Anyone has non-stock radiator...Be-Cool, Flex-a-Lite??

[RussToy]

Sorry guys...yet another radiator/pink milkshake posting!

Ok...I'm scared to death about the dreaded pink milkshake issue. For the last several days I have been reading hundreds of post's talking about this. I know it's been debated which is the best fix. Just get a new radiator...by-pass the radiator and add a trans cooler...or do both.

Right now I'm sitting at 158,xxx mile. I decided for now, to just replace the radiator...then later, I might add a by-pass cooler.

My question is: has anyone installed an aftermarket radiator like form Be Cool or Flex-a-lite? I figured if I'm replacing it...why not spend a little bit more money and up-grade!

If not...what's the best "stock" radiator to buy? I see a lot of people talk about KOKY?

Thanks for the help guys...

 

[nissanh]

I replaced mine at 177 K due to clogged cores. I was not even aware about the "milkshake" at that time.

I bought my radiator from a radiator store and it was not the famous "koyo" brand. The trans oil runs through the radiator and through a flex-a lite tube type trans cooler (5X8 inches).

 

[BlackCat914]

with a product like "Be-Cool" or something similar, you really can't go wrong. Plus, they're typically 3 or 4 core and made from aluminum, and cool 10x's better than a factory replacement. Might take a bit of adjusting/massaging to get it to fit though.

 

[nissanh]

More cores don't mean better cooling.

I did an experiment with my car's radiator with an electric fan.

I used 2 core radiator and the air flow is less and more strain to the fan/engine.

1 core radiator had a much better air flow and less strain to the fan/engine.

More air flow means better cooling. More cores means better cooling. It is just what you like.

 

[BlackCat914]

More cores don't mean better cooling.

I did an experiment with my car's radiator with an electric fan.

I used 2 core radiator and the air flow is less and more strain to the fan/engine.

1 core radiator had a much better air flow and less strain to the fan/engine.

More air flow means better cooling. More cores means better cooling. It is just what you like.

Sorry dude, but you're misinformed. Can you explain how a larger radiator is applying more "strain" to the fan or engine? They're not even physically connected. In engine cooling, the name of the game is surface area.

And I'm a bit confused by the bold parts. Care to clarify?

 

[LittleCaesar]

I had a crack at my filler neck so I replaced mine with the Koyo 1998a, and it was a Koyo.

Since the 4runner's cooling ability is good using the stock size radiator, there is no need to increase in size IMHO.

I like running my ATF through both the transmission cooler and the radiator.

 

[tee-bone]

I had a crack at my filler neck so I replaced mine with the Koyo 1998a, and it was a Koyo.

Since the 4runner's cooling ability is good using the stock size radiator, there is no need to increase in size IMHO.

I like running my ATF through both the transmission cooler and the radiator.

Ditto. One area I've never felt a need to improve is the engine cooling capacity. I've driven through Death Valley (it's pretty hilly by the way) on a 120* day with the A/C going full blast and never saw the temps rise. Done stop and go in traffic between Vegas and L.A. in 100* and no issue. In fact, the only time, ever, I saw the temps rise above 220* was when my water pump went south.

Perhaps if a 4runner was supercharged or something it would be worth it - and I can see the advantages of a multi-speed electric fan - but even though I generally like the idea of extra cooling capacity I would say it isn't worth putting in more than the Koyo.

Extra tranny cooling, however - that does seem to make a difference, especially for towing.

 

[1985taylor1925]

Sorry guys...yet another radiator/pink milkshake posting!

Ok...I'm scared to death about the dreaded pink milkshake issue. For the last several days I have been reading hundreds of post's talking about this. I know it's been debated which is the best fix. Just get a new radiator...by-pass the radiator and add a trans cooler...or do both.

Right now I'm sitting at 158,xxx mile. I decided for now, to just replace the radiator...then later, I might add a by-pass cooler.

My question is: has anyone installed an aftermarket radiator like form Be Cool or Flex-a-lite? I figured if I'm replacing it...why not spend a little bit more money and up-grade!

If not...what's the best "stock" radiator to buy? I see a lot of people talk about KOKY?

Thanks for the help guys...

I think thats a good decision for now.

