Does anyone have any experience with the Spectra premium radiator from Autozone? I am considering putting one in my truck. Mine is not leaking, but there is rust present in places, but more importantly my trans temp is going way up when I am working it hard at low speeds. I have a B&M aux. cooler with a cooling fan, but it only helps a little. The PO mangled the steel lines to the existing radiator trans cooler. One is slightly kinked, and the rubber lines are all in bad shape. I am going to JY new steel lines and replace all the rubber ones with new lines and oetiker clamps. I know it is an aluminum radiator, has a lifetime warranty, and it is 306 bucks. I am looking at the new radiator, new, not rebuilt, water pump, both radiator hoses, and a new cap, for $434.18, delivered to my door with a promotional $60.00 gift card included, so a net of 374.18 sounds like a pretty good deal to me. Of course I will get a new t-stat as well but I gotta find a motorcraft.

Any input would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Mac.

 

i bought one off ebay, the 3 core aluminum welded tank one and am more than happy especially with the 220 shipped price tag.
Rob

 

Rob does your radiator have a trans cooler?

 

yep sure does. if u look in my thread u can see the top of it. but seems like a well built piece IMO

Rob

 

What thread? Is yours the Champion? I found it on e-bay for 222 bucks shipped. Looks pretty well built. Internet warranties scare me though.

 

Umm not exactly.sure..I'll look.later and let.you know .

 

One random piece of advice re: the hoses. I had an issue with the lower hose I bought from them. About a week after I did the coolant flush and put on the new hoses, I started to get a leak. Turns out the lower hose had a huge slit in it running lengthwise. Probably a fluke (someone accidentally hit it with a box cutter is my guess), but there was no warranty on it. I went right across the street to O'Reilly's and bought a Gates hose. No issues since.

Mike

 

Might do that thanks Mike, Gates has been around for a while!

Mac.

 

Before you spend the money on a new radiator, I'd replace the steel and rubber trans lines first and blow out the trans cooler in the radiator and aux with compressed air to see if there is any blockage.

If that doesn't help the trans temps, then go with the new radiator.

Also, is the aux. cooler before or after the radiator? I'm pretty sure it should be after, otherwise it probably won't do as good of a job.

 

Tec,

This is a new truck to me, The radiator shows some signs of age, and I plan to keep it for a long time, so I am willing to put the cash into a new one, I will do all the trans lines at the same time as well as a new water pump, and t-stat while I am in there. I like the confidence of knowing, and the trans is worth a lot more than the cost of the new radiator to me. I have a lot of other plans for this thing, like; Intercooler, banks down pine, 4" exhaust, ect. So I might as well get this repair behind me. BTW the aux cooler is after the radiator, I had to rewire that and hook up my trans temp gauge when I bought it. The PO did some shotty work! What a surprise huh?!?

Thanks,

Mac.

 

Ok, I was just throwing that out as it seemed like a good starting point. Myself and many other people don't have a lot of money to spend on our trucks, so if you can save a guy a few bucks it can go a long ways.

Hearing a bit more about what you want to do with the truck and its history(or lack thereof) it sounds like you're making the right decision. So go for it and invest the money in shiny new parts. Make sure you get a decent water pump though. From the looks of it, the original on my truck lasted almost 200K miles. The first replacement only did about ~20K and only 2.5 years. Hopefully replacement #2 will last longer.

 

Be VERY careful with the champion rads. i bought one and it came damaged. there was ZERO packaging on the inside. just the rad in a box. the trans cooler lines were bent and not usable. i ended up getting my money back and getting to keep the rad. it is still good if i needed it to get me out of a jam.

My New All Alluminum Champion Radiator

 

heres the one i went with,for another choice to look at:
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/9...l#post10513622

heres the proper t-stat your looking for:
Amazon.com: Motorcraft RT1049 190F and 88C Thermostat: Automotive

heres the proper cap that's good to change once in a while when you replace upper/lower hoses:
http://www.amazon.com/Stant-10329-Le...tant+13+lb+cap

what kind of trans temps are you seeing,and iirc the sender is placed in the cooler line,just before the rad on this truck too right?

 

this is the one i bought:

3 Row w/o EOC w/ TOC Performance All Aluminum Radiator For 6.9 7.3 V8 DIESEL | eBay

its a nice radiator and seems to work well.

Rob

 

Thanks for all the input,

I think I am going to go with the Champion, It sounds like, despite it's poor packaging, it is well built. I am in CA, so maybe it won't take as much abuse during shipping. I will be here when it arrives, I will refuse shipment if the box is damaged.

Tec,

I appreciate your looking out. I am by no means rolling in dough, but fate has put a few long awaited dollars in my pocket all at once. and like I said, I plan to keep this truck until I can't climb up in it anymore, (and I hope that is a long while from now!) So I can justify the expense. Besides aren't shiny new parts like fishing lures to men! LOL

Ford,

Thanks for the T-stat link. I will order it today, I think the radiator comes with a new cap. I will wait to see what kind it is. They are easy enough to test.

And 94,

Thanks for the info. I still have my 93 for transpo. and the 94 runs well enough, the trans only overheats when I'm wheeling, so I'll give Champion a chance. Like I said, it won't even come off the truck if the packaging is damaged. Did yours come with a cap, and if so was it worth a darn?

I think I will go with the Autozone water pump. I put one on my 93 2 years ago and it is still going strong. I always prefer new over rebuilt because I have heard stories about some rebuild companies fixing only the failed parts in the cores and not refurbing the entire thing. New is new! Plus no core to deal with is nice!

Thanks again guys,
however this works out, I will post results.

Mac.