Cold Case Radiators

mrblaine

mrblaine

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Nov 20, 2015
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Quail Valley, CA
Has anyone installed and used one in a TJ with AC? Ran across them looking for something else and they are fairly intriguing. I like the warranty, they appear to know what they are doing and as we all know, the perfectly fine OEM radiator is getting expensive and will likely go away at some point and we need something we can count on.
I need to know if it can be installed with the grill in place and can the fan clutch be removed with the radiator in place.
 
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Flivver250 said:
Never heard of them, but it is a good read. Where are they made?
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I don't know and don't care. What I care about is a reasonably priced high quality radiator that works as well as OEM with good availability. Dealing in high quality brake parts that I couldn't source onshore if my life depended on it has taught me that what is far more important than where.

That and I don't want to saddle my clients with the additional labor of installing a Wizard or Northern product that requires pulling the grill to install them.
 
I have an aftermarket radiator in my Jeep, installed by the PO not long before I bought it. Probably built in Asia. Holds coolant and the rest of the system is brand new. I'll be replacing it sooner than later. As I am OCONUS, I am limited in what parts I can buy and even the MOPAR parts stores here have parts with very questionable origins. I buy what I can get, but do prefer to buy American where and when I can. I agree, great quality is my first goal, price second, origin can be the discriminator when all things are close. Boy do I miss the old days when you brought your radiator to a shop and got it re-cored. The re-cores were better than the originals at the shop I went to. They are long gone.
 
The reviews seem to suggest some fitment issues for the shrowd that can be overcome. Hopefully someone here has one to report on.
 
I'd be interested in knowing their core size, fin pitch and tube count if someone ends up with one they don't mind taking some measurements.
 
freedom_in_4low said:
I'd be interested in knowing their core size, fin pitch and tube count if someone ends up with one they don't mind taking some measurements.
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2 1.25"+ rows of tubes, 16 fins per inch. Not counting the tubes on that tiny picture but with the extra row, that shouldn't matter.
 
toximus said:
The reviews seem to suggest some fitment issues for the shrowd that can be overcome. Hopefully someone here has one to report on.
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I asked about the thread size in the nutsert. Not really a fan of that type of install for a shroud since we have to move them pretty often.
 
mrblaine said:
2 1.25"+ rows of tubes, 16 fins per inch. Not counting the tubes on that tiny picture but with the extra row, that shouldn't matter.
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The second row only does about half as much as the first so it's definitely possible to make a 2 row with less capacity than a 1 row but I zoomed in on the photo and counted 56 tubes... To the Mopar 55.

I would expect it to perform perfectly well enough based on what I can see. I'll keep following this to see what the installation ends up looking like.
 
Quadratec reviews say it doesn't fit a stock 04 fan clutch, it does look pretty thick. I know, Quadratec, but it does appear to be the same part number from the Cold Case website.

Edit: that doesn't seem to be the same shroud issue @toximus mentioned

They list the thickness as 3" and the core looks flush, that extra inch would put it about 1/4 from my fan, I can see how depending on where your motor sits it would be hit or miss.

I'm sure Blaine loves me quoting things he found on the internet in two minutes and really adding nothing new.
 
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I'm interested in this as well, since I'll be needing a rad soon. The 1.25" tubes are probably overkill, a pair of 1" would suffice and save a half inch of space.

Curious why you don't like wizard or northern radiators, mrblaine? (I have no personal experience with them).
 
05 Blue Unlimited said:
I quick question, today stock OEM is ~180 and the Cold Case is 375. Is it worth 2 extra bills?
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As long as the Mopar is available that's what I would get. I think the interest in this is more about what happens when mopar stops supporting us, which is likely to happen eventually.
 
Unless you need the integrated trans cooler like i do, then the mopar is $300+. I can't see why a tube in the bottom tank adds a Benjamin to the price.
 
GASnBRASS said:
I'm interested in this as well, since I'll be needing a rad soon. The 1.25" tubes are probably overkill, a pair of 1" would suffice and save a half inch of space.

Curious why you don't like wizard or northern radiators, mrblaine? (I have no personal experience with them).
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I beleive it is due to the necessity of removing the grill. He doesn’t want his customers to have to pay for that much labor if unneeded - correct me if I’m wrong Blaine.
 
reddvltj said:
That being the case I would explore the options of an external trans cooler...
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Which would require well over $100 of your additional labor (free personal labor is not really free) to install and plumb in the aux cooler. I'd stay with a radiator that has it built in.
 
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Jerry Bransford said:
Which would require well over $100 of your additional labor (free labor is not totally free) to install and plumb in the aux cooler. I'd stay with a radiator that has it built in.
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Nothing in life is ever free.. It was merely a suggestion, as to what I would do if I had an automatic. In tank coolers inherently are self defeating, Most of the actual cooling done in that type of setup is done in the lines to and from the cooler when you are at operating temp. (ever wonder how the Trans temp is cooler than the coolant temp?) It would serve 2 purposes, 1. better cooling for the transmission which as we all know is a huge benefit to the life of an automatic, otherwise why would you have done it? 2. the roughly $120 difference in price could be put towards the external trans cooler.
 
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