At 160k miles my radiator finally start showing some cracks on the plastic top tank. It is not yet leaking like a river but I am not taking chances.

I ordered an all metal replacement from radiatorbarn and a CSF unit arrive in my doorstep within 2 days. The built quality is not bad, I heard many said good things about their plastic tank units but some quibbles about the all metal one. I can see why.

The metal one seems to have a slightly wider tolerance in their fan mounts and rubber legs on the 2 corners won't keep the insulation in place, nothing that some corking or glue will not fix. It was painted black but they paint it all over including over the peacork.

I saw the quality on plastic tank one from the civic forums, and they seems very decent. So I am thinking maybe it is a metal fit/finish thing in general for all brand. The OEM fits the best of course, but it is a whopping $475 if you are lucky without dealer mark up too much.

I am wondering about the overall opinion everyone has on these units, on verious brand, etc.

PS. radiator barn is not bad, when I complain they offer to refund my purchase or replace it. They mentioned they never got any complain from the CSF units and they say the plastic tank one is their best selling units overall. They also works with me to get all the install bugs worked out.

 

C&R radiator for me. comes with a fan mounted on it. Alot cheaper then get a koyo or fludidyne brand since they don't come with a fan. The fit is oem specs too

 

i just got my csf in the mail and it was ******* broke so i returned it and bought a koyo all aluminum

 

i recommend aluminium

 

I did a write up about the issues I had with radiator barn on another board. I am on my 3rd all metal radiator from radiator barn. The one I have in my car now needed a weld job on the left fan bracket. The bracket some how twisted and started leaking coolant. I would never buy from them again. I did email Rob from radiatorbarn about the quality of the rads and he stated they knew that many Teg owners had the leakage problems. He mentioned that there was a TSB about Tegs and after market rads b/c of our high revving engines. I looked and couldn't find it, so I think it's bullshit. Rob was a nice guy and refunded/exhanged my rads. But it's a pain in the *** to have to swap out a rad 3 times in 6 months. Next time mine leaks I am going with an all aluminum rad, and not from radiatorbarn. The CSF rad they sell is made in Singapore,so high output in the factory is what they are concerned with, not quality. There are a lot of Teg owners who have had bad experiences with the rads radiator barn sells. Radiatorbarn persay is a good place to do business. BTW OEM rad caps won't work for long on aftermarket rads. I didn't believe the ACura parts manager when he told me that. A week later I replaced it with a higher bar cap. The rads from radiator barn just cannot accomodate the high pressure ours create. One last thing, their rads aren't a direct fit. It's way too heavy and the brackets on top that hold the rad in place don't fit right. Kudos.

 

man, what about us tegger that has an automatic, we need that tranny cooler.

I got the CSF fit in there and also talked to Rob in radiatorbarn. They are nice people, but the CSF is not as high of a quality as we would hope.

Do you know whether this rad is up to daily driving?

BTW, I think I can see why the left fan bracket broke, the bottom mount is not the same size. It is 50% larger than what it suppose to be and therefore the fan is rattling along the way.

 

I was satisified with my radiator from RadiatorBarn. It was about the same quality as any radiators I've gotten at local auto parts stores and was about 1/2 the price too. Of course its not going to have the fit and finish as a stock radiator, but you're also paying 1/4 the price. Also, I spent the $10 more or whatever for the thicker core radiator. It couldn't hurt I'm sure. I'd buy from there again .

 

After 6 hours of hard work and a few broken knuckles, it went in well.

Hurray...

I have to tape the rubber feet to the bottom of the radiator so it won't fall out during installation. It should sit fine as the original is just sitting on top too. The right fan (cooling) is ok, fit alright.

The left one is another story, seems too big and I have to shuff a few rubber pieces (or my coworker suggest, bathtub corking) to hold it in place. Test drive ok, no problem no leak.

Afterall it is an all metal, and sheet metal is hard to get precision. I suspect like others said the plastic tank one is much better and very close to OEM quality.

If OEM were $200 I would buy it without a heartbeat, but for $475.

 

The cheap aftermarket rads are a temp fix.You may get 2 years out of them. There is a Canadian site that offers better quality rads at almost the same price but recommend a diff Stant rad cap, I'll have to find it. Again, Rob even stated that the welds on these all metal rads arent the greatest thats why they refund your money with no questions asked. Yes the OEM rad is expensive but my OEM rad lasted over 100,000 miles. Ppl can wonder why the OEM rads are part plastics but they last. Panda I wouldn't doubt if you start getting leaks soon. Mine leaked from the left fan bracket and the lower part of the rad. We have to remember these are cheaper rads so I guess we can't complain too much. If OEM were a little cheaper I would have jumped on it quickly. When this one blows ( which I know it will soon) I'm going KOYO.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by korean_teg &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I did a write up about the issues I had with radiator barn on another board. I am on my 3rd all metal radiator from radiator barn. The one I have in my car now needed a weld job on the left fan bracket. The bracket some how twisted and started leaking coolant. I would never buy from them again. I did email Rob from radiatorbarn about the quality of the rads and he stated they knew that many Teg owners had the leakage problems. He mentioned that there was a TSB about Tegs and after market rads b/c of our high revving engines. I looked and couldn't find it, so I think it's bullshit. Rob was a nice guy and refunded/exhanged my rads. But it's a pain in the *** to have to swap out a rad 3 times in 6 months. Next time mine leaks I am going with an all aluminum rad, and not from radiatorbarn. The CSF rad they sell is made in Singapore,so high output in the factory is what they are concerned with, not quality. There are a lot of Teg owners who have had bad experiences with the rads radiator barn sells. Radiatorbarn persay is a good place to do business. BTW OEM rad caps won't work for long on aftermarket rads. I didn't believe the ACura parts manager when he told me that. A week later I replaced it with a higher bar cap. The rads from radiator barn just cannot accomodate the high pressure ours create. One last thing, their rads aren't a direct fit. It's way too heavy and the brackets on top that hold the rad in place don't fit right. Kudos.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I had the same problems you did and wouldn't buy those POS again, mine didn't even come with a spout for the overflow tank. I bought a slightly used OEM radiator for under $100, i figure if OEM lasts 100,00+ miles, then i'll have to buy a radiator every 8 years

 

buy a half size aluminum so you wont have to chage it later down the road because you got the full size and the fan won't clear the damn turbo...sorry, just angry at myself for not thinking ahead...

btw, other than the issue i had above...the fluidyne that i had worked well even with just one fan on it.

 

get the oem showa radiator. i notice that when changing to a koyo or any other aftermarket radiator, my temp gage is about 1centimeter off to the hotter side. when i had my showa before it blew, the temp needle was barely 1centimeter away fromt he C, not its about 2.5 centimeter from the C.

 

i droped the duel row rad in my 96 ls and it workes great. it gives u the upgrade of better cooling and it fits into the stock mounts nicely.

 

which brand did you get? i need a dual core also

 

Don't get the radiatorbarn.com all metal rad. IMO it's a piece of ****. Way to heavy to doesn't hold pressure well.

 

i dont remeber off hand which brand it is. i think its the csf or something like that. its like $150 i think. it works good for me. i havent had any leaking problems or pressure leaks and i did a pressure test on it after i put it in. i got mine throught radiator barn.

 

i have a used radiator from my 92 integra, fine condition, average wear, no leaks, e-mail if interested

 

OEM style Autozone 94-97 DOHC Vtec Del Sol Rad. $108 shipped. Life time warranty. Works like a charm. You just have to make two custom brackets!