Another reason why you should *always* use the OEM radiator...

OEM isn't always the best! My OEM radiator had a very small leak. So small it wouldn't even drip, but I could smell it! So I brought my Jeep to a radiator guy, (not a mechanic or an auto parts store) a guy who repairs radiators. He told me my leak was a common one for these radiators. The leak was coming from the gasket between the plastic bowls and the aluminum core. Very common and was really not worth fixing. I could buy a new OEM radiator for the same price or less. But warned me that the same thing WILL happen again sooner or later. He told me that if I didn't want to deal with this problem again that I should buy an all welded all aluminum radiator from Northern Radiator.
https://www.northernfactory.com/
Yes it was more expensive but we'll worth it. It has twice the cooling capacity, equal to a 4 core radiator. Now I've never had a problem with the OEM keeping my engine cool, but I'm not going to turn down extra cooling capacity. I installed this a couple of years ago and have had no problems. I also installed a bug screen behind the grill to help protect the radiator. The reason he was promoting Northern was that some all aluminum radiator companies will use rubber, plastic, ect. To seal the bowls to the core that will crack over time from heat and leak. but Northern uses aluminum to seal theirs. They can take a lot more abuse. This is the same kind of radiators that are used on off road equipment like front end loaders.
We've had rigs in here that have that small bit of seeping around the o-ring and they will typically go a couple to several years before it gets bad enough to be a problem. The seeping stops when the radiator warms up and only seeps when they are cool. I've never seen one catastrophically fail due to that issue.

I'd consider a Northern but they are on the Wizard cooling site and I wouldn't run one of their products if you gave it to me for free.

A bit of clarification on your 4 core statement. A radiator has one core. The core consists of a row of 1 or more tubes and fins. Assuming that you were meaning 4 row, that doesn't necessarily mean the radiator will have more cooling capacity. The reason for that is there is a balance between tube size, number of rows, fin spacing, and tube to fin contact. Typically the more rows you have, the less efficient the radiator is due to the spaces between the tubes in the same core depth reducing fin contact. The addition of more rows of smaller tubes means very little with generally a less efficient radiator being the end result and more especially if all other things are equal.
 
My OEM radiator had 1 row my Northern Radiator has 2 rows. Each row is the same size as the OEM single row "twice the size." The radiator is wider it holds more coolant.
I never heard of Wizard cooling.
Northern Radiators are made in William MN.
I hate leaks!
When I said it was equal to a 4 core radiator, I was talking old school. The rows in the modern radiators are wider then the old ones. An old 2 row is equal to a new wider 1 row.
A radiator is under pressure. The pressure raises the boiling point temperature. If you have a leak then the boiling point temp will be lower. Run the risk of boiling over.
The repair guy found the leak and the engine/radiator was warmed up.
I like this radiator and it works great. Sorry to hear you don't like them based on the Wizard Web site. I'm basing my opinion on my experience and the radiator repair man's experience.
If you're happy with your OEM radiator that's great. I'm glad to hear it's working for you.
I was just trying to help.
I hate leaks!




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My OEM radiator had 1 row my Northern Radiator has 2 rows.

Yes, I'm aware.

Each row is the same size as the OEM single row "twice the size." The radiator is wider it holds more coolant.
What year is your rig?

I never heard of Wizard cooling.
Northern Radiators are made in William MN.
They aren't hard to look up. Look under the Jeep OEM engine section and you'll see.
I hate leaks!
Don't we all?
When I said it was equal to a 4 core radiator, I was talking old school. The rows in the modern radiators are wider then the old ones. An old 2 row is equal to a new wider 1 row.
Old school, new school, no school, there are no 4 core radiators in passenger cars.
A radiator is under pressure. The pressure raises the boiling point temperature. If you have a leak then the boiling point temp will be lower. Run the risk of boiling over.
The repair guy found the leak and the engine/radiator was warmed up.
I like this radiator and it works great. Sorry to hear you don't like them based on the Wizard Web site. I'm basing my opinion on my experience and the radiator repair man's experience.
If you're happy with your OEM radiator that's great. I'm glad to hear it's working for you.
I was just trying to help.
I hate leaks!

I never said it wasn't working for you or wouldn't. I'm basing my experience with OEM radiators on the dozens I've used to solve cooling problems here in SoCal which is only slightly cooler than Phoenix and we need great performance from our cooling systems.

That and we are actively pursuing a suitable alternative due to the OEM versions continually rising in price and I suspect it won't be long before they stop supporting the part.


Do you know if we can buy direct from Northern or if there is some outlet other than Wizard?
 
Well, in my honest opinion OE is the best way to go. The fact that many, many, many Wrangler TJs are out there on the road with well over 150k miles, 10+ years old and still have the original radiator, that just shows how long an OE radiator will last.

I'm not going to put my faith (or my money) in something that doesn't have a proven track record.

