Well the time has come for me to change out the radiator. The factory one is just having to hard a time cooling when I'm offroading in 90°+ weather.

I was looking on ebay of all places and I ran across this aluminium performance radiator for Tacoma. I realize that if I went with a Denso I would be fine but I suppose I'm just vain, this thing looks tits. So do any of you guys have any experience w/ these.

1 Row w O EOC w TOC Performance Racing All Aluminum Radiator for 2 4 L4 Gas | eBay

I think a new regular radiator would work just fine unless there is another issue with your cooling system. I can't decide if I want to spend the $200 and get a new OEM one or spend the $100 and get a Denso one instead.

That probably doesn't help you much, but those are my thoughts.

Just buy the OEM one. Our coolant system, when operating properly, is more than capable in even the warmest parts of the US.

Unless you live in Death Valley or Saudi Arabia I think you will be fine.

My radiator is stock (replaced at 190K miles) and I've been 4-wheeling for hours when it was 106 F outside and the engine was a stable 190-197 with the AC on.

Did you go with Toyota OEM or an equivalent like the Denso?

Better question... Whats the condition of your coolant?

It is an OEM equivalent.

If you're changing it because it isn't cooling, you probably won't fix the problem, unless the radiator is clogged. If it's getting hot when you are off-roading, it's more likely the fan that is bad (or the shroud it broken, or the radiator is really dirty).

Remove coolant on the top tank (use a syringe) and inspect the core. if it is clogged replace it. Get any generic radiator with 1 inch thick single core and replace the radiator every 5 years with fresh red toyota coolant and distilled (or better with deionized - DI) water. If you replace every 5 years there is no worry about pink milkshake too!

I agree stock is more than efficient. Regularly changing fluid and using Toyota red should not cause corrosion and avoids pink milk shake issues.

I've also had the stock radiator in hot conditions (UT,NM in Summer) and it is extremely capable of keeping things cool enough.

I'm planning on changing out to an aluminum radiator because you can get one without the built in tranny cooler, so it doesn't hang down as low.

If you look into what singtoe has done with the current V8 swap he's got going on, you'll notice that he used a performance supra radiator with one simple (relatively as a shop needs to modify one of the hoses) modification to fit the 3rd gen. I think it would be far superior to that one linked above for the 2.4 tacoma motor... As well as an upgrade over stock if you believe that necessary, in his case it seems it with the 4.7 being stuffed in there but the 3.4 likely doesn't need this and I don't know if a stock shroud will fit, so e-fans may be a requirement for the swap.

My coolant is fine, as is my fan. Could the heater core be at fault? The only time I experience overheating it at high rpm under high torque load

From what I've read manual 3rd gens didn't come with the built in trans cooler?

I may be wrong though since I've only dealt with the auto's. Was considering swapping my replacement auto with a replacement manual to remove the un-needed cooler since I went with a stand alone cooler many years ago when I was reworking the cooling on mine.

Does it overheat on the highway? Around town?

If you have a bad radiator, you may need a new one, but you don't need a 'performance radiator'. The factory radiator has more than enough capacity to cool the 3.4 in any weather we're likely to encounter in the US. As has been noted above, and in many other posts, many of us have wheeled in very hot weather and humidity with no overheating (I sometimes even run the A/C with the windows downs while wheeling when it's really hot). The cooling system on these trucks is very good.

So, if you have a problem, there are 4 possibilities.

First, you could have a clogged (or damaged) radiator. If it is clogged not enough coolant will flow through it and the motor will overheat. If that is the case you will likely have overheating on the highway and driving around town too. There probably is just as much load on the motor getting up to speed on a freeway ramp (though for shorter periods) and going stoplight to stoplight as there is off-roading. Your radiator could also be very dirty, clogging the fins so not enough air can get through as well. But, if you don't overheat in other conditions, it's likely the radiator is not the problem.

The heater core doesn't contribute anything appreciable to cooling, except when the heater temp is all the way up and the fan is on high (and nobody drives like that in the summer to keep their car cool - that would be a design flaw).

Second, you could have a bad thermostat. It may not be opening fully and under high loads not allowing enough coolant through. This is possible, but not likely, and again, you would probably see overheating in other conditions.

Third, it could be a water pump, but that is very unlikely. These pumps either leak or the bearing goes bad (though I haven't heard of that). The design makes it virtually impossible for one to lose efficiency and not pump enough coolant.

Fourth, it could be the cooling fan (or a broken shroud). If it is not overheating on the highway it is because there is enough airflow through the radiator to remove the heat from the coolant. When you are off-roading I'm assuming you are moving very slowly and therefore not a lot of air is passing through the radiator due to the truck's speed. That's when the cooling fan works - it must pull enough air through the radiator to remove the heat from the coolant. If the fan can't do that, it will overheat at slow speeds but cool fine on the highway, or even around town (though it might creep up a bit in very slow traffic or at long stoplights).

That's about all that can go wrong, other than things like a bad head gasket (but you'd be losing coolant or have other symptoms) or a bad radiator cap (probably wouldn't overheat but you'd be losing coolant or have steam coming out under the hood).

If you suspect the radiator is clogged, I'd remove it and flush it with a water hose. If it flows freely it's not bad. If it is, get a new OEM radiator; if not, put it back in and check the other things.