Radiator: OEM style auto vs. OEM style manual vs. high end aluminum (done right)
- Thread starter Feralkid
- Start date
Great idea keep us update on your success. In the mean time MOPAR radiators have 10's million and maybe even billions of miles of success.
The 2.5 and 4.0 use the same radiator in the YJ just like the TJ.
Also, IIRC @Mr. Bills has a custom built one. I remember seeing the website but can’t remember what it is. Maybe he’ll chime in and share.
With the OE TJ radiator getting harder to find, the even older YJ OE radiator would be even harder and my guess impossible to find.
06TJ35's
TJ Addict
Ok I have a question. If the plastic top of an OEM radiator cracks. Can you replace just the top plastic part?or is it not a good idea?
whose up to bat?
Mopar 5503 7652AA, Radiator https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0049EH4AC/?tag=wranglerorg-20
Mopar 5503 7652AA, Radiator https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0049EH4AC/?tag=wranglerorg-20
The aluminum crimp that seals the tank is a one time shot, so not a good idea even if you could find a replacement.
Exactly, the OE radiator can't be resealed. My 97 TJ's OE radiator seal failed in 98 and replacement radiators were on nationwide backorder due to most having that problem. My dealer took it to the local radiator shop and they tried 3x to get it to seal but couldn't. They ended up installing an aftermarket radiator which failed maybe a year later. Fortunately by then the redesigned Mopar radiator was available and the dealer installed one under warranty. No more problems after that.
Yes, but...
The YJ radiator could be rebuilt by any radiator shop - you're just after the tanks and the mounts. Then maybe it would last longer than 10 years.
Again, try to find the OE YJ radiator. And even if you could find one would it fit the TJ?
Again, the YJ radiator can be rebuilt - which means there are junkyards FULL of them! The question of it fitting has already been answered, right in this thread.
Here is an option
https://thebrassworks.net/collections/restoration/products/jeep-radiators
I've kept these guys in mind because they make a brass heater core for our tj's. So why not our radiators too? May be expensive...
https://thebrassworks.net/collections/restoration/products/jeep-radiators
I've kept these guys in mind because they make a brass heater core for our tj's. So why not our radiators too? May be expensive...
Worth keeping in mind if they can rebuild one that works and fits. 10 years is for the birds.
Yes the YJ used the same radiator for the 2.5 and 4.0. But the YJ 4.0 was not running as lean fuel mixtures as the later TJ 4.0 so it does not run as hot so the copper radiator was adequate for the task. It could work in areas with lower ambient air temperatures but I will not say that since I have not tested it.
I reread your original post and now I understand what you meant regarding copper vs. aluminum. I also did not know the tidbit about the TJ running leaner. Makes much more sense.
This is very good information, and it certainly isn't "lower ambient temperatures" here in Florida!
We quit running them many years ago because they all failed at various points. If you dig around on the 'net, there were a lot of reports showing leaks at hose necks, filler necks, tube to header connections etc. That was quite awhile back and also how we learned that multi-rows of tubes were far less efficient than other designs.
When we first got our second TJ a buddy who was old school bought one and then convinced many of us that copper and brass were superior. We all hopped on his little bandwagon, bought and installed them. Sadly, not knowing better, we threw away our piece of shit stock Mopar radiators. In less than a year we had all converted back to Mopar. Kat couldn't drive hers on the highway with the AC on or it would get hot. The one in my rig started leaking from two of the necks. In a short period of time we had all converted back. Some got theirs warrantied from CSF and sold them off. I didn't have anyone I disliked that much to do that to.
That said, that was quite a few years ago and things may have changed by now.
As an aside. We completely reworked a friends YJ. Coil link suspension, cage, coil-overs and while it was here, he cleaned up a lot of stuff under the hood. He also installed a radiator to finish the under hood sprucing up. He just whipped down to the local Autozone and grabbed whatever piece of shit aluminum and plastic tank version they had in stock.
No overheating, no running hot, still in there several years later working just fine and that includes him towing a small camper several times a year. Makes more sense now.