need a radiator for my 4wd van

[joegri]

i,ve been lookin to replace my radiator and i can find plenty of rads for the 2wd style and i did find one that will work however its twice the price!!! funny thing the only difference that i can see is the 4wd rad has some "L" shaped legs on the bottom and the top is a lil different meaning the mounting holes are just a bit different. just puttin it out there but where have you gotten a rad at a fair price from? i,m not rich so that makes me cheap!! the one that fits was $438 i quickly got out of there!! that for reading my rant and any help is cool. thanx vanners joe g

[timsrv]

Here's a quote from llamavan from another thread:

4WD Radiators. NLA from Toyota, NLA from everywhere else now, too, including 1-800-Radiator.

Solution — grab ANY 4WD radiator you find in a junkyard and stash it, even if you don't need it! (If you have an A/T van and can only find a M/T van radiator, there are people here and elsewhere who will swap with you. No sense in letting any more get crushed.) As long as the tanks are good, it can be recored.

Even better solution — send away your radiator, or a harvested one, for a high-efficiency four-row recore. This outfit has done several and is keeping the build specs (their ref #7403) on file:

Ability Radiator
260 A Garden Hwy
Yuba City, CA 95991-5500
(530) 673-0813; ask for Greg

I paid $342 plus shipping for one in mid-2010.

Gwen

[joegri]

thanx for link tim. spent a good part of the day going to different so called radiator shops... seems they all send them out to an undisclosed location somewhere in maine. what bumbs me out most is it,s not leaking i spect it,s plugged up and i dont think by flushing it will help at all only cuz water will go to least past of resistance. again thanx for the responce always cool to get good intel here!

[timsrv]

You might try taking it out and dropping it off at a radiator shop. Tell them what you suspect. They will take a tank off it and rod it out (run little cleaning rods through all the passages). If it's too far gone they should be able to put a new core in it. Going with a high efficiency core will cost more, but considering how sensitive our cooling systems are I think it's worth it.

Rodding out will cost around $100. Having a new core put in will run $300 - $450 depending on the core you choose & how reasonable the particular shop is. Tim

[bigeo]

1st Toyota (titus will toyota) lists them on their website for $414. They charge a flat 10% of order total for shipping. Of course, I noticed that after I paid a guy $500 to recore mine. He did use "the best high efficiency core" he can get. So maybe it was worth the extra $$$$.

[timsrv]

In a word, factory cores are typically "inefficient". Even if Titus Will had the radiator (which I seriously doubt the actually would), a high efficiency core installed in your old tanks beats it hands down. IMO you did the right thing. Tim

[MonTex]

Per Greg (owner) at Ability Radiator (Yuba City, CA):
High Efficiency Radiator Core = 16 fins per inch.

I called Greg to get a quote to recore the radiator in my '89 4WD/Automatic.

Around $400 for a high-efficiency 4-row recore job.

Around $380 for a high-efficiency 3-row recore job.

Turn-around time is only a couple of days. Greg uses cores manufactured for him by "Auto Core" in Sacramento, CA.

The price is a bit higher due to the high cost of copper. The 4-row high-efficiency core can be made to fit side tank widths of at least at 2.50 inches. I measured my tank widths at 2.20 inches. Greg says 'no problem' as he uses an extra amount of solder for a more robust tank seal and pressure tests all before shipping out. Shipping is extra (about $20 to my Los Angeles area postal code).

[thurston]

IMG_5772.jpg

It's all coming together now... Thank god this radiator wasn't a total loss. I'm taking the opportunity to do the water pump, thermostat, and fan clutch.

[JDM VANMAN]

WOW!!!! She's pretty!!!

Give us the scoop on your radiator shop when you get a chance!!!

thank you

[thurston]

Ah, yes. Performance Radiator did the recore and necessary patching on inside of the tanks. They have a Seattle location, but their "rad shop" is in Tacoma. The cost was something like $475.

[timsrv]

Is this a standard or is it a high efficiency core? 3 rows or 4?

[thurston]

I believe it's the standard 3-row core. I forgot to ask for anything different - really I was mostly just happy to be able to get a radiator working.

I did the water pump, fan clutch, thermostat, belts, and hoses too while I was waiting for the radiator. Got it back together this morning and put about 200 miles on it today - no leaks, no overheating. And we had a fairly hot day in Seattle, actually.

[JDM VANMAN]

thurston,

we've having some hot days here and I was curious how the radiator and temperature is doing in your Van?

thank you

[thurston]

thurston,

we've having some hot days here and I was curious how the radiator and temperature is doing in your Van?

thank you

Oh man... doing great! I haven't exactly been pushing it up a mountain pass or anything - but nothing has me concerned. I did the fan clutch, water pump, and all the hoses when I put the rad back in so I'm feeling pretty confident with the cooling system. I bought a coolant temp gauge and pickup that I'm going to install soon anyway.

I decided to go whole hog on the van and have the transmission freshened up with new bearings and seals, and I'm gonna do the head soon when I put a new exhaust manifold on it.

Love this van. I'll have a sweet 2wd for sale soon now that this 4wd is reliable.

[JDM VANMAN]

That's awesome news thanks for the reply!! Yeah I saw your transmission thread, you really are going "whole hog" nice job, I'll post my transmission question on that thread.

thank you

[Black Pearl]

So I have redone the entire top end of my 1987 4YE 4x4 overheating van. , gaskets, seals, valves, hoses. etc. The only thing I did not replace was the radiator. (I did replace the cap). I got her all back together and got the timing exact. She starts up and purrs. But, after a few minutes, she still runs a bit hot. I live on a really steep (30% grade) dirt road that is 3/4 mile to the top. By the time I get her up there, she is over 3/4 on the gauge. If I turn on the heater, the temp of course drops.
So I rechecked the radiator and found that there is a little corrosion on the upper edge of the core. and a slight sheen of water. This is not enough to really make it over heat on short drives. But I don't dare take it further.
So I think I need a new radiator, So here's my question, Is the 4x4 radiator different than the 2wd model radiator? I cannot find a radiator anywhere for the 4x4 model.
The quote I got for a recore from the closest radiator shop was $300-$500. That is a bit too pricey for my blood.
Any suggestions or sources?
Thanks

[djshimon]

Yes the radiator for the 4wd is different than the one for the 2wd and they are NLA.
Is your radiator clogged for sure? It could also be your Fan Clutch not engaging-search this site for that bit of info.
Someone used a type of acid and cleaned it themselves but this is quite dangerous-it's on this site somewhere too.
I would make sure fan clutch works properly.
Then clean/recore radiator.
Then check water pump-it could have corroded but you would've noticed that on the headgasket job most likely, eh?

[Black Pearl]

Replaced the fan clutch as well already. I also flushed the radiator before I started the job. Do you have a recommendation or source for an AFFORDABLE recore?
water pump was recently replace and shaft and seemed tight still.
Also, what is the range where the 4x4s normally run. All my other toyota 4x4s maintain a steady needle at the 1/2 point on the gauge.

[Black Pearl]

Oh I don't believe it is clogged. It is leaking very lightly along the upper edge of the fins near upper right radiator hose. But doesn't seem to be clogged.

[djshimon]

I have not had a re-core but I've read it's about 3-400$. Search this site for Yuba City-that's where everyone sends for a re-core but I'd go local if possible.
I had mine cleaned(guessing with some acids), pressure tested and flow tested and it was ~100(IIRC) at Mac's in Portland.
I'd guess a little leak wouldn't be too much $ to fix.
My van runs in the low to middle temp. It gets a little warmer in the summer if I'm pushing it but not much.

Fix the leak and go from there.