Radiator for 4WD

[JDM VANMAN]

thepuzzlemaster

is your radiator already out of your Townace, do you have measurements. if yours is already out I have a spare one (not for sale) that could be used for side by side comparison.

JDM

[Dnice]

I have been chasing a mild overheating issue for a while which then turned into a leak from the stock radiator. After, a lot of reading and researching, I decided that a recore would be the way to go. I pulled the rad and found this...
radiator2.jpg
I could literally push my finger through it where it is discolored. Took it to a shop here in San Diego and before the gal at the desk could even get it all the way out of the bag I put it in, the boss walked over and instantly said "oh, Toyota van". He said he had done many of these and informed the gal it was a 3-core (she thought it was a 2-core).
I was impressed to say the least and felt like it was in good hands.
I will report back when complete.

[micah202]

Ewwwww! <;~0
...When folks start talking of cooling issues,, I always mention to check and even calibrate the thermostat,,, 'simple-first'!!
I once had a brand new OEM thermo I installed in a new rebuild,, that didn't function! I consider it important to put the thermo in a pan of warm water, bring to a boil,, and confirm the temperature it's fully open... I believe that's meant to be 180degrees iirc. The cost of yer engine is well worth the price of a thermometer!

...On the Radiator,,, I believe you can get a 4 layer core in those.... more is better, in this case. <;~]

[Dnice]

I think the system is good otherwise. Recent fan clutch, new t-stat, etc.
Also old (and presumably stock) thermo was shot, stuck open. Replaced with OEM.
tstat.jpg
I'm just going 3-core with the rad, keep the cost lower and hopefully will work as new!

[JDM VANMAN]

It was finally time to swap out the radiator, I’ve been running the van for the last 4-5 years with a mysterious leak that I ended up in swapping out the HoD, Heater return hose, Overflow bottle sensor but I was still having to add fluid (4-6oz) every 700-800 miles. Well then just last week I filled up the overflow bottle and fuel her up to get ready for the work week and went to work for 3 days and on the forth day early in the morning when I was warming up the van the radiator light remained on, I drove down to the gas station lifted the seat and saw the the bottle was almost empty!!!!


I think it was 2018 when I sent my spare radiator down to Ability Radiator for a 4-row H/E recore ( theres a writeup on the experience). The new radiator is about 3/8’ thicker, lower tabs are further apart, and top right mounting hole needed to be rechased with a screw but all in all it went in and fits. Here’s some eye candy-


Found the leak-







New Manual Transmission 4WD 4-Row H/E
















I’ll post up the photos of the 34 year old radiator this weekend, I’ll be taking that one to a local shop for a rebuild as well.


JDM

[JDM VANMAN]

Heres the original radiator that came out





Looks like the upper hose side was compromised-











This radiator will be going in to be tested to see if it’s a good candidate for rebuild.


JDM

[Dnice]

As an update:
Got a call from the shop less than one week later that it was ready.
I installed the recored radiator (which looked absolutely beautiful BTW), filled it up, let it burp and warmed it up.
AC on blast, driving hard around the neighborhood (some hills and flats) and idling, the gauge never came close to half.
I am beyond stoked and cant wait to go on some fish/surf/hunt trips in the rig.

Ive had this van since 2004(?) and am thankful for the knowledge Ive received from this forum and all the previous ones before.

I have been chasing a mild overheating issue for a while which then turned into a leak from the stock radiator. After, a lot of reading and researching, I decided that a recore would be the way to go. I pulled the rad and found this...
radiator2.jpg
I could literally push my finger through it where it is discolored. Took it to a shop here in San Diego and before the gal at the desk could even get it all the way out of the bag I put it in, the boss walked over and instantly said "oh, Toyota van". He said he had done many of these and informed the gal it was a 3-core (she thought it was a 2-core).
I was impressed to say the least and felt like it was in good hands.
I will report back when complete.

[The VANdalorian]

Hey Van Friends!

