degrees, to a high of 195 degrees. My engine is a stock 1FZ-FE 6 cylinder.
One thing i will tell you, if you buy a factory Toyota radiator, buy it from your local dealership. The reason i say that, the packaging used by Toyota to ship these radiators in, is VERY POORLY made, and if you order it mail order you stand a very good chance of it getting damaged in shipping.
If you buy it local, you'll pay more, but you'll be able to open it, and inspect it right at the dealership parts counter for any damage when you pick it up. If it's damaged you'll be able to deal with it right then no questions asked, instead of having to ship it back to the seller and wait for a refund.
you can also get it from Cruiser Outfitters. I know they have to ship it, but it's OEM and I paid $250 less from cruiser outfitters than my dealership wanted. I love to support the cruiser guys because they are a specialty business just here for us.
I went with brass when I replaced my 97 80s radiator because of concerns about the durability of aluminum and the potential to do a field repair on a brass radiator. However, the only durability issue of an OEM or good quality aftermarket is the dang nipple that is too easy to break off. The 80 system's main issue is the tendency to run hot, thus contributing to issues that range from the fried wiring that can sometimes occur with the harness that runs over top on the firewall all the way up to head gasket failure. Going with aluminum will reliably gain you a few degrees cooler running. I understand the always go with OEM thing, but this is one case where going non-OEM aluminum might be better because it leads to a systematic improvement in cooling capacity that makes for a worthwhile compromise. YMMV.