Even better, why would I need to "upgrade" (if that's what you want to tell yourself) the radiator when there's nothing wrong with the design of the OE radiator to begin with? Unless you believe what you read on the internet... You know, that the plastic end caps are a horrible design... Haha.

Anyways, to each their own. People can run whatever they want. But I would never suggest anyone swap out their radiator for anything but an OE radiator, unless they've got some sort of high-powered V8 swap.
 
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I replaced the entire cooling system a few months ago......water pump,thermostat, all hoses, and radiator . It was a parts store radiator, and now, even in 60 degree weather, the temp hovers just over 210. I'm can't wait until the Florida heat kicks in , and its 95 degrees. With the original radiator, it stayed just under 210,in 95 degree heat with a/c on. Live and learn.
 
Like you said "To each their own". All I know is this radiator works as good or better and doesn't LEAK!! Which, by the way, was the only reason I need to replace it in the first place. The gasket between the core and PLASTIC bowl was leaking.
If the factories built everything using the best that technology had to offer.
Well, we probably couldn't afford to buy the car and wouldn't have much need for part store's. I'm not saying that auto manufacturer don't make good part. But in this instance the only reason they used plastic bowls was to save money. There is NO cooling benefits to plastic vs aluminum. Since my Jeep is not a tar baby, I want something that can take a beating.
I haven't seen any plastic bowls on radiators on off road equipment yet. Plus if you live in a hot environment the aluminum bowls will provide more cooling then the plastic ones. When plastic breaks you will be buying a new radiator. When aluminum breaks it can be welded.
I was installing a new radiator on my 1992 Ford pickup and broke the plastic overflow tube on the radiator. Well guess what? It couldn't be fixed. If it was aluminum or not plastic it could have been fixed. What a waste of money that was.
OEM IS NOT ALWAYS BETTER!
Sometimes it is and sometimes it's not.
You have to make that call depending on what you are using you vehicle for.
 
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I replaced the entire cooling system a few months ago......water pump,thermostat, all hoses, and radiator . It was a parts store radiator, and now, even in 60 degree weather, the temp hovers just over 210. I'm can't wait until the Florida heat kicks in , and its 95 degrees. With the original radiator, it stayed just under 210,in 95 degree heat with a/c on. Live and learn.
WOW! Over 210. Damn! My gauge use to hover at 210 or a little above on a hot day. Now with the all aluminum radiator it hovers at 210 or a little less and that's with a pretty restricted bug screen in front. I didn't change my thermostat.
 
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Aftermarket is not always better either you really have to do your research.
Like for instance cooling fans OEM is usually better than aftermarket unless you spend a lot of money.
I Found that out the hard way.
My clutch fan went out on my 92 ford so I installed an electric fan then 2 electric fans and they couldn't keep it cool. I ended up over heating my a/c so I went back to the OEM clutch fan and it works great. Those electric fans at the parts store don't have enough CFM to keep it cool unlike the OEM electric fans.unless you spend $400 or more on one.
I've seen these new OEM electric fans on the JK's burn out from going through to much water and/or mud. Then their Jeep over heated. You won't have that problem with a belt driven fan.
Sometimes OEM is better sometimes it's not.
 
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OEM isn't always the best! My OEM radiator had a very small leak. So small it wouldn't even drip, but I could smell it! So I brought my Jeep to a radiator guy, (not a mechanic or an auto parts store) a guy who repairs radiators. He told me my leak was a common one for these radiators. The leak was coming from the gasket between the plastic bowls and the aluminum core. Very common and was really not worth fixing. I could buy a new OEM radiator for the same price or less. But warned me that the same thing WILL happen again sooner or later. He told me that if I didn't want to deal with this problem again that I should buy an all welded all aluminum radiator from Northern Radiator.
https://www.northernfactory.com/
Yes it was more expensive but we'll worth it. It has twice the cooling capacity, equal to a 4 core radiator. Now I've never had a problem with the OEM keeping my engine cool, but I'm not going to turn down extra cooling capacity. I installed this a couple of years ago and have had no problems. I also installed a bug screen behind the grill to help protect the radiator. The reason he was promoting Northern was that some all aluminum radiator companies will use rubber, plastic, ect. To seal the bowls to the core that will crack over time from heat and leak. but Northern uses aluminum to seal theirs. They can take a lot more abuse. This is the same kind of radiators that are used on off road equipment like front end loaders.

I'm glad you posted this, my junk replacement radiator has started leaking near the drain and I've been searching for a replacement. I'd like an all aluminum replacement but have been seeing a lot of negative reviews, I think most are epoxied. I think I'll give one of these a try being that it's all welded.
 
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I'm glad you posted this, my junk replacement radiator has started leaking near the drain and I've been searching for a replacement. I'd like an all aluminum replacement but have been seeing a lot of negative reviews, I think most are epoxied. I think I'll give one of these a try being that it's all welded.

Did you buy a Northern Radiator?
If so, how do you like it?
If not, what did you end up going with and how do you like that one?