ebay radiators

[Cuts]

anyone rocking them? opinions?

You can get them around the $100-$200 mark, seems too good to be true.

[raffy73]

I've fitted standard replacement ones from local ebay sellers that make/recondition radiators didn't have any problems with them.

I did buy a cheap aluminum radiator before from an ebay seller from China (around $200) and found the radiator was actually a bit bigger than described and was able to just make it fit.
Also it looks like the materials used are thinner and some ends are sharp but the welds look good and have'nt had any leaks...yet.
Only time will tell I suppose.

It might be a risk..you get what you pay for.

You're probably better off with a high quality made radiator.

[NME308]

anyone rocking them? opinions?

You can get them around the $100-$200 mark, seems too good to be true.

I agree!

Cheers,
Jason

[CELICASUPRA7M]

i got one of these

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/52mm-aluminum...item45f029b01d

and so does Forey, welds are good and forey's has been in his car for ages with no probs.
mines not fitted yet.

[raffy73]

i got one of these

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/52mm-aluminum...item45f029b01d

and so does Forey, welds are good and forey's has been in his car for ages with no probs.
mines not fitted yet.

That's where I bought mine from ASI.
Mine is just over a year old now..seems to be okay.

[petergoudie]

I purchased an ebay copper radiator for a Hiace but I think it was about $250. It turned out to be a Natrad radiator with a 2 or 3 year guarentee.

[Cuts]

mm i might give one a go, justen with the gt8 is rocking one and has been fine for years he said, if it keeps that moster cool a little 3s should be ok.

[seamonsta]

I just got one for a JZX90, some of the Hydro fan mounting bosses were spaced wrong and the Fan sender was drilled out too small, but easily fixed and for $290.00 delivered overnight I would recommend one, weld quality was also good. The radiator shop that tried to clean my original one out said nearly all radiators are now made in asia so buying a known brand is still probably a chinese radiator in any case.

[Cuts]

cool thanks for the info guys, i reckon ill get one. I know a mate of mine had a coulpe of pin hole leaks in his when he got it, but i can tig it up if it leaks.

[forey]

yeah as CELICASUPRA7M said, pretty happy with it

cheers

[kaido]

I have a $200 52mm china dual core aluminium radiator in the drift car... 265rkw motor. running 2 x cheap arse $30 ebay curved blade fans as pushers.

temps never go above 90deg on track and stays between 75-80 on the road.
and I thrash the shit out of it.

they quality isn't the best, the welds are abit messy, and the chain to stop you loosing the rad cap was made out of used china cans...

but it does the job.

fitment was abit shit, I had to cut the bonnet rod bracket off to get it in. but it in now and awesome, this is the second one ive had.. last one got mashed against a wall. both had no leaks,

[4DaDrift]

Something to note.

The metal quality is an inferior recycled standard to what you get over here.
Oldcorollas could describe the disadvantages of this better than I could, yet it fatigues easier and is weaker.

Also, the welding quality is abysmal.
I have seen the work quality they send over for Government contract work (two different departments) and they're that bad, they're either redone here, or sent back to be done under supervision!

[Callifo]

Got a 40mm twin core AE86 radiator from michael_auto_parts and so far so good. Cost me $270 shipped, much cheaper than about the $800 I was quoted locally. Quality of welding is exceptional and everything is identical to the old AE86 radiator to a tee.

They've mimic'd the old radiator so well, it fits perfectly, even the old radiator brackets still fit. The guy even takes feedback on anything that needed fixing, ie if there was something that wasnt quite the same.

[madmont]

Got a 40mm twin core AE86 radiator from michael_auto_parts and so far so good. Cost me $270 shipped, much cheaper than about the $800 I was quoted locally. Quality of welding is exceptional and everything is identical to the old AE86 radiator to a tee

I got one off him as well for my Hilux . Advertised as 40mm Rodeo radiator sent me a 32mm one. He said he had a 40mm one we could exchange and he sent me another 32mm one. Many people on Ebay just cannot measure properly. Nice radiator though.
I bought a aluminium replacement for my Camry (plastic tanks) from another seller,(cryoradcooling) very good price and delivery. Around town it gets to about half way on the temp gauge , on highway drops down almost to cold . I would not hesitate to buy another from either seller

[sillycar chick]

Whats your engine worth to rebuild or replace? Probably a hell of a lot more than $200.
If youre looking to save some cash i'd honestly buy a JAR rad, I had one in front of the hybrid and now one in front of the 20V and im seriously impressed at how they hold up to the hot QLD weather, especially when yorue sitting in traffic. Not trying to give Nath a plug here but i'd rather pay $400-500 for a decent JAR (still a lot cheaper than PWR and the like and quite comparable) then risk having to rebuild my engine because of a cheap and nasty unknown ebay rad that failed on me.
But just my 2c

[Cuzzo]

JAR rads are still asia cores with welding done here.

Also i highly doubt that a leaking ebay rad will kill your motor. (unless your totally dumb and cant read temp gauges)

[Cuts]

I emailed the michael auto parts dude, his rads are golpher ones. He doesnt list a 205 but the 202 ones he lists are the same.
These radiators take the origional radiator cap (insted of the ghetto one you get and have to use with some of the cheaper ones)

They also come with 12 month warrenty.

[sillycar chick]

Dunno if its still the case but at one stage the JAR rad cores were coming out of the same factory that do the PWR ones...
But moreso my concern isnt where the cores come from, its just if its a know product. If you can find others using the same product who arent having problems, then youve done some research and can make an informed decision (which by the sounds of it may be the case with these particular rads). Ive suggested the JAR oens based on experience, cost and knowing if something goes wrong you know who you can talk to about warranty etc. Dunno if you'll get that same offer with ebay rads, especially if theyre coming from OS, our fair trading laws wont apply and you'll probablyl be lucky to get a reply if you have any warranty issues. Personally i'd rather pay a little more and not take the risk, in my experience you usually get what you pay for. (obviously not aiming any of this at anyone, I can see from the last post that the rad Cuts is looking at has warranty which is great)

Also if you leak enough water quickly enough, your temp guage wont even read that its getting hot, senders only work when they are in contact with the water. I had a rad hose sliced oped on my first car and it dropped water so fast the temp guage couldnt even get a reading high enough to warn me, the only way I knew about it was when steam started coming out the bonnet and I heard the knocking noises... too late by then

[manny]

We run a <$300 Michael Auto Parts/Golpher radiator in our track Soarer and it has performed flawlessly double stinted in half a dozen track days in the last 12 months.
I drove over to their store/warehouse in Greenacre, even though I had the option of buying it online on eBay, just so I could get a feel for the business operators - I'd have no hesitation in recommending them based on the product, value for money and their face to face assistance/support.

[Cuts]

cool, thanks guys i reckon ill go one of those michael auto parts golpher ones.