Is it okay that my Mopar radiator has plastic tanks?

TuryV

TuryV

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Dec 29, 2020
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Yuma AZ.
Hey guys Turyv here,

Quick question. I bought a Mopar rad for my TJ part number 5503 7653 AB which is suppose to be a direct replacement for my TJ, but the top and bottom tanks are plastic not metal like the one on my jeep. is this ok or did I get the wrong part number or did they sent me the wrong one?

Thank you. and marry xmas to all...
 
TuryV said:
Hey guys Turyv here,

Quick question. I bought a Mopar rad for my TJ part number 5503 7653 AB which is suppose to be a direct replacement for my TJ, but the top and bottom tanks are plastic not metal like the one on my jeep. is this ok or did I get the wrong part number or did they sent me the wrong one?

Thank you. and marry xmas to all...
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They’re made out of plastic now, however since you have one with metal tanks you can drop it off at a radiator shop to be repaired.
 
Mine were always plastic.
mopar radiator.jpg
 
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Havasu said:
They’re made out of plastic now, however since you have one with metal tanks you can drop it off at a radiator shop to be repaired.
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So I should not put on the one I paid 300 bucks for? And I should have the old one fixed. that's a hard pill to swallow.

I got water in my just recently rebuilt trans. like just 2 days ago rebuilt. the rad is old and it looks in bad shape plus is been ran with tap water for a while you can tell. that's' why a had the new rad sitting in a box.
 
You could use the $300 radiator if you want but radiator shops can do amazing work beyond repairs.

Back in the 1980s I worked with the mechanics at a trucking company. One day the radiator shop dropped off a box smaller than normal. I just figured it was a few heater cores until the head mechanic saw it. He ran up to it, opened it immediately and pulled out exactly what he had ordered for himself, a radiator for the car that he only drag raced. It was built from a couple used top and bottom tanks from a Ford LTL-9000. IIRC they were each about 5" high and thick front to back but they were cut down to be only about 10" wide and the huge flanges for the radiator hoses had been replaced with flanges that would except the hoses from whatever engine he was running. The core was a similar in height to the 10" width which made the radiator itself about 18" tall. I can't quite remember how many rows of cooling tubes it had but being so thick I think it had 6 rows. Unfortunately there was no such thing as a digital camera, nor could I afford a film camera back then so I have no pictures.

I have no idea what it would cost to get yours repaired today compared to the $300 replacement but it may be worth it to find out.
 
JEEPCJTJ said:
You could use the $300 radiator if you want but radiator shops can do amazing work beyond repairs.

Back in the 1980s I worked with the mechanics at a trucking company. One day the radiator shop dropped off a box smaller than normal. I just figured it was a few heater cores until the head mechanic saw it. He ran up to it, opened it immediately and pulled out exactly what he had ordered for himself, a radiator for the car that he only drag raced. It was built from a couple used top and bottom tanks from a Ford LTL-9000. IIRC they were each about 5" high and thick front to back but they were cut down to be only about 10" wide and the huge flanges for the radiator hoses had been replaced with flanges that would except the hoses from whatever engine he was running. The core was a similar in height to the 10" width which made the radiator itself about 18" tall. I can't quite remember how many rows of cooling tubes it had but being so thick I think it had 6 rows. Unfortunately there was no such thing as a digital camera, nor could I afford a film camera back then so I have no pictures.

I have no idea what it would cost to get yours repaired today compared to the $300 replacement but it may be worth it to find out.
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I will have the original repaired but I'm going to use the plastic one for now and have the other one as back up one way or another I'm stuck with the new one. Thanks for the input.
 
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Any Ideas on my water in the tranny fluid problem? I'm guessing is the radiator. nothing else puts water in the trans. but I welcome any input. Thank you.
 
