75aces

My radiator on my 1996 Accord ex 4 cylinder failed on me today. Price is an issue for me. I found a radiator from O'Rilley's for $95. I haven't checked with the Honda dealership yet. I want to know if anybody out there has problems with off brands. I replaced the original radiator 2 years ago. The shop didn't indicate the brand of the replacement and it only lasted plus or minus 2 years. The shop told me that they are comparable to the Denso units. Just trying to find out if it's worth shelling out the additional $150 or not. Thanks.

nus_dogg

I'm also running an O-Reily radiator. Mine seems to be having a small leak from somewhere off the radiator as I can smell it when I'm at idle, and I have mine for like three years now. I say OEM is best, but if you have enough dough for the aluminum radiator, go for it as it has much more cooling effiency over the stock one. Though, you'll need to run both the radiator & condenser aftermarket slim fans.

But for real though, I say get another aftermarket OEM one.

75aces

Mine is leaking from the top. It started to over heat and I added coolant directly into the radiator. The coolant sat at the top and then just went straight to the bottom tray. I'm only bringing this question up because I'm not sure if the designs are similar and may be missing something. It's not an aluminum unit. It's just a cheap OEM replacement.

Cereal One

Ever consider the radiator stop leak products first?

Nicefeet

Stop leak is a very cheap yet expensive band aid.

TheMuffinMan

iTrader: (1)

Horrible horrible thing to use. Lots of horror stories with it.

As to the OP's question. A lot of parts adhere to the 'You get what you pay for' saying. I'm sure radiators are not exempt.

http://tasauto.com/Product/Detail.as...1494&d=280&p=1

While I won't say the TAS Auto aftermarket unit is invulnerable, they are a rather well known Accord store and I would recommend them. I also would NEVER suggest buying something like a radiator at a dealership, you're asking to be raped on the price. If you want an OEM one, check out Majestic Honda first.

StreetsideStig

Agreed. I went to the dealership for 4 O-rings the other week. $15.

75aces

I checked Majestic and they are charging $250. I don't have an issue with running a cheaper one. I'm just concerned about the design flaws. As we all know; not all parts are created equally.

chikin pickle

I'm running a CSK all metal radiator (I think it's bronze). $125. A little heavier but works nice.

75aces

Has anyone tried using an egg? It was done on mythbusters?

MAD_MIKE

Due to time constraint I picked up a AL/plastic tank unit from Otter Zone. Seems fine. Pretty good knock off of the Denso unit, even had the flat spot where Denso puts their name and part number on top of the tank. Funky.
Copper/Brass most likely. I recently checked the prices of a radiator(not Honda) replacement for another toy. ~ 4 years ago it was $99, today $199 Cost of CU has gone up.

ToTriggerHappy

ive been running an autozone radiator with my GSR Swap for about 3 years now.
NO PROBLEMS!!

nus_dogg

Stay away from those stop leaks! They clogged up alot of passages inside the radiator, heater core, and other various places in the engine.

NEVER DO THAT; unless, you want to replace things the second time!

nicolaselias

Both plastic bottles of my accord radiator crapped out.. Basically I paid a shop to replace them with the copper/brass equivalent.. Original honda radiator, just different top and bottom. Yes it weighs more, but I suspect it will last me for quite some time..

Here's to hoping

75aces

I went the cheaper route and just installed the unit from O'Reilly's. Also replaced the thermo. All is good now. Thanks for inputs.

SayItAintHonda

Hey fam! I need to replace my radiator on a 96 accord cuz the top is leaking pretty bad which causes my o2 sensor in bank 1 to trip a p0420 code (well, at least that's what my mechanic said). I'm looking for a pretty cheap replacement since I'm planning on buying a new car sometime this year anyway. Please help me find one that'll do just fine.

Right now I'm looking at two specific ones. Here are the links.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/120518591642...WAX:IT&vxp=mtr

http://www.amazon.com/TYC-1494-Alumi.../dp/B000IYNR0I

Prophet1990

get this. last car had ebay radiator lasted and still is in the car, buddy has had one i his car for.... gosh years now 3+.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2-ROW-DUAL-C...sories&vxp=mtr

brendon.richey

Why even spend that much? Try seeing if you have a salvage yard near by that has the same year and model and just get the OEM replacement from them. It'll be cheaper and you know you're getting the right part(s). No fan switch out or anything like that, just plug and play.

19Accord97

radiatorbarn.com

thats where i got mine.

SayItAintHonda

You're right it will be cheapest if I hit up a junkyard but since I work at night I really don't have time to check out the junkyards around me. Right now I'm really just looking for a good replacement for my OEM. All the guys who posted above have good inputs though. Which one do you guys think is a better replacement? Plastic/Aluminum rad or the whole Aluminum rad? My mechanic also told me he can get me a replacement for $120 but I'm not sure if it's either one of those.

SayItAintHonda

I decided to go with the TYC rad from amazon due to the convenience. Read some really good reviews on it. I hope it works out fine for me like all the reviewers claim it did for them. Thanks for the input guys!