Radiator options

96blak54

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Just noticed a slow leak from the radiator. Ive been thinking about an aftermarket one anyways. Ive always herd the stock was inadequate and i believe it. My fans have to be on low speed to maintain temp.

To the more knowledge, whats my options?
 

OLD H2S

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From cheap to expensive I was trying to get the best for reliability and less head aches but digging into all brands even the big names, they all have had problems with leaks so as usual most good reviews seem to be buyers wanting affirmation on what they bought. I have a cheap one with 3 rows and is twice as thick as the stock one. It has had problems with being too cold on bad winter days and only warming up at stop lights. It stares at the AC TIG welder all day sitting in the garage so it knows no mercy will come if it leaks.
 

SnakeBit!

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if you have a 96, first issue for keeping cool is if the tsb wasn't done. the fins on the condenser keep the air flow way down. for an aftermarket, I would recommend the mishimoto with the new bracket system. I had two from another company first that both leaked almost right away. the bracket system on the mishi allows for flex in the car which is what cracks the aluminum radiators. for a 96, it is a 96B from them. without the B it is the old one and you don't want the one without the bracket system. even some of the priceier ones I have heard cracked for the same reason...flex.
 

ttocs

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mishimoto is on the high side but they offer a lifetime warranty and I know did a redesign to fix some previous problems.
 

evilcw311

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Mishimoto with the new bracket system is the shiznit!! Kept mine nice and kool drving thru our summer heat which is intense here. If you wreck the car they send you a free replacement. If it leaks they send you a free replacement. All you ever pay is shipping.


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96blak54

96blak54

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if you have a 96, first issue for keeping cool is if the tsb wasn't done. the fins on the condenser keep the air flow way down. for an aftermarket, I would recommend the mishimoto with the new bracket system. I had two from another company first that both leaked almost right away. the bracket system on the mishi allows for flex in the car which is what cracks the aluminum radiators. for a 96, it is a 96B from them. without the B it is the old one and you don't want the one without the bracket system. even some of the priceier ones I have heard cracked for the same reason...flex.
Funny you state tsb, cause the condenser is still in place. When i removed the a/c i was still undecided about removing all components. That i may want a/c after all.

I do believe ill remove all of it. Summer heat doesnt bother my 165lb butt. Im that guy with longsleeves in the summer.
 

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i did replace my condenser for that reason...whoever had the car prior to me didn't take advantage of the tsb so I had to do it.

the Mishi really in comparison to other custom/larger aluminum radiators is overall cheaper in most cases than the ones a lot of people use and as I said, the high priced ones I have read about cracking. I waited and got mine as a part of a sale so got it for considerably less than you find on line often.
 

Michael Plummer

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Ive always herd the stock was inadequate and i believe it. My fans have to be on low speed to maintain temp.
You can't beat OEM for quality or performance when it pertains to an OEM radiator. Most of the aftermarket radiators on the market today are garbage.

Here's what they don't tell you. You added more coolant to your bigger radiator. So do you think it will take more or less time for the stock cooling parts (water pump and cooling fan) to cool down this increase in fluid? Plus, you're asking your stock cooling fan to draw thru a thicker radiator. You just made it harder to cool this added fluid, not easier.

For superior cooling, you want the radiator as wide as possible across the front of the car and thinner. The advice on your condenser is valid, and I would seriously think about the age or condition on other related cooling parts before wasting money on a cheap bigger radiator.

I hope this helps
Michael Plummer
 
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96blak54

96blak54

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All great information fellas! Im thinking oem replacement. How do i know if my car has the tsb mounts? Its a late 96 build. May as well be a 97
 

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I can only report my results. for me, after the newer condenser with less fins and the stock radiator, still had cooling issues. after the Mishi went in, pretty much solved my issues in the heat we have down here coupled with the long at times waits in traffic. I would not got back to a stock radiator down here.
 

Michael Plummer

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Does a brand new car have cooling issues? The answer is NO, and this applies to all parts of the country. Does a slightly modified daily driven car with a dirty/clogged radiator and condenser have cooling issues? The answer is YES. The solution for the somewhat modified daily driven car is simple, replace your old cooling parts with new OEM ones.

