Radiator Replacement - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

Kans_Geo · 10-01-2006, 02:43 PM

Daughter has a 95 Camry on which the plastic radiator tank cracked. It is the 4 cyl 5sfe engine with auto trans...Can anyone recommend one replacement radiator over another??? It is one core or layer and I believe the fins are brass or copper?? Can I upgrade it to a radiator having 2 rows of cooling while using all the same mounting from the old etc..

Thanks from Kansas

Doctor J · 10-01-2006, 03:24 PM

The best brand I use in my shop is Samsung (good quality/fit). The worse brand is Performance (almost no mechanical strenght). Number of rows will not make much difference, unless you are pulling a trailer. What is important, the number of tubes in the row must match within +/- 5.Hope, this helps.

Kans_Geo · 10-01-2006, 04:00 PM

Thanks Dr j,

Have you had any experince with cooling systems and flex??? Also, have seen nissen?? Will look up the samsung...

Thanks

***toyomoho*** · 10-01-2006, 10:05 PM

Cracking of the original Toyota radiator plastic top and bottom is very common. A function of age and design. Koyo also makes a popular radiator.

Kans_Geo · 10-01-2006, 11:20 PM

toyomoho,
The camry is a 95, so I won't complain to much...It failed in my yard so my daughter wasn't caught on the road with a disabled car...I ordered a cooling systems and flex?? with copper/brass top and fins...I couldn't find a samsung mentioned by Dr J above...
Thanks

atobe · 10-02-2006, 01:01 AM

koyo don't make anything for the camry unless you can custom it to fit

Doctor J · 10-02-2006, 09:37 AM

CSF is common brand , but you may need to put some extra rubber strips under upper brackets, to minimize rattle. Also the petcock on these radiators are in odd locations.

Toysrme · 10-02-2006, 10:10 AM

Any new radiator is fine. Go with whatever is the cheapest. Remember that radiators fail from not changing the coolant enough.

AFA upgrading there is no need for it. The thermostat will still close to keep the coolant temperature the same, so the engine will run the exact same temperature regardless.

Doctor J · 10-02-2006, 12:46 PM

Some new radiators I mentioned have failed in 8 months due to poor design/ workmansip quality.

AVL92CAMRY · 10-04-2006, 10:03 PM

I replaced my radiator last fall with a Modine radiator from NAPA. The first one i got leaked lake crazy where the bottom tank is crimped to the core due to defective crimping. Got a second one a few days later for free and it too leaks in the same place but only when its below about 40 degrees F. Don't buy a Modine radiator!!

JamesBond · 10-06-2006, 07:54 PM

I bought one for $70 to my door from ebay, and it's worked fine for a year now. It seemed to be well made, looked just like the one I took out, and the price was right.

bond

Kans_Geo · 06-23-2007, 11:42 PM

I replaced my daughters 95 Camry radiator with a CSF radiator. When I recieved it I was somewhat disappointed... The attached information sheet said that the radiator waranty would be honored only if it was installed at an authorized service shop. Well..its leaking less then 7 months later...

ycartf · 06-24-2007, 02:59 AM

I have used 1800RADIATOR twice in the past 2 years - for a radiator on both a 1990 V6 Camry and a 1997 I4 Camry - and both times they sold me a lifetime warranty radiator shipped to my door for $114 and $119 respectively, with AutoZone (the lowest aside from them) being around $160-170 both times. I have had no problems with either of them.

The main cause of failure of the tank (with crimp/design issues aside) is running the car with an inadequate coolant amount - which causes the top area to be void of coolant and thus exposed to basically steam when the vehicle gets really hot. This is more destructive than being exposed to hot coolant. Making sure you have an adequate amount of coolant and also a functioning radiator cap with a good seal are most important in extending the life of your radiator. Replacing your radiator cap and flushing/refilling every two years will make a radiator last almost forever (barring faulty design / trauma to the radiator). I was told this previous statement by a radiator shop owner of more than 35 years here in our area.

***toyomoho*** · 06-26-2007, 02:27 PM

Doesn’t the CSF have a guarantee?

Check the link below for more thoughts.

http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/t158159.html

Kans_Geo · 06-26-2007, 07:21 PM

Yes and NO,
It does have a warranty IF installed at an authorized service center....