I was taking the van down for the biannual smog a few months back, and wouldn't you know, heat gauge skyrockets!!! By the time I pulled into a parking lot I was leaving a bright green trail and rolling smoke! After a tow back home I found a split hose, quick fix, problem solved! Well, not quite...turns out the radiator split as well. After pulling the radiator, and looking through this thread, the old owner had sent it to Ability in Yuba years back. He later had a pin hole from the push through plastic mounts he used for the electric fans (on pg. 2 of this thread, wonderwagon). Luckily, I live about an hour from Yuba City. So back to Ability she went!

Now, here is the part I felt compelled to share!!! Drop off the radiator to Ability, they look at it, "yeah, its all bad" time to rebuild and..."its gonna be expensive". Heard of inflation, copper and brass prices doubling, tripling... comes back at $790 to recore with a new high eff. 4 row! WHAT!!! I only paid 1K for the van, lol. But damn it I love it, so whats a cool grand between the gas to get to Yuba and back with and a new beautiful rebuilt radiator! I was also given the advice, about the fans mounted through the fins "don't do that again" Victor (the radiator guru) said! Copy that!

2 week turn around, from drop off to pick up. I had to find a new way to mount the electric fans, but after some creative thinking, I used SS cables and crossed them using the old fan shroud mounts. I have to imagine its better than through the radiator. The fans work great, I have them now wired with key power, so they are always pulling and cooling if the van is powered up. New hoses all around, checked the hose of death while she was down...new alternator, re wired my fusible links (all a part of the fan rewire project prior to the radiator going down and some great advice from amazing threads on this site).

Filled with coolant, ran for hours, smashed up and down the freeway, not a drop in sight, van chillin (lol) right about half way up the gauge, and feeling real good about that $800 dropped the Vando!

I thought the forum would be interested to know two things, stay away from push through mounts, lol, and the 2022 price for a recore at the famous Ability, $800 out the door! Take it easy Van friends

PS there is a 4X4 Yota truck show coming to the Wood land fair grounds (Northern California, by Yuba City) in October. I was asked to enter my van...Dont know about that yet, but for those in the area, or wanting to make the trip, I will throw out something official in the "general" page once I get a flier.

1.jpg
time to come out
3.jpg
4.jpg
Radiator rehab
6.jpg
A beautiful thing
7.jpg
Fans mounted...to it, not through it, lol
8.jpg
back in, tested, ready to roll
9.jpg
Worth every cent!

[timsrv]

I thought that looked like WonderWagon's old van. That van started life as an automatic. He did an enormous amount of work on it. Sadly, most of it was before this website and was documented on Toyotavanpeople.com.... which sadly was not well run/maintained and has been down for the last 5 years or so.

Regarding the cost of radiator work, you are not alone. I just took mine down to my local radiator shop for a high efficiency core. I told the guy to not take shortcuts and I wanted a top notch rebuild. When I asked how much, he said he'd keep it under $1,000.00. WTF! The last one I had done was like $550.......but that was several years ago. Sounds to me like you got a solid deal. Tim

[The VANdalorian]

That is one very true statement sir! I consider myself a very lucky guy that I get the pleasure of being the next owner of the WonderWagon. After years of searching for the right van, the prices that so many not so great vans sell for, the sorry I just sold it when you call, and the, "I wish I could afford that!" lol. When I came across the WonderWagon for sale, I thought for sure it was too good to be true. After meeting Geoff, and getting the run down of everything he had done over the years...motor swap, 5 speed conversion, cooling system, etc, etc, etc. plus the van came full of spare parts...It was unreal. It had a few kinks to iron out (of course what 30 year old vehicle wouldn't) and I got the pleasure of getting it into the CA DMV system, love that smog check! I really enjoy this van, getting to put my touch on it (spending 10 times what I paid...at least...so far! lol). I hope that Geoff knows how much I appreciate everything he did, most of all parting ways with this beautiful van and letting me take a ride! I am truly thankful Geoff!

I'm with you Tim...I felt like in today's market, for the real deal rebuild, $800 was a quick and easy yes