Preferred Radiator for 2003 Sahara with 42RLE Automatic?
- Thread starter Stockli
- Start date
No issues so far. On mine, the core is metal, and the ends are plastic. This company has been in business for a number of years. It took them 4 days to rebuild mine.
You have to understand something that surprises a lot of Jeep owners... it takes a damned expensive and well engineered radiator to even equal, let alone outperform the OE Mopar radiator. Most aftermarket radiators are Chinese junk. And even the reasonably priced "all aluminum" radiators are usually junk and they pretty much don't cool as well as the Mopar does which has an ALL ALUMINUM core which is where it counts. The reasonably priced all aluminum radiators are put together so poorly they have to line them with epoxy to stop their leaks.... ok that sounds good until you realize that the epoxy lining also reduced the coolant capacity and made it so the coolant isn't in contact with the aluminum to help cool it, there's a layer of epoxy next to the coolant... not aluminum.
Stop worrying about the fact that modern radiators have plastic tops and bottoms, even my wife's Lexus, my current Genesis, and so did my previous BMW. And I haven't had a radiator issue, not even a leak, since 1999.
If you want to run aftermarket go right ahead but unless you pay BIG $$$ for it you' likely to have reduced cooling capacity and more problems. Most TJ owners who install aftermarket brands, especially internet or store brands, or Mishimoto, have problems... especially when it gets hot.
When my nearly 20 year old Mopar radiator finally starts giving me problems I'll install another. Us Southwest wheelers who wheel hot desert conditions have learned over the years that the Mopar is real hard to beat.
JKP
TJ Addict
If you really want all metal, the only one I can recommend is the CSF brass/copper. I put one in my YJ about 15 yrs ago and it has not had any issues other than the cheap plastic drain plug. Put a bolt in it's place when the plastic one broke. No other problems.
LONGJP2
TJ Expert
How does a lifetime warranty on an inferior part help you on the side of the road; or worse, on the trail?
SolarColumbia
Member
I'm the same. I have difficulty at times remembering if I've read a fiction book until I find a summary of the plot to refresh my memory.
Exactly, Autozone's "lifetime warranty" is a joke among those who know what it really is. It's genius in that it gives the illusion of great quality... afterall, how could they afford a lifetime warranty on cheap low quality parts that don't last.
The genius is that they know that once a customer buys something like a radiator, their vehicle is getting old enough that few keep it long enough to need that free replacement. In reality they don't have to provide many warranty replacements so the cost of that "lifetime warranty" is actually very insignificant. It's more just a great marketing tool that fools a lot of people into believing it indicates good quality when it's not in reality.
For us Jeep owners that tend to keep our Jeeps longer than average, it just means we'll have to replace a Duralast radiator more often than we'd like or expect to. And the last thing I want to be wondering about when I'm 40 miles from town out in the boondocks is if that cheap critical part is going to fail when I'm out in the boondocks. A cheap critical part that fails in town close to home is one thing, being in the boondocks when it happens is quite another.
For my Jeep I'll never, ever, install a cheap critical part like something with the Duralast brand on it. It's just not worth the savings. At least not to me. Like the pilot 10,000' up at night over the mountains when his engine starts sputtering and he starts regretting that cheap magneto he installed.
I'll take a 12 month warranty on a Mopar radiator any day over a lifetime warranty on a Duralast or similar low-quality radiator or similar critical component. Duralast floor mats? No problem.