What's a good, lower cost radiator for a MK III?

BillW · 12-08-2009, 11:25 PM

Does anyone have any advice on a good radiator for a MK III non turbo, auto? The Toyota radiator is $426 and I really don't want to spend that much. Napa has a Modine radiator for $139. It is a four day delivery and I was hoping to get it a little sooner. Any ideas?

I have gotten two radiators from partsgeek.com, a Koyo which leaked, and a CFS raditor which looked like it had already been used. I plan on returning both.

Thanks for any help you can give me.

916MKIIIx2 · 12-08-2009, 11:39 PM

I'm in the same boat as this guy if anyone knows a good low priced 7MGTE A/T radiator it'd be damn helpful.

Krem · 12-08-2009, 11:57 PM

depends on what you're looking for... I was pricing mk3 radiators for my 87 last week and found plastics for ~$120, metal for ~$200 and aluminum for ~$300... any of those, however, are cheaper than what the factory wants.. hope it helps. Also, my source was http://shopping.google.com

cre · 12-09-2009, 12:30 AM

Please do be aware/keep in mind that the auto's radiator also has a transmission cooler built into the lower end tank. A replacement will most likely cost more than one without. You may install a separate transmission cooler however allowing you to use whatever radiator you wish.

916MKIIIx2 · 12-09-2009, 01:59 AM

Yeah my biggest concern is finding a radiator that will work with the a/t, and im pretty much limited to about $400 since im poor and already spent money on other parts for the project car earlier in the week. Any sites with price listings would be helpful ^^

cre · 12-09-2009, 02:21 AM

CSF and Koyo are both brands I trust; I have not used OEM replacement radiators made by either though.

A "relatively" inexpensive upgrade (for those wanting to go that route) is the Koyo performance radiator for the 1JZ and adding a $40 transmission fluid cooler. Along with extending the transmission fluid lines I imagine that if you shopped around and did your own work you could do it for about $400.

The stock Toyota radiator IS rebuildable too. If the parts are available, ordering what you need along with new seals and having a radiator shop reassemble and pressure test it is going to be the mid-priced option.

The parts catalogs list a different part number for GE radiators and GTE radiators.. I do not know what the differences are there, most likely it's a capacity thing.

BillW · 12-09-2009, 10:12 PM

As it turned out, the Koyo radiator from Partsgeek looked ok (no leaks) after I drove the car a bit. What happened, I think, was I spilled some coolant filling the radiator, and after test driving I saw steam coming out of the radiator, and jumped to the conclusion the radiator was leaking. Duh. In my defense, I did have a coolant line that was bent in shipping, that I had bent back, and I guess this got me thinking the radiator had been damaged and was leaking.

Anyway, the Koyo from partsgeek.com works fine, about $180 total with shipping. The radiator includes the AT cooling lines. You just need to move the fans from the old radiator to the new one, and maybe buy a new radiator cap, upper and lower hoses, and AT cooling hoses, if you have AT.

The only issue with the Koyo radiator was the transmission cooling lines were something like .33" OD for the Koyo, versus .38" OD for the stock radiator, so I replaced the factory hose clamps with worm drive clamps, and tightened down on the clamps to really squash the hose onto the lines from the radiator. I didn't feel too great about doing that.

cre · 12-10-2009, 01:38 AM

I would go with a B&M cooler (I've got a large one as my engine oil cooler and another for my power steering), Perma-Cool should be fine (I've never used one though)... There's Canton who makes some excellent components, but their oil coolers look to me to be just rebadged B&M coolers (I don't know that that's the case but they do look identical). As I mentioned before, you need to figure out where you're going to mount the cooler and then measure to find one that will fit; Make sure you keep in mind that you also need to be able to route the oil hoses to it.

http://www.summitracing.com/search/?...20cooler&dds=1

If you're looking at a long, narrow space (like along the top or bottom of the bumper support) look for a "rail" style cooler.

With the oil lines I'd recommend replacing the stock lines completely, not just extending the them; Any barb used to extend them will most likely add a bottleneck. It's not the highest flow system though, so extending will undoubtedly be fine; It's just not my preference.

916MKIIIx2 · 12-10-2009, 01:43 AM

Nah this is for the daily driver and the car my girl uses most, so I want it to be done right and so it will last. I'll check the B&M ones they seem to have a large range of shapes and sizes. Think I'll go out tomorrow morning and check for places to mount it.

Will those oil coolers work for tranny fluid?

916MKIIIx2 · 12-10-2009, 03:22 AM

I Don't need an oil cooler also do I, I could have sworn the 7MGTE oil cooler is mounted up with the intercooler... I could be completely wrong, but I thought the only other seperate parts I needed were tranny cooler and hoses for connecting it.

12-08-2009, 11:25 PM	#1
BillW Stock Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: East Brunswick NJ Posts: 16	What's a good, lower cost radiator for a MK III? Does anyone have any advice on a good radiator for a MK III non turbo, auto? The Toyota radiator is $426 and I really don't want to spend that much. Napa has a Modine radiator for $139. It is a four day delivery and I was hoping to get it a little sooner. Any ideas? I have gotten two radiators from partsgeek.com, a Koyo which leaked, and a CFS raditor which looked like it had already been used. I plan on returning both. Thanks for any help you can give me. Last edited by cre; 12-09-2009 at 02:24 AM. Reason: Text formatting.

