[craigtempo]

Im after a radiator so im guessing il get one off flebay ...
Question do I get the standard one or go aluminium ?
Its a standard motor .87 lwb
There afound $100 ish

[tonyevans]

I have an aluminium one from Ebay - It has been great for about 2 years now and it is hot where I live.

[christover1]

My alloy fleabay radiator has been going great, too. Colder here, but has done a few desert and beach sand trips.

[Gwagensteve]

Stock replacement. Alloy radiators are poorly suited to offroad cars when mounted in the factory location.

The stock radiator offers plenty of cooling if used with a proper fan and shroud.

Steve.

[MrRocky]

I use the CarsRus brand from ebay there normally only $100 and never had any issues. They seem to last alot longer than the copper core ones in regards to clogging up.

[AckerDackerly]

I vote for a all-metal Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) radiator (available in early models of the G13-equipped US Samurais up to 1988) over the later plastic topped G13 radiators.

If the plastic-topped radiator starts leaking at the seams, you buy a new one. An all-metal OEM unit can be unsoldered, cleaned internally by a radiator shop, then reassembled good-as-new for less than a replacement radiator.

I have been running a refurbished all-metal OEM G13 radiator on a G16 8-valve with no overheating problems for 12 years...

Something to consider...

[MrRocky]

In west oz its cheaper to buy a new alloy ebay one than to get a recore or even have it rodded and cleaned

[tonyevans]

MrRocky wrote:

In west oz its cheaper to buy a new alloy ebay one than to get a recore or even have it rodded and cleaned

I think this apply's most anywhere these days, You can't - as I say It is HOT here in summer up-to 50C and ALL my driving in the Zook is dirt (Corrugated) roads and never had to top up the coolant in 2 years + With garage rates about $100 an hour I just keep a spare radiator in the shed.

[christover1]

I still have the original radiator in the shed if anyone wants it.


I was also very surprised by the weight difference, I thought they had sent an empty box

[Kor3y101]

I recently bought a replacement one for $80 off ebay, has plastic top tanks though. Arrived the next day and was much cheaper then getting my old one fixed.

I say go for it, they are really good build quality.

[shandy92]

Whats the life of a rad before cleaning? I bought a new rad in jan 2012, got cleaned later that yr do to oil in the coolant. Coolant has been changed.

[craigtempo]

Thanks f our your replies . Still not sure which one to get but I'll probably go for the standard one .

[coily96]

The one your looking at on ebay for $100 is the exact same radiator that would be sent to a red devil or similar radiator shop for $240. They all come from Taiwan, just because its on ebay it doesn't mean its poor quality, it just hasnt had the mark up put on it yet because the wholesaler wants low margin/high turnover sales.

[christover1]

I went to a local radiator shop first, before going to ebay.
They told me that is where they would get it from.
Not all radiators, but certainly mine.

[MrRocky]

I have seen some bad ones
I use the seller CarsRus and have only had quality after chucking them in 5-6 zooks

[miloking]

craigtempo wrote:

Im after a radiator so im guessing il get one off flebay ...
Question do I get the standard one or go aluminium ?
Its a standard motor .87 lwb
There afound $100 ish

My Flebay (china) year old (bought october 2014) all aluminium /chineesium radiator started leaking few weeks go ... Its at bottom where fins go into the tank so shop say repair is not worth it.

I got rid of my OEM one because it was ugly but worked well, so now i had to buy second hand OEM because no shops stock SJ413 radiator around here...

(second hand rad turned out to be SJ410 rad which is 5cm shorter so doesnt even fit properly but at least works and doesnt leak)


$200 = fleebay rad (including shipping)

$100 = replacement second hand

$35 = 5L of new coolant

Lesson learned = priceless!

[jonno_racing]

at there price, id never run a second hand radiator.
im about to buy a new one for my zook to match its new 1600

[Kor3y101]

I bought a brand new radiator from eBay for $80 brand new including shipping from a reputable seller. If your paying $200, your being ripped off!

[vet 180]

Gwagensteve wrote:

Stock replacement. Alloy radiators are poorly suited to offroad cars when mounted in the factory location.

The stock radiator offers plenty of cooling if used with a proper fan and shroud.

Steve.

Can you go into more detail on this Steve? I was thinking of maybe running a bigger alloy rad on the vitara

[craigtempo]

Aluminium ebay radiator ...... Rubbish .... Dont do it ... Lasted about 6 months so now ive put in a genuine radiator ... So far so good

[Toomanycars]

We have ebay alloy radiators in 5 of our cars with no problems. 2 in Sierras and 3 in wrxs.. The extra thickness of the core and additional capacity of coolant is great for track days.

[craigtempo]

Yeah mine actually looks smaller than the standard size . Went well until catastphic falure !

[Santos]

My first copper tank radiator was re-cored in about 2006 , local shop had trouble finding the right core in their reference manual.
I suggested a suzuki swift one might be the same given the engine similarities and they smiled looked through their little book and found out that the core did match the dimensions. cost was under $250 parts & labour
That one lasted me about 3- 4 years .

Second one was loaned from my 85 LWB which went for a few more years until i picked a another one here for $20 or so.

Upgraded to an ebay one ($90 or less delivered sydney) after monitoring one i sucessfully in friends lwb vitara over a year.

Reason for swap? Drop temperatures, no decades build up of crud layer. IF anything my ebay one works too well i keep thinking the temperature gauge is not working, only moves after sitting in traffic for over 30mins or when working hard on sand.

As much as i am not a fan of the plastic tanks i will probably just replace it with another ebay every few years leak or no leak. Added bonus is after the first one you have brackets that will bolt on to larger radiators, just need to work out what has the right diameter inlet outlet pipe

I kept the old tanks and brackets just in case the market changes etc. Might even do a DIY recore onday for fun of it. Blowtorch will get the tabs off the tank and a cutting disk along the core. Takes up alot less space than a full sized radiator.