I'm having a hard time finding an OEM Radiator for a reasonable price. Also, It's hard to tell which company is selling knock-offs and which ones are genuine. Could someone take a look at these links and help me out here? Especially the first one.


"OEM?"
$95 shipped!
1996 - 2000 Toyota 4Runner Radiator - (Automatic Transmission + 2.7L L4) - >> Go-Parts

(DENSO, so not OEM?)
$115 Shipped
https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo...272552&jsn=383

OEM
$125 shipped
16410-YZZAJ - Genuine Toyota RADIATOR ASSEMBLY MVP

OEM
$150+ Shipped
1996-2002 Toyota 4Runner Radiator Assembly 16410-AZ011 | Camelback Toyota Parts

The rockauto denso radiator is nearly identical to the OE radiators installed in the factory. Don't hesitate to buy one, I'm sure the extra money for the "Toyota" one isn't worth it, it very well could even be the same radiator in a different box.

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Alright, I hear lots of people here use them. The go-parts looks like sort of a crap-shoot which brand I'd get as the description is so vague.

Ordered

Far from the case. They last five years or so in my experience. The factory radiator is a different league of quality.

yeah i actually just realized TPD doesn't charge tax but rockauto does, so the price difference for OEM is $2 LOL.

just gonna order OEM from TPD instead

I use the rock auto denso. Are they identical to OEM Toyota [ 20 year old ones] probably not. However, they are alot better then the Autozone, Advance ones. I wouldn't surprise me if the Toyota OEM from the dealer radiators are just like rock autos now. :[

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yea, this is curious to me. I just bought one from a local toyota dealership and it's a denso one...so whatever.

FWIW, I got the denso from Napa... was very similar if not identical in appearance except the giant “made in China” sticker on top.

Fit and function great so far, but barely have 5000k on the new one.

Paid a little over $150 before tax and they had it the next day




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Something a lot of people don't quite realize is just because something was made in China and even has the same brand name such as Denso doesn't mean the product is the same.

China or even a factory in Kansas (or wherever) makes products to spec for its customers. They can make them as good or as cheaply as spec demands.

In this case I would buy the OEM from Toyota for $125 shipped. In fact I'm going to do this for my 98 at some point because I don't know when it was changed or even if it has ever been changed. I went with the Amazon Denso for the 01 thinking it will last 10 years. Now I'm not so sure. might go ahead and change it in 5 years with the OEM.

The point is "Made in China" doesn't have to mean made poorly. That decision is made by the people who hired them to make the product and how greedy they want to be. The Chinese factory simply makes them to the spec's given to them.

Even the "OEM" ones from Toyota don't seem to be the same quality as the original. The first one I bought from Toyota around 3 1/2 years ago for my 2000 3rd Gen looked to be an exact replacement and cost me around $200. Fast forward to around a year and a half ago and when I bought another OEM one from Camelback Toyota, I found the price had gone down to around $120 but the quality was definitely less. The trans cooler fitting seemed to be made of a lesser gauge metal and the drain for the radiator didn't have the nice right angle drain hole anymore. If I want to drain coolant from this radiator, It's just going to dribble out of the threads. I'm pretty sure the second one I purchased is made by Denso. So, at this point in my opinion, I don't think there's much advantage buying from Toyota because whoever they had making the radiators for them before isn't doing it anymore or they decided to cut corners and make them cheaper.

That is what I am seeing Tim. You are 100% correct. They cut the costs by basically making them Cheaper anyway they can.

For Example:

I won't even buy Toyota OEM rotors as you are just wasting your money. They warp just as fast as the Auto parts chain stores do. Such a shame as the Factory Ones that came with the Vehicles lasted in the rust belt around 100K miles. This is one of the reasons why people are doing these brake rotor mods. We cant find good quality rotors but that is off topic but used as an example only. ;-(

my radiator arrived today. toyotapartsdeal did a bad job packing it so the coolant overflow nipple is broken off. ugh. looks like i won’t be doing this over the weekend.

they put about 6 2”x2” cubes of foam in the box. of course, they’re all at the bottom of the box now. although, the box says toyota/lexus on it and was sealed with glue so maybe all of them are like this.

what’s funny is the box has markings all around it indicating which way is up, and they put the shipping label on the bottom of the box. GENIUS!!

What is it with me and terribly packaged things? first the LBJ and now this.

the ones from amazon also have the problem of the overflow nipple breaking off so i bet it’s just dumb luck with this model radiator... they probably all stay in the same box

I think the long term fix for the least money is going to be the Aluminum Koyo with an aftermarket trans cooler. That is unless Koyo decides to build in the cooler with it. Even still the bypass isn't a bad thing overall if the whole setup lasts longer.

Yeah, it's a common issue with these radiators if they ship in it the manufacturer's packaging. Bummer though since now you have to wait for the return & then order it again.

You could try bringing the Camelback pricing to your local dealer and see if they match online prices. Mine does, they'll add the shipping cost in but I get the part for the same bottom line and walk away with it either the same day or next day.

Had the same thing happen to me a couple of weeks ago on one I orderd from Camelback Toyota. I was so concerned about damaged to the inlet and outlets pipes for coolant and tranny that I didn't even think to check that... I had mine completely installed and it wasn't until I went to do the last thing before filling it with coolant(attaching the overflow hose) that I realized it was broken. Found it stuck through the plastic bubble wrap.