Champion or OEM Radiator + cooler decision

[FunBobby]

Hey guys,
At almost 200k, I'm looking to replace my OE radiator, and I want I'm looking for the bet solution to permanently prevent the dreaded strawberry milkshake. I know in the past our only option was to get a separate tranny cooler and bypass the OE radiator, usually getting a new OEM radiator at the same time but since Champion has come out with it's all aluminum radiator I was wondering if this might be a better more simple solution. Basically, I'm wondering if the all aluminum Champion radiator can, by itself, prevent the strawberry milkshake from happening?

 

[T4R2014]

This is a question I’ve had, and from what I can tell there is no answer yet. Reason being: the Champion radiator is a piece of crap. The tolerances are poor af. Same with the hardware. Read some reviews on it. If you have an eye for quality then I recommend waiting some time for Champion to pick up on their quality. What makes you think that you might not be the unlucky guy who gets a radiator with a pinhole leak that causes a strawberry milkshake so slowly that you don’t notice it right away?

 

[clearock]

my champion withstood i direct hit from my fan, leaving behind an 1" deep gash at the deepest point and it didn't cause it to leak, i'm still running it until the new 1 i ordered arrives... with that said i did have to bend the mount taps to get it to fit and I had to remove the riveted mount points and use nuts because they pulled loose from the radiator. I'm using a trans-cooler and not running through the radiator.

 

[whyzee125]

I've never heard of this but I'm intrigued!

 

[RyanNapoleon]

People who complain about the Champion unit being off measurement have little to no mechanical ability or diy skills. True, the hangers are useless, so grab a reciprocating saw and buzz them off. The captive nuts are *almost in alignment with the factory bolt holes, but you will probably need to take a dremel to a couple of the factory holes to allow for the slop. It's really that easy. Install was a breeze.

Beyond that, it's an incredible piece of kit, and I would highly reccomend it. I've been running mine here in AZ for two summers and over 40k miles in the 115*F heat and it's been fantastic. I can (and do) idle for extended periods of time with the a/c blasting and have never gone past the normal 45% on the dash gauge. The build quality is excellent, and while the denso unit is acceptable, I much prefer the all aluminum construction to the plastic that denso uses. Not to mention the volume is huge, much bigger than oem.

Mine is paired with he B&M 70264 trans cooler, in-line. Whether you choose to bypass the internal trans cooler or install inline as I did, I don't think you can beat this combo for the 3rd gen.

 

[sakoluvr]

Or you can buy the factory OEM, which has lasted you 200K miles. The '97 in our family went +300K, the 2001 went +230K and the 2002 went + 240K with no leaks. Put new radiators in as a maintenance item, not because I had to.

 

[Dangler83]

Thanks for this info. Just picked up my first 3rd Gen T4R, and looking to do this as preventative. It's not a daily driver, but when i need to use it during inclement weather, I need it to run like a top!

People who complain about the Champion unit being off measurement have little to no mechanical ability or diy skills. True, the hangers are useless, so grab a reciprocating saw and buzz them off. The captive nuts are *almost in alignment with the factory bolt holes, but you will probably need to take a dremel to a couple of the factory holes to allow for the slop. It's really that easy. Install was a breeze.

Beyond that, it's an incredible piece of kit, and I would highly reccomend it. I've been running mine here in AZ for two summers and over 40k miles in the 115*F heat and it's been fantastic. I can (and do) idle for extended periods of time with the a/c blasting and have never gone past the normal 45% on the dash gauge. The build quality is excellent, and while the denso unit is acceptable, I much prefer the all aluminum construction to the plastic that denso uses. Not to mention the volume is huge, much bigger than oem.

Mine is paired with he B&M 70264 trans cooler, in-line. Whether you choose to bypass the internal trans cooler or install inline as I did, I don't think you can beat this combo for the 3rd gen.

 

[phattyduck]

The pink milkshake happens from internal corrosion. Change your coolant and trans fluid on schedule and you will never have a problem.

Here's my bottom tank/cooler at 270k miles and 18 years old:

I also unbolted the fitting and it was all perfect, 0 corrosion visible - even with regular green coolant for most of its life. Radiator was changed due to age showing on the top tank (brown with surface cracking).

-Charlie

 

[Dangler83]

So just stay up on the flushes and you won't really need to do any sort of radiator replacement and separate trans cooler, good to know.

The pink milkshake happens from internal corrosion. Change your coolant and trans fluid on schedule and you will never have a problem.

Here's my bottom tank/cooler at 270k miles and 18 years old:

I also unbolted the fitting and it was all perfect, 0 corrosion visible - even with regular green coolant for most of its life. Radiator was changed due to age showing on the top tank (brown with surface cracking).

-Charlie

 

[T4R2014]

People who complain about the Champion unit being off measurement have little to no mechanical ability or diy skills.

I can do it, but my time is worth more money. Get an OEM radiator if you want no thoughts in the back of your head.

 

[jgue467]

Don't by-pass trans cooler

...
get a separate tranny cooler and bypass the OE radiator, ...

You live in Texas, take it from my experiences Don't by-pass the OEM design of the trans cooler - add to it if you want with an external cooler but Don't by-pass. When I did, my trans temps could shoot up to 248+ in moderate stop/go in 100+ ambient temps. Once I removed the by-pass, trans temps never go above 185, even while towing uphill in 100+ weather. Luck. :cowboy:

 

[FunBobby]

So what actually corrodes away in the OEM radiator that causes the strawberry milkshake?
If it's just aluminum like the Champion then I can't see any point in paying double what an OE for an all aluminum one.

 

[phattyduck]

The fitting to the outside is a coated steel, I believe. The internal heat exchanger is aluminum, but that's not where the problem happens - it is at the fitting interface with the heat exchanger.

-Charlie

 

[FunBobby]

I still cannot see the value of paying double what an OEM cost for Champion if you don't tow a lot or do anything else that could cause overheating issues. I think I'm just going to order a Denso from Camelback later this week and call it good. I might add a separate trans cooler when I flush that system out this fall.

 

[JWaldz]

People who complain about the Champion unit being off measurement have little to no mechanical ability or diy skills. True, the hangers are useless, so grab a reciprocating saw and buzz them off. The captive nuts are *almost in alignment with the factory bolt holes, but you will probably need to take a dremel to a couple of the factory holes to allow for the slop. It's really that easy. Install was a breeze.

I couldn't speak truer words. Yes, Champion obviously either never mocked one up or if they did they didn't get any of the mounting measurements right lol. However, if you have even the tiniest bit of mechanical skill then it's not hard to make fit. I feel like if you have enough skill to remove your original radiator then you have enough skill to make the Champion work.

I'm looking to install a Champion soon and I think I'll just rid of the captive nuts and bolt/nut it in place.

 

[agridi57]

Does anyone know if radiators have a manufacturer label anywhere? I need to find a replacement drain plug for a non OEM radiator and have not been able to find one. I hate to replace the whole radiator because of the damaged plug.