Let's keep this simple; you installed this new, bigger aftermarket radiator how do you know if your cooling fan is on longer or shorter due to the added fluid? You don't unless you have a means of data logging the status of your cooling fan. In most cases, people replaced a dirty/clogged radiator with a new one. Hence the reason for the "It runs cooler with blah, blah, radiator."

Now there are a few reputable companies that make an excellent replacement radiator to a set of standards that these low budget just cannot do, and that's Ron Davis. http://www.rondavisradiators.com/Welcome.htm
Are they expensive, hell ya and worth every penny. Call and ask for Ron Davis himself and ask him what makes his radiators so efficient. Or read the link I posted above.

Everyone's always worried about price if you can't afford the good stuff you need to save a little bit longer until you can. With proper preventive maintenance, along with certified OEM replacement parts you shouldn't have an issue. An important point to remember is this, the aftermarket DOES NOT have the means ($$$$) to do the proper R&D for daily driven vehicles. Just take a look at something as simple as a stator for a distributor. The OEM piece is far superior to the piece you get from your local parts store, eBay, etc.

FYI,
Cooling system components: Radiator, cooling fan, water pump, hoses, thermostat, antifreeze, radiator cap, reserve tank, and heater core.

I hope this helps
Michael Plummer
 

SnakeBit!

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Does a brand new car have cooling issues? The answer is NO, and this applies to all parts of the country. Does a slightly modified daily driven car with a dirty/clogged radiator and condenser have cooling issues? The answer is YES. The solution for the somewhat modified daily driven car is simple, replace your old cooling parts with new OEM ones.

Let's keep this simple; you installed this new, bigger aftermarket radiator how do you know if your cooling fan is on longer or shorter due to the added fluid? You don't unless you have a means of data logging the status of your cooling fan. In most cases, people replaced a dirty/clogged radiator with a new one. Hence the reason for the "It runs cooler with blah, blah, radiator."

Now there are a few reputable companies that make an excellent replacement radiator to a set of standards that these low budget just cannot do, and that's Ron Davis. http://www.rondavisradiators.com/Welcome.htm
Are they expensive, hell ya and worth every penny. Call and ask for Ron Davis himself and ask him what makes his radiators so efficient. Or read the link I posted above.

Everyone's always worried about price if you can't afford the good stuff you need to save a little bit longer until you can. With proper preventive maintenance, along with certified OEM replacement parts you shouldn't have an issue. An important point to remember is this, the aftermarket DOES NOT have the means ($$$$) to do the proper R&D for daily driven vehicles. Just take a look at something as simple as a stator for a distributor. The OEM piece is far superior to the piece you get from your local parts store, eBay, etc.

FYI,
Cooling system components: Radiator, cooling fan, water pump, hoses, thermostat, antifreeze, radiator cap, reserve tank, and heater core.

I hope this helps
Michael Plummer


except in the case of the 1996. why ford did the TSB and changed the radiator and fan the following year.
 

Michael Plummer

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FACT: Technical service bulletins (TSBs) are not recalls. In some cases, they don't necessarily entitle owners to free repairs, and because a TSB mentions a potential problem with your model, that doesn't mean the issue necessarily will develop in your particular vehicle.

Now I'm not familiar with the difference between all the associated parts, so maybe you can clarify for me.
* A/C Condenser was switched with one that has lower fins per square inch. This makes sense because it allows more air flow thru the core.

* Honeycomb grill insert was removed. Not sure of the overall effectiveness of this but it does take up some area. So playing it safe, the grille insert was removed.

* Radiator and cooling fan upgraded to the 97 radiator and cooling fan but I'm not familiar with the differences between the 96 and 97.

Thanks
Michael Plummer
 
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96blak54

96blak54

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Welp, i know my cammed out 13.1staic compression 5.4l 2v heat soaks in the summer. Now this could have been cause the tune delayed fans operating, but since mine is not stock, perhaps a non-stock radiator is needed, ...but i still have the a/c condenser installed. Perhaps my fix might be as simple to remove condenser and purchase oem radiator
 

SnakeBit!

