Radiator and air intake upgrades

T

Tugs

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Newport Beach, CA
Greetings,
I have a 2003 TJ 4.0 5-speed manual. My coolant looks murky and the hoses could use replacing. I want to upgrade to a better aluminum radiator since I have to go through all the effort anyway. Looking for some options that people have had success with. I have looked on a couple sites that sell them, but reviews are mixed. I'd like to hear from some people that have gone through this and can recommend good products. I'm not on a budget, I want quality.

I was also interested in new intake. I have seen forum posts that say cold air intakes are a waste of money and don't do anything. Seen the same about spacers and throttle bodies. Would love some feed back on that as well.

Hope to hear from some of you good folks.

Thanks in advance!

-Tugs
 
The best "upgrades" I've ever done to my radiator and air intake were to leave them alone. Nothing works better. 🤫
RIP thread.jpg
 
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Tugs said:
I'm leaning to Mopar direct replacement and leaving the intake alone.
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1. I spent double the cost of a MOPAR replacement on a POS Griffin (due to time constraints) that leaked in less than two years. Stick with the MOPAR replacement. From what I've read, the only aluminum radiators that are worth a damn are closer to $1000 than $100.
2. One of the only reasons to change the intake is if you need to relocate it due to packaging (ex. highline fenders)
3. Spacers and throttle bodies won't do anything noticable on an otherwise stock engine.
 
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L J said:
1. I spent double the cost of a MOPAR replacement on a POS Griffin (due to time constraints) that leaked in less than two years. Stick with the MOPAR replacement. From what I've read, the only aluminum radiators that are worth a damn are closer to $1000 than $100.
2. One of the only reasons to change the intake is if you need to relocate it due to packaging (ex. highline fenders)
3. Spacers and throttle bodies won't do anything noticable on an otherwise stock engine.
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Thank you for your response. This is the consensus I am getting from multiple sources.
 
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I just received my mopar radiator from summit racing yesterday to replace my costly purchase error of an autozone duralast radiator on a late sunday evening 3 yrs ago only to have it failed 3 times already. One failed right out of the box. Screw their lifetime warranty on parts. I'll pay more for a mopar with a limited warranty or even a used mopar unit with a 5 day warranty than trusting a parts store brand items on important items relating to cooling or sensors.
 
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As far as "intake" upgrades go, dont be thinking a K&N is an improvement either. Worthless junk like "oil stabilizers" and the rest of the snake oil product market.
 
Cold air intakes and throttle body spacers are a scam as far as TJs go.
 
No, you are all wrong.

Get the throttle body spacer, you'll gain 10hp. Cold air intake...dyno shows 15. Header and exhaust, another 25. Get a "chip" and you can gain another 20. Don't spend alot of money on that....the ebay ones are just fine.

Take your mechanical fan off and add an electric fan...another 10hp. Get an underdrive pulley for the crank, another 10. Add a larger throttle body and you've got another 10. Premium fuel adds another 10 with all these mods.

There you go....there is another 100hp or so. Probably another 5mpg too. I'm completely full of shit but this is what some people actually think. If it were that easy the OEM's would have already done it.
 
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If there is nothing wrong with the current radiator, I would do a thermocure flush (drive couple days with it is when warm enough out) flush out really good includig the heater core and refill with the proper fluid and go. replace the hoses if needed.
 
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Yoda said:
No, you are all wrong.

Get the throttle body spacer, you'll gain 10hp. Cold air intake...dyno shows 15. Header and exhaust, another 25. Get a "chip" and you can gain another 20. Don't spend alot of money on that....the ebay ones are just fine.

Take your mechanical fan off and add an electric fan...another 10hp. Get an underdrive pulley for the crank, another 10. Add a larger throttle body and you've got another 10. Premium fuel adds another 10 with all these mods.

There you go....there is another 100hp or so. Probably another 5mpg too. I'm completely full of shit but this is what some people actually think. If it were that easy the OEM's would have already done it.
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You forgot the +10 HP sticker...just saying...

-Mac
 
Since @Tugs appears to be making rational statements which seems important on a thread like this I'd say there is value in replacing a factory Mopar radiator if it is getting old. I replaced mine at 14 years and 130k just because it was getting old. The plastic tank ages and then cracks and ruins your day. I have no idea how long they will last but at this point I'll probably take a close look at it in another 10 years. It isn't too difficult to pull and $200-400 every ten or fifteen years isn't a big number for me considering what happens when the upper tank splits. It seems a bit like hoses, I don't know if I could spot one on the way out. I guess if you are confident you could spot a crack developing or if a split radiator isn't a huge deal then a wait and see tactic is just fine.
 
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As far as radiators go, PLEASE read this:

mrblaine said:
This needs addressing further. There is a very key point here you overlooked either intentionally or due to your lack of attention to details that you normally exhibit. I don't have a dog in this fight. I don't care what radiator anyone uses. I need a good radiator solution because we all know that the OEM version isn't going to be around forever and when that day comes, I NEED something I can get in a hurry, is remotely affordable and will not be a warranty problem.

Right now, there are only two radiators I will install. One is Northern and the other is OEM. I can be convinced to install others but only under the following conditions. If it has to come out for warranty, you handle the entire warranty process. You will compensate me for my time, materials and also be willing to listen to me bitch and gripe the whole time I'm doing it because I'm doing something I despise.

On the other hand, if I install an OEM and it has a problem, that is 100% on me, I'll take care of every single aspect and I'll even put up with you bitching at me because it fucked up.

The reason for that is very simple due to OUR experiences. Griffin has a 100% failure rate. Wizard cooling has a 100% failure rate and a 100% denial of warranty. Mishimoto has a 100% failure rate. Champion has a 100% failure rate. CSF has a 100% failure rate.

OEM has a 100% success rate. There is one other ebay radiator I put in front of an LS swap that is still working so it is also 100% success. I replaced the Wizard with the Northern and it is still going strong. The reason I don't do more Northern versions is they kinda have their head up their ass on fitment and what it takes to install one. No one should have to pull the grill to install a radiator.

I need a radiator solution, I need one I can count on, and I need it to be reasonably affordable both on the part cost and on the install side. With the cost of OEM getting up around 300+ I really need an alternate since that is way too much for OEM but until something with a much lower failure rate comes along and I can still get OEM, it will be OEM as the first choice.
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And not to beat this subject to death...but the best radiator upgrade you can probably get is a Rusty's radiator skid...I believe they are the only ones that make one... correct?

Pacific northwest here...death by stick is a daily possibility.

-Mac
 
pagrey said:
It isn't too difficult to pull and $200-400 every ten or fifteen years isn't a big number for me considering what happens when the upper tank splits.
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After ten years of service, it's inexpensive preventative maintenance.
 
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Tugs said:
Thank you for the input. That falls inline with the other threads I am going through. I'm leaning to Mopar direct replacement and leaving the intake alone.
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Good decisions, really. While spacers really do help when placed under 'wet' devices like carburetors and 1st generation throttle bodies that have a fuel injector screwed into them, they do nothing for modern throttle bodies that only pass air. Fuel is injected directly into the combustion chamber located well below the throttle body.

We are still searching for the holy grail, a radiator that provides anything better than what the OEM Mopar radiator does without paying an exorbitant price for it. And on the air intake, the OEM design is well known to be able to easily flow more air than the engine can consume at WOT and redline rpms. And you'd never notice anything different or better with the main CAI systems companies push. In theory cold air is of course denser and can theoretically pack more gasoline but in reality, with a Jeep, it just doesn't happen.

And a big welcome to WTF!!! :)
 
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