Has anyone replaced their radiator core / tank(s)?

[eurasiaoverland]

I've got a 1996 Hilux Surf currently undergoing a major overhaul.

The radiator didn't leak as far as I could tell, but the cheap-a** PO ran it on tap water so I imagine there is quite some scale in there.

A new, proper OEM radiator is pretty expensive and I can't quite justify spending $500 or so to replace something which I don't believe is faulty. I see a compromise part on US eBay / Amazon; 16410-YZZAJ but this has the ATF cooler connections which I really don't want as mine is a manual.

There is also the option of getting a non OEM radiator (made by NRF) which seems to be of a good quality, with a fully brazed aluminium core, for less than $200. But I don't like anything on my truck except the suspension and brake discs / pads to be non-OEM...

So I'm thinking perhaps to remove the top and bottom tanks, flush / rod the core and replace the tanks with new seals.

Has anyone done this? Is it easy to open up all the tabs on the core which hold the tanks on?? Did it seal properly after you had replaced the tanks??

Thanks!

 

[JRZEE2000TR4LTD]

I've got a 1996 Hilux Surf currently undergoing a major overhaul.

The radiator didn't leak as far as I could tell, but the cheap-a** PO ran it on tap water so I imagine there is quite some scale in there.

A new, proper OEM radiator is pretty expensive and I can't quite justify spending $500 or so to replace something which I don't believe is faulty. I see a compromise part on US eBay / Amazon; 16410-YZZAJ but this has the ATF cooler connections which I really don't want as mine is a manual.

There is also the option of getting a non OEM radiator (made by NRF) which seems to be of a good quality, with a fully brazed aluminium core, for less than $200. But I don't like anything on my truck except the suspension and brake discs / pads to be non-OEM...

So I'm thinking perhaps to remove the top and bottom tanks, flush / rod the core and replace the tanks with new seals.

Has anyone done this? Is it easy to open up all the tabs on the core which hold the tanks on?? Did it seal properly after you had replaced the tanks??

Thanks!

Can of worms. Do you see indications of scale in it? Is your water really hard- this would cause excessive scale. Even if you did service the radiator, what about the rest of the system? Just run some quality flush/ descaler through it, refill with OEM coolant or the like, and call it a day.