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never said anything about recalls.

was a tsb as I have said all along. people were able to get it done under warranty or I guess some paid for, don't really know since that was a long time ago.. mine was never done so basically did all the changes myself, except that the change in the radiator was the mishi unit and then used the 96 fan which I am about to replace with a MKVIII unit.

as to the difference...radiator mounts differently, I am guessing due to the width difference as the top mounts are wider. don't recall on the bottom, but I think they are wider as well than the 96 mounts. the fan is also larger...larger in width. the 97 fan won't fit the 96 radiator. I have tried and seen the difference in the two.

and, yes fin count on the condenser as I had stated as the number of fins made the airflow much restricted. condenser helped mine but the radiator made the difference I needed with the change in the condenser.
 

ttocs

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FACT: Technical service bulletins (TSBs) are not recalls. In some cases, they don't necessarily entitle owners to free repairs, and because a TSB mentions a potential problem with your model, that doesn't mean the issue necessarily will develop in your particular vehicle.

Now I'm not familiar with the difference between all the associated parts, so maybe you can clarify for me.
* A/C Condenser was switched with one that has lower fins per square inch. This makes sense because it allows more air flow thru the core.

* Honeycomb grill insert was removed. Not sure of the overall effectiveness of this but it does take up some area. So playing it safe, the grille insert was removed.

* Radiator and cooling fan upgraded to the 97 radiator and cooling fan but I'm not familiar with the differences between the 96 and 97.

Thanks
Michael Plummer

you would be amazed how much air a grill can block esp at high speeds. For a while when I was in phoenix I had an rc airplane club strip 100 yds from my house and got into it. It was the desert so the runway was just decomposed granite which was fine till the ducted fans(electric jets) started to come around. It was not uncommon for pieces of the runway to get sucked up into the duct, into the fan blades and do damage. We thought the fix would be simple with a grill to guard it but we were amazed that even the most open grills that we really didn't want to use as it still let pieces in would obstruct the air enough to make it so the plane could not even take off. I also just saw a thing on tv about the new camaro and how they had to redo its grill to allow more air.

So are you saying that ron davis radiators cool better or last longer? If they cool better, why? Are they longer/thinner like you talked about or is there something that they do that others do not?
 

evilcw311

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I don’t see how an aftermarket aluminum radiator can’t be as good or better. On my 95 it had a brand new oem style radiator and had issues keeping cool on hot summer days. After dropping in the mishimoto unit it actually stayed much cooler. The oem piece has plastic tanks that don’t really help with cooling and the mishimoto seems to flow quite well.


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ttocs

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I don't think he is saying that it can't be but that they do not do the same torture testing to ensure it will be. Again out in Az ford had their proving grounds out on the south east side of town. I saw one time that the test that took their cars(and bikes like harley's do this here to) and just locked it up in a metal container idling in the summer. We are the beta testers for the aftermarket more often then not but that is one thing at least about the mishi's is that they had a problem and made changes to fix it.
 

Michael Plummer

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FYI,
Yes, I have connections at Ford, I use to be sponsored by many different manufacturers (Trick Flow, Ford Electronics, Snow Performance, Accel Ignition, MAC Performance, ATI ProCharger, Mishimoto), to name a few and have the opportunity to get free parts to test.

PLEASE NOTE: On my setup, I ran a BIG race intercooler in front of the condenser and radiator.

Mishimoto: I had a sponsorship where I used four radiators in 2 years and I saw no difference in cooling over the stock radiator. We data-logged fan on and off times and noticed the car took longer to reach normal operating temperatures when cold. Once normal operating temperatures were reached, it took the
stk. cooling fan longer to cool it down. Meaning the stk. fan cycle times were ON longer.


Champion Radiator: Got 3 radiators from Champion to try along with a Mark VII cooling fan and
stk. 1994 Mustang cooling fan. I was also given a brand new OEM Condenser from Ford with fewer fins per square inch. The bottom line was the Champion radiator along with the Mark VII or VIII cooling fan did not make the car run any cooler vs. the stk. radiator and cooling fan. The only difference was the cycle times for the cooling fans.

Running late for work but I'll finish this later

Thanks
Michael Plummer
 

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