Aftermarket Radiator issue

[16Victor]

Hey all,

At 138,000 miles the radiator went; hairline crack in tank below upper hose fitting. Caught it before it ever overheated.

I like rockauto.com and they had a Valeo unit for roughly $150. Got it, looks nice, but the tranny cooler line fittings are not compatible with the factory lines. FWIW it has 4 cooler fittings, two each side. Guess it makes it more 'univeral' but not a good fit for the intended appication...grrr....

I cannot gracefully modify the lines or fittings so I'm leaning towards sending it back.

Who's used an aftermarket radiator with the right fittings, where did you get it, and what did it cost?

A Nissens is $244 FCPGroton, pic shows two fittings, not 4 as the Valeo has. Rockauto's other offering is a Proliance at $235, pic shows 4 fittings. IPD has a Cryomax at $282 (yow), description says 2 fittings.

Any help or solution experience is very welcome,

Thanks

Ron

[JRL]

I think the Behr may be the closet fit followed by Nissans.
PersonallyI bite the bullet on these and go with OEM as the time you need to refit them, you may as well buy the correct one in the 1st place

[16Victor]

Cryomax P2424 is a perfect fit. Google it, I got mine for $160.

FWIW, tranny cooler line retaining clips are PN 9485149, O-rings are 3537503.

Assy/disassy tips:
-Put the car on ramps.
-Detach the cooling fan assembly and leave it in place during radiator/intercooler removal and install. This is the fan+shroud assy, not the fan as it bolts into the shroud. Two torx bolts at top and it pushes up from the bottom. Tie it back with string.
-Remove the 4 10mm bolts at the corners of the condenser, accessed from the front of the car. Tie it in place with string, up and forward as much as possible, and leave the condenser in place when sliding the rad/intercooler assy out.
-Move the rad/intercooler assy downward and to the rear to extract from the car.
-Remove airbox to make it easy to get to the lower radiator hose's rear clamp (assuming you're replacing it) or just leave the rear clamp on and and tie back the forward end if not replacing.
-Loosely attach rad and intercooler before sliding the assy up into place, using the corner bolts or tie-wraps. Then attach the assy to the condenser one bolt at at time, leaving them loose until all are in place.
-Buy the above mentioned snap clips and o-rings for the tranny cooler lines ahead of time. You will want them.

G/L and hope this helps somebody sometime,

Ron

[16Victor]

Well, the Cryomax failed after two years. OEM this time.

So, not remembering how exactly I did this last time, I log in and search the forum for some help and what do I find but my own post!

Damn I'm helpful.

Thank you, me.

[StoningtonXC70]

Thanks for this post's info..very timely for me. My 98s rad is leaking in the same fashion, from as far as I can tell at the same location. The coolant level is now going from the max fill line mark in the overflow tank to below the min line in a day if I am making a lot of engine start up and cool down cycles. It only leaks on heat up and cool down, not at all when it's at temp and pressure. Due to my work sked of late, will have my local indie mechanic do the work for me. Over the last 30 years, I have come to the conclusion that cars know when your are working OT and are bringing home some extra cash - almost all of my major car repair incidents have happened around times when I have been flat out at work.

[almostarctic]

Hey all,


A Nissens is $244 FCPGroton, pic shows two fittings, not 4 as the Valeo has. Rockauto's other offering is a Proliance at $235, pic shows 4 fittings. IPD has a Cryomax at $282 (yow), description says 2 fittings.

Any help or solution experience is very welcome,

Thanks

Ron

So JRL said that the Nissens are a close fit but they only have 2 fittings? How would one get it fit for the turbo engines?

Cal

[16Victor]

Stonington, I made some changes to the steps to clear things up.

almostarctic, you want 2 fittings for the tranny cooler lines, not 4. The 2424 in the P/N is key, find that and you will get a good fit.

G/L all

Ron