CSF 3 Row Radiator the best way to go?

CharlieG said:
called up import.autoparts who has it on 3bay (listed at $209.xx) and convinced him that avoiding 3bay fees and shipping to business address should warrant $200 shipped. He didn't care about the business address..it was 200 flat
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how did you get in touch with him outside ebay?
 
BlueCuda said:
So I went to install my champion aluminum 3 core today.

It doesn't work, the fit is awsome but the transmission cooler lines are not correct for my 97 XJ. The stock lower trans line is a quick connect fitting and the radiator just has male flare fittings for both lines. The upper flare fitting is smaller than my stock line is also. I just contacted the seller so we will see what they say.

Its been 8 years since I last had any dealings with the radiator on my jeep(stroker install) so I didn't catch that the trans fittings were wrong out of the box. I could make this work but this is one of the few areas IMO where stock is good. There is not many other parts of my jeep that I have forgotten what they looked like lol.
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I have devolved a nice leak where the tubes go into the tanks. Had a friend of mine order me a stock one from the dealer. Lasted 14 years and 220kish miles...should have done this the first time.
 
For aluminum, the FFD seems to be well made. I'm very happy with mine.
 
BlueCuda said:
I have devolved a nice leak where the tubes go into the tanks. Had a friend of mine order me a stock one from the dealer. Lasted 14 years and 220kish miles...should have done this the first time.
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Welcome to the club. Mine did this 10 months after I bought it. They had to give me my money. Back because they said there was a defect and champion wasn't making them anymore.
 
DrMoab said:
Welcome to the club. Mine did this 10 months after I bought it. They had to give me my money. Back because they said there was a defect and champion wasn't making them anymore.
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Which radiator did you replace your Champion with? I am in the same boat with my Champion now. It's starting to leak in the same place your did. Trying to decide between a CSF or just break down and buy a Griffin.
 
CSF.

I took my champion to a very good radiator shop and that guy convinced me to never go aluminum again. It takes a specialized shop to fix aluminum and where yours is leaking they can't be fixed at all. The only thing they can do is epoxy dip them. He said that's a year solution at best. A good brass and copper radiator can be fixed by about anyone including yourself in a pinch.
 
That's for the heads up. I am going to contact radiators for less and see what they say about a refund or something. Thanks!
 
I know its a dying art,but try and find a radiator repair shop, In my small area of Va,I can find two shops.
Years ago,I had a stock radiator re-cored,w/a 2 core Modine replacement core.IIRC the cost was less than $150(thinkY2K time frame) and has been fine with normal maintenance .The core is as wide as the tanks,,no filler plate as on the stock 1 or 2 core radiators.
 
DrMoab said:
CSF.

I took my champion to a very good radiator shop and that guy convinced me to never go aluminum again. It takes a specialized shop to fix aluminum and where yours is leaking they can't be fixed at all. The only thing they can do is epoxy dip them. He said that's a year solution at best. A good brass and copper radiator can be fixed by about anyone including yourself in a pinch.
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What are your coolant temps like with the CSF compared to the Champion before it started leaking?
 
okie 1 ton yj said:
What are your coolant temps like with the CSF compared to the Champion before it started leaking?
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I can't really compare because when I had the champion I was running dual electric fans and a 190* stat. When I put the CSF in I also put a lower stat, a ZJ fan clutch and mechanical fan back on.

The champion never overheated but the CSF runs cooler for sure.
 
DrMoab said:
Dunno and I don't have personal experience. I just have a buddy who used one, it promptly broke and Hesco told him he was sol.
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Yes, and that is stated on their website. "**Please note that parts deemed as "high performance" do not have a warranty."
 
DrMoab said:
I just have a huge problem buying very expensive parts with seemingly high failure rates when the company won't back them up.
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No warranty most likely means they have a problem with quality control.
 
i put in a Champion 3 row aluminum, it had a very very small leak straight away. it did drop my temps nicely though. The people at Champion said they would replace the leaky radiator, but suggested I try some stop leak. The stop leak, stopped the leak and also plugged up everything in the cooling system, which brought my temps back up.
Then I had a front brake lock up on the hi-way which caused a bad overheat. The jeep has never been the same since. I put the old stock unit back in.
Champion did stand behind their product, and sent me new radiator, it did take about 4 months. Also the Champion aluminum unit is super fragile. When I was pulling the original champion out, 3 of the 4 aluminum studs that hold the top rubber mounts on broke off. then the radiator barely made contact with the engine driven fan, and that put a hole in the core.
Long story short, stay stock

just my 2 cents
 
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