What Rad to get

[Karma Supra]

I fitted a brand new Roughtrax one last week.

Ally core, plastic tanks... the fit was pretty much as stock.

Infact if I didn't have about 5mm room because of the chuffing great V8, I'd have said exactly like stock

[peterjohn]

radiator

Fitted a new rad with the plastic header tank from Milner recently, good fit, a light lighter than the original.

[Overland Tonka]

I'm still faffing around deciding what rad to get. Nev and the Aussie guys have put me off getting an Ali one.

My overheating problems started when I fitted the roughtrax rad and I'm not convinced its doing the job as it should. Plus it started to leak after a year.

Went for a long drive today, and the temp did its usual thing starting to head towards the red as I was going up a hill. Everything has been replaced, taken away and modified yet I still have this problem. If I stick the heater on full blast the temp stays sensible, so a better rad must work surely??

No one seems to want to build me one and I may just bite the bullet and get a Toyota item. Or buy a landcrusier!! Really getting fed up with it.

[BUSHWHACKER]

I'm still faffing around deciding what rad to get. Nev and the Aussie guys have put me off getting an Ali one.

My overheating problems started when I fitted the roughtrax rad and I'm not convinced its doing the job as it should. Plus it started to leak after a year.

Went for a long drive today, and the temp did its usual thing starting to head towards the red as I was going up a hill. Everything has been replaced, taken away and modified yet I still have this problem. If I stick the heater on full blast the temp stays sensible, so a better rad must work surely??

No one seems to want to build me one and I may just bite the bullet and get a Toyota item. Or buy a landcrusier!! Really getting fed up with it.

A Toyota rad will be the same design as the Roughtrax (Not the alloy) one.

Try a manual rad without the in-built cooler in the bottom and fit a stand alone cooler.

Nothing wrong with alloy radiators, they've been fitted to 3rd gens since 1996.

[Massa John]

Recently had new head (AMC), new water pump and new rad (roughtrax steel type) fitted. Trucks running fine, but I have noticed that the coolant temp is usually 2-3 deg higher than it was before. Also tends to heat up much more than it did before on hills. Perhaps the ATF core is smaller than on the original toyota rad?

[Overland Tonka]

A Toyota rad will be the same design as the Roughtrax (Not the alloy) one.

Try a manual rad without the in-built cooler in the bottom and fit a stand alone cooler.

Nothing wrong with alloy radiators, they've been fitted to 3rd gens since 1996.

Thanks for the reply vince...I have an ATF cooler fitted before it goes through the rad, but guess I will need a bigger one if I go down the manual rad route. Any recomendations? After fitting the cooler the trans tunnel in the car was alot cooler.

I realise that people have different results from the mods they have carried out, but have to admit that I keep coming back to Ali rads like the ones on Aussie eBay. 3 core better cooling??...who knows. I notice later Ali rads from hilux pickups have been used.

I just find it odd that things were fine until I fitted the roughtrax rad which I only did because I was being cautious.

[tashtego]

Thanks for the reply vince...I have an ATF cooler fitted before it goes through the rad, but guess I will need a bigger one if I go down the manual rad route. Any recomendations? After fitting the cooler the trans tunnel in the car was alot cooler.

I realise that people have different results from the mods they have carried out, but have to admit that I keep coming back to Ali rads like the ones on Aussie eBay. 3 core better cooling??...who knows. I notice later Ali rads from hilux pickups have been used.

I just find it odd that things were fine until I fitted the roughtrax rad which I only did because I was being cautious.

If you are planning to keep your truck for long, then buy a toyota original one. I am a great one for cheaper non original parts but the rad for me is too crucial an item. We've got a 1995 Rav 4 and the 1996 3rd Gen,both auto transmission and they both have original toyota rads. Almost 20 years and they are going fine. For the rav at least I know its the rad that it came out of the factory with, coz I've got a full service history in english from 5000 km onwards, all bills and everyting. My mechanic reckons the surf's rad is still the factory fitted one too.
I must say here we dnt have a problem with rust, not even an alfa would rust here, so maybe radiators last longer than in wetter, colder climates such as the UK...
Cheers

[andyverran]

not even an alfa would rust here

omg!

[tashtego]

omg!

Ok, slight exaggeration...
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