I recently replaced my radiator. I went with Denso as I trust the name. Alot of members will just get the tranny cooler and think the problem is solved. But in doing that, youre still left with a radiator with xxxxxx miles on it that potentially has a lot of corrosion and could still fail, even though its closed off to the tranny fluid. In replacing the whole unit, sure you still have the same design with an internal tranny cooler, but I have no doubt that I can drive my 4runner another 100k miles now without even thinking about the pink milkshake issue. So I dont see much purpose in paying for a new tranny cooler seperately when you probably also need to spend the money on a new rad as well. In another 120k miles or so I will probably just repalce the whole unit again. $150 for that many miles is a small investment.

 

[nissanh]

Sorry dude, but you're misinformed. Can you explain how a larger radiator is applying more "strain" to the fan or engine? They're not even physically connected. In engine cooling, the name of the game is surface area.

And I'm a bit confused by the bold parts. Care to clarify?

More surface area in the two core radiator, correct? Air must touch the surface of the cores in order to absorb heat from the core. more cores means more spectacles for the air to flow (as a result, less air will flow). This means, more strain to the fan pulling air..... fan is driven by the engine hence more strain to the engine.

 

[JEL]

I'd go with a new radiator now, and bypass the internal cooler later as the new radiator will definitely buy you lots of time (I would imagine at least another 100k or so for a quality unit). I just did this and replaced my original 150k old stocker with a Koyo and kept the internal cooler for now, but I may change it out this summer.

The old radiator looked ok, but at 150k miles one thing that swayed my was the fact it was old and has lots of highway miles and grit/bugs/dirt/etc. in and on it likely reducing some of the efficiency vs. a new one. Internally, I'm sure it was good as the coolant had been flushed every two years, but a new quality Koyo will probably be even better as it's "factory fresh." Another thing that convinced me was the fact I'll probably be driving through the mountains a lot in the summers and I wanted to make sure everything was working tip-top as far as cooling is concerned, I learned that lesson once in my BMW which blew a radiator 100 miles from home on a HOT day, never want to do that again.

 

[BlackCat914]

More surface area in the two core radiator, correct? Air must touch the surface of the cores in order to absorb heat from the core. more cores means more spectacles for the air to flow (as a result, less air will flow). This means, more strain to the fan pulling air..... fan is driven by the engine hence more strain to the engine.

I'm a bit confused by what you're stating/asking. Are you somehow saying that because in your experiment, a single core radiator is somehow superior to a multi-core unit? You're somehow basing this logic on the fact (from what I think I'm gathering) that because a multi-core radiator is thicker, the engine cooling fan somehow works harder and causes engine strain? Keep in mind that the engine fan has NO other purpose other than to draw air through the radiator.

I'm not trying to be a jerk, but your logic is seriously flawed.

The sole purpose of the radiator is to serve as a cooling agent. The larger the radiator, the larger the surface area it has. It also has a larger coolant capacity. On an extremely hot day, do you think a small, single core radiator and 1 gallon of coolant do a better job cooling than a radiator with 3x's the amount of cores and twice the coolant capacity?

Now you brought the fan into the equation. The fans sole purpose is to draw air through the radiator at slow speed to aide air coming across the radiator. Remember, think air to water. The fan clutch is engaged by engine coolant temperature. When you have a larger radiator, that dissipates heat better, and has a larger capacity for coolant, you're seriously reducing the burden you place on the fan. Meaning your fan will run less, thus reducing strain on all related cooling parts. :nerd:

This is just conversation, I'm not saying the radiator our trucks have aren't efficient enough to provide cooling under normal conditions, because they are. I'm just saying there's a reason why larger radiators are available, and installed in most off-road vehicles, and high performance cars. As a matter of fact, we just installed a large Be-Cool radiator in a customer's ProCharged Corvette Convertible in the shop, because the factory radiator couldn't keep up.

 

[RussToy]

Hello guys...thank y'all so much for all the feed back. Y'all answered a lot of my questions...even some I forgot to ask...lol!

Since everyones in agreement, that our stock radiator is more than sufficient to keep the engine cool...I decided to keep to a stock radiator. I mean, if Tee-Bone can drive throught Death Valley with AC on and no problems...I'll be way OK in Ohio.

Therefore, I'm going to start looking for a Koyo 1998a. Which is awesome...$150 is way better than spending $400-500 (or more) on a Flex-a-lite.

What's the best place to acquirer a Koyo 1998a? I saw some say EBay, another said a local radiator shop...would I be just as good to buy it from Toyota? Or are they just stupid expensive? It's always so hard to judge dealerships...something's are reasonable...others are just plain crazy.

Once again guys...thanks for all the help!