12-09-2009, 01:59 AM	#5
916MKIIIx2 3" Exhaust Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: California Posts: 152	Yeah my biggest concern is finding a radiator that will work with the a/t, and im pretty much limited to about $400 since im poor and already spent money on other parts for the project car earlier in the week. Any sites with price listings would be helpful ^^ Last edited by 916MKIIIx2; 12-09-2009 at 02:07 AM.

12-10-2009, 01:43 AM	#9
916MKIIIx2 3" Exhaust Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: California Posts: 152	Nah this is for the daily driver and the car my girl uses most, so I want it to be done right and so it will last. I'll check the B&M ones they seem to have a large range of shapes and sizes. Think I'll go out tomorrow morning and check for places to mount it. Will those oil coolers work for tranny fluid? Last edited by 916MKIIIx2; 12-10-2009 at 02:07 AM.

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12-08-2009, 11:39 PM	#2
916MKIIIx2 3" Exhaust Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: California Posts: 152	I'm in the same boat as this guy if anyone knows a good low priced 7MGTE A/T radiator it'd be damn helpful.

12-08-2009, 11:57 PM	#3
Krem 3" Exhaust Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Las Vegas Posts: 167	depends on what you're looking for... I was pricing mk3 radiators for my 87 last week and found plastics for ~$120, metal for ~$200 and aluminum for ~$300... any of those, however, are cheaper than what the factory wants.. hope it helps. Also, my source was http://shopping.google.com

12-09-2009, 12:30 AM	#4
cre Toyota Racing Development Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 5,038	Please do be aware/keep in mind that the auto's radiator also has a transmission cooler built into the lower end tank. A replacement will most likely cost more than one without. You may install a separate transmission cooler however allowing you to use whatever radiator you wish.

12-09-2009, 02:21 AM	#6
cre Toyota Racing Development Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 5,038	CSF and Koyo are both brands I trust; I have not used OEM replacement radiators made by either though. A "relatively" inexpensive upgrade (for those wanting to go that route) is the Koyo performance radiator for the 1JZ and adding a $40 transmission fluid cooler. Along with extending the transmission fluid lines I imagine that if you shopped around and did your own work you could do it for about $400. The stock Toyota radiator IS rebuildable too. If the parts are available, ordering what you need along with new seals and having a radiator shop reassemble and pressure test it is going to be the mid-priced option. The parts catalogs list a different part number for GE radiators and GTE radiators.. I do not know what the differences are there, most likely it's a capacity thing.

12-09-2009, 10:12 PM	#7
BillW Stock Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: East Brunswick NJ Posts: 16	As it turned out, the Koyo radiator from Partsgeek looked ok (no leaks) after I drove the car a bit. What happened, I think, was I spilled some coolant filling the radiator, and after test driving I saw steam coming out of the radiator, and jumped to the conclusion the radiator was leaking. Duh. In my defense, I did have a coolant line that was bent in shipping, that I had bent back, and I guess this got me thinking the radiator had been damaged and was leaking. Anyway, the Koyo from partsgeek.com works fine, about $180 total with shipping. The radiator includes the AT cooling lines. You just need to move the fans from the old radiator to the new one, and maybe buy a new radiator cap, upper and lower hoses, and AT cooling hoses, if you have AT. The only issue with the Koyo radiator was the transmission cooling lines were something like .33" OD for the Koyo, versus .38" OD for the stock radiator, so I replaced the factory hose clamps with worm drive clamps, and tightened down on the clamps to really squash the hose onto the lines from the radiator. I didn't feel too great about doing that.

12-10-2009, 01:38 AM	#8
cre Toyota Racing Development Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 5,038	I would go with a B&M cooler (I've got a large one as my engine oil cooler and another for my power steering), Perma-Cool should be fine (I've never used one though)... There's Canton who makes some excellent components, but their oil coolers look to me to be just rebadged B&M coolers (I don't know that that's the case but they do look identical). As I mentioned before, you need to figure out where you're going to mount the cooler and then measure to find one that will fit; Make sure you keep in mind that you also need to be able to route the oil hoses to it. http://www.summitracing.com/search/?...20cooler&dds=1 If you're looking at a long, narrow space (like along the top or bottom of the bumper support) look for a "rail" style cooler. With the oil lines I'd recommend replacing the stock lines completely, not just extending the them; Any barb used to extend them will most likely add a bottleneck. It's not the highest flow system though, so extending will undoubtedly be fine; It's just not my preference.

12-10-2009, 03:22 AM	#10
916MKIIIx2 3" Exhaust Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: California Posts: 152	I Don't need an oil cooler also do I, I could have sworn the 7MGTE oil cooler is mounted up with the intercooler... I could be completely wrong, but I thought the only other seperate parts I needed were tranny cooler and hoses for connecting it.