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Made out of plastic now?? Every jeep Ive owned post the CJ days, Cherokees, MJ, TJ,YJ's had plastic tanks. Rule #1 of Cherokee ownership (NAXJA) is to shit can the plastic junker before the tank gaskets fails in favor of a all metal one. Your frustration is understood but personally, IF, and I say if you can find a radiator shop Id have the metal one gone thru. They can recore it with more rows if needed etc. Seems 90% or the old school shops closed up due to enviro regs. The ones still open would sell you an overpriced plastic POS from China like the ones every AP store sells. Far as water in the fluid...has it even been submerged and the vent line under water?? I can tell you Toyota and Nissan IIRC had failures with their factory rads getting cracks internally in the coolers which contaminated the fluid and killed their auto trans. It was refereed to the "pink milk shake" Just me $.02 worth.
 
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TuryV said:
So I should not put on the one I paid 300 bucks for? And I should have the old one fixed. that's a hard pill to swallow.

I got water in my just recently rebuilt trans. like just 2 days ago rebuilt. the rad is old and it looks in bad shape plus is been ran with tap water for a while you can tell. that's' why a had the new rad sitting in a box.
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millions run plastic tank radiators, so wouldn’t hesitate running the new one. I mentioned rebuilding the old one because today so many people dont realize it’s an option on radiators with metal tanks.
 
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Gilaguy23 said:
Made out of plastic now?? Every jeep Ive owned post the CJ days, Cherokees, MJ, TJ,YJ's had plastic tanks. Rule #1 of Cherokee ownership (NAXJA) is to shit can the plastic junker before the tank gaskets fails in favor of a all metal one.
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TJs have had plastic tanks since 1997, my '97 TJ had plastic tanks. Only the early 97-99.5 radiators had any problems which was the seal between the tanks and core. After mid-1999 they have been fine. The TJ radiators hold up well and they cool better than 99.9% of aftermarket radiators, plastic or all-metal. Pretty much all vehicles have had radiators with plastic tanks for many years now. My current TJ has 110k miles on its plastic tank radiator without problem.
 
Jerry Bransford said:
TJs have had plastic tanks since 1997, my '97 TJ had plastic tanks. Only the early 97-99.5 radiators had any problems which was the seal between the tanks and core. After mid-1999 they have been fine. The TJ radiators hold up well and they cool better than 99.9% of aftermarket radiators, plastic or all-metal. Pretty much all vehicles have had radiators with plastic tanks for many years now. My current TJ has 110k miles on its plastic tank radiator without problem.
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The TJ did have an option for an all metal radiator and was still available at least at my dealer for the early models. We have argued with a few who said they bought them new that had all metal radiators so I had to check. Sure enough, it was an option.

That said with as much as this is discussed, I'm still amazed that folks don't know that they are fine by now.
 
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Gilaguy23 said:
Made out of plastic now?? Every jeep Ive owned post the CJ days, Cherokees, MJ, TJ,YJ's had plastic tanks. Rule #1 of Cherokee ownership (NAXJA) is to shit can the plastic junker before the tank gaskets fails in favor of a all metal one. Your frustration is understood but personally, IF, and I say if you can find a radiator shop Id have the metal one gone thru. They can recore it with more rows if needed etc. Seems 90% or the old school shops closed up due to enviro regs. The ones still open would sell you an overpriced plastic POS from China like the ones every AP store sells. Far as water in the fluid...has it even been submerged and the vent line under water?? I can tell you Toyota and Nissan IIRC had failures with their factory rads getting cracks internally in the coolers which contaminated the fluid and killed their auto trans. It was refereed to the "pink milk shake" Just me $.02 worth.
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Same thing happened to our Aussie ford falcons the dreaded pink milkshake from the trans cooler.
 
Fishtaco said:
Same thing happened to our Aussie ford falcons the dreaded pink milkshake from the trans cooler.
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If that is indeed the issue, he would be the very first TJ I've ever read about having it. I guess there is something to say about the tanks failing before the heat exchanger rots and ruins the tranny.
 
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