hi everyone, newbie here with a problem with my replacement radiators for my 96 E350 Clubwagon. I have replaced 4 radiators in the last 3 years due to leakages. all of them new in the box, a couple from my neighborhood radiator guy and a couple from the dealerships. all are fine at the time of replacement but eventually spring a leak in a few months. no problems taking the failed radiators back for replacements, just getting tired of having to replace em.

I can't believe I am the only one experiencing this chronic problem, if anyone else has had this problem I would love to hear if you have found a quality replacement. thank you.

 

US Radiator has been around for 40+ years. The guy who presently owns it started working there 30 years ago and with the exception of 1 or 2 items, everything is built at their facility. They are also great to talk with on the phone and if you tell them exactly what you have, what are your concerns or wants, they will tell you exactly what to order. I don’t know of anyone (including the racing community) who has not been pleased with them!

Link: U.S. Radiator | The Difference Is In The Tooling

US Radiator Corporation
4423 District Boulevard
Vernon, California
323-826-0965

Also...if the radiators are aluminum, cathodic protection is required (which partially might explain your pinholes).....US Rad can tell you more about that and IIRR, they have them installed in the units.

 

thank you for the info! I will most definitely give em a call. all the replacements have been brass type with brass end caps, I think they are made overseas factory replacement mfrs. using the stock green motocraft anti-freeze from my local dealership. for how many Ive gone through personally, I can't believe it's not mentioned here.

 

i've had to replace the radiator in my van twice. first replacement was an aluminum core with plastic tanks, and the seams gave out when i lost a head gasket. the next one i got was made by performance radiator, and its been good to me for over a year so far. its all aluminum with welded construction, so no weak seams to split like the cheap ones.

 

joshofalltrades, do you have a link to performance? I did a search online but there are a lot of "performance radiator" shops and they all seem like just standard shops...

 

How are they failing? Do they all fail the same way? Could it be the radiator frame is tweaked, say, from a frontal collision, causing the radiator to bend as it's tightened into place? Might the hoses not have enough flex so engine motion stresses the radiator?

Sixto
93 E150 Chateau 5.8 187K miles

 

i bought it from a local parts store, with the brand name being performance radiator. i'll try to see if the sticker on the radiator has a website on it - i'll try to check tomorrow

 

tabijan, I am the original owner, no collisions, new radiators drop right in no alignment problems. they all fail slightly differently, around the top end caps of seams, corners of the stampings, seems like just crappy quality in general. the original one lasted approx 14 years, but these replacements are just not the same as the originals.

josh, thanks for checking, it's been frustrating.

 

by the way I have the big block V8 7.2. not sure if that makes any difference.