Denso radiator damaged shipping, should I still install it?

[atalarico]

Hey all, so I naively believed that the negative reviews on Amazon for the Denso radiator and terrible packaging leading to shipping damage were old and outdated reviews. I mean, surely Amazon would start doing a better job of making their staff or vendors package these things better so they don't get damaged.

Well, I opened it up today all excited and ready to drop it in today and what did I find?

So, I know this isn't as bad as what other people have reported in the past.

Question is, do I let amazon send me a replacement and put this off for another weekend, or do I carefully bend the mounting tab back, and the fins if I can, and call it good?

It's still in way better shape than the one in my 4Runner now and a few bent fins shouldn't be a problem, right?

So, buyer beware on these...still. Just check it when it arrives and take care of it ASAP instead of waiting until the day you want to do the job.

 

[atalarico]

Update: in Amazon's defense, they did just refund me for the whole thing within 10 minutes of my complaint. They didn't ask for pictures or for me to send it back. I guess I'll go ahead with the install, see if it can still work, and then buy a new one a little sooner down the road than I wanted?

Or should I still hold off and buy an undamaged one?

 

[98OzarksRunner]

Since they refunded the money and let you keep it, I'd go ahead and install it. If you have problems with it, buy a new one. This one is free!

 

[pluton]

Amazon has been infamous for bad packaging for quite some years now.

 

[jeremyc74]

I'd inspect the end tanks very closely, but if they're ok I'd go ahead and install it. A few bent fins aren't going to hurt anything.

 

[RoyBell]

It looks fine to me? I just replaced the radiator on my Golf. I had 2 come damaged from a reputable online seller. I ended up getting frustrated and going to the dealership where they sold me one for about $30 more (plus tax). I could at least inspect it then. They just throw them in a box with literally no protection from being crushed or dented.

 

[atalarico]

Dang, sounds good then! I was hoping you'd all say that! =)

Now, on to make what should be a few hour job into a 10 hour job!

 

[absalom]

Be wary, usually if Amazon refunds your money, they expect a return shipment. I had a similar thing with a pair of boots that were of poor quality. Two weeks later I was sent an invoice.

 

[atalarico]

Dumb question, but what's this smaller radiator in front of my radiator?!

It looks pretty haggard too. Should I replace this thing at some point?

 

[atalarico]

Duh, I followed the lines and its part of my a/c, right?

 

[cashmoney]

Yup. It's the condenser.

 

[nissanh]

Denso is a good radiator but packing is very poor. I installed a denso about a month ago and made a special request to the seller to add more padding specially around the drain nipple as this is the part that breaks in a denso radiator.

Denso has 1.25 inch thick core which helps cooling better. Most other brands I've seen online has 1 inch thick core.

YOur AC condenser seems clogged with bugs etc., After removing the radiator, blast high pressure water from engine bay out to clean the AC condenser. Also with a thin piece of wood, straighten-up the AC condenser cooling fins

 

[danz]

I ordered the same Denso radiator from Amazon 3 weeks ago. Mine came bubble wrapped so it moved only a little in that box. Seems the packaging is still not consistent. The mounts on the Denso are not as thick as the OEM but it will suffice. I did notice that the Denso radiator was also a little wider so my attempt to use the OEM mounts failed. Anyway, I installed it with new hoses and cap and haven't had any issues.

 

[kpinthebay]

When i ordered my Spectra from Amazon, it came in its factory wrapped Spectra box. Ive never had a problem with Amazon packing.

And also, be absolutely sure you can keep this one. My experience has been that anything less than $10, they dont want back. Hard to believe they dont want this one back.

 

[HiLife]

That's what I don't like about these online retailers these days. They don't know how to pack boxes right.
Part moving around inside the box equals damage and headaches for both seller and buyer.
Guess its too hard on their part to double check if the part is secure from moving around in the box before shipping out. I even request for more packing material and sellers doesn't do it.
Glad you were able to resolve you issue op.

 

[jeremyc74]

That's what I don't like about these online retailers these days. They don't know how to pack boxes right.
Part moving around inside the box equals damage and headaches for both seller and buyer.
Guess its too hard on their part to double check if the part is secure from moving around in the box before shipping out. I even request for more packing material and sellers doesn't do it.
Glad you were able to resolve you issue op.

I use Amazon a LOT and they're generally really good, but this is one of those items they seem to have a hard time with. I think the issue is the factory packaging is intended more for bulk shipment to a retail outlet, and Amazon just isn't adding anything to it to withstand the abuse it gets on a delivery truck. I was going to buy one from Amazon and decided not to take the chance after reading the reviews. I think I paid about $10 more getting it locally.

 

[HiLife]

Some are better than others, yes. But look at op's pics, 10 small pieces of foam blocks flying loose around the box. Are you kidding me??
What kind of protection does that offer for something that can be tweaked like and aluminum radiator?

 

[willbgood]

Always pressure test any new radiator.

Manufacturers can and often do make errors, better safe than sorry.

 

[RoyBell]

Heres how my $170 golf radiator was shipped

2015-09-18_11-41-11 by RoyBelluomini, on Flickr

 

[atalarico]

So, I ended up installing it. I was able to bend everything back, and there aren't any leaks (so far).

Also, the people that said to double-check that they don't want it back were totally right. I read the original refund email and *all* the way at the bottom was language about the return mailing label. I wrote them back and said "wtf?!" because neither customer service agent actually said anything about mailing it back, and they totally missed the point of why I wrote in the first place.

I'm hoping they can meet me in the middle and do a partial refund.

FWIW; I used to work for a smaller specialty outdoor retailer that has an Amazon Marketplace account. We got stellar reviews because we simply operated on Amazon the same we operated in our physical store and on our website. We took care of customers, we always went above and beyond, we shipped things quickly, and we packaged things well. When I opened that radiator box I just thought to myself, "How does anyone think this is acceptable?!", and in their defense, they're only shipping the box as it comes from the manufacturer. That said, with so many complaints, they should repackage them or just pop off one of the sides of the boxes, and shove a popcorn hose in there, and fill it up. /rant

Anyway, the install went well enough. I'm still having trouble burping the system, but I have no indication that it has air in it anyway. My driveway is at a decent angle to begin with, as the front-end is about 8-10 degrees higher than the rear. I've tried all the burping methods; running with the heat on full blast with the radiator cap off (not the overflow reservoir cap, as was hard to find out which was supposed to be off), drove 30 miles and then came home to let cool and removed the rad cap, massaged the lines, and then jacked up the front end even higher and tried doing all of the same.

Thoughts?