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Stock JK TechBulletin board forum regarding issues with OE (original equipment) components of the Jeep JK Wrangler (Rubicon, Sahara, Unlimited and X) such as factory suspension parts, engine, transmission, body parts, interior fixtures and the on-board computer.
^^Best price I could find on a Mopar linked below. I paid $207 for my Mopar replacement, and it's been holding up.
https://www.amazon.com/Mopar-6814-3886AA-Radiator/dp/B007NPBZR2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1523841612&sr=8-1&keywords=68143886AA
Amazon has a $60 instant gift card offer for applying for their credit card which is worth it in my opinion. Apply for their Amazon credit card, no annual fee, get approved and instantly get a $60 gift card to put towards an Amazon purchase. You don't even have to use their CC to make the purchase. I used that offer a few weeks back. Filled out the CC application, got instantly approved, and a $60 gift card was instantly credited to my account. The credit card showed up a week later, and it's been sitting dormant ever since.
So I'm thinking $135 out of pocket for a Mopar might not sound too bad.
As a further FYI. That $195 on Amazon seems to be the current lowest going price for that listing. I have a browser plugin installed which shows the price history and it shows it tends to jump between $195 and $225. It just dropped to the $195 again. So if you're thinking OEM, now's a good time to cash in on some savings and be able to get the OEM in the price range of the questionable aftermarket options.
Rednroll - I know you'll love this.....I went with an OSC due to price. Put one in my wife's Armada and have been pretty happy with it. I'll update when it fails and I'm repeating the same job again....LOL. Par for the course for me.
Rednroll - I know you'll love this.....I went with an OSC due to price. Put one in my wife's Armada and have been pretty happy with it. I'll update when it fails and I'm repeating the same job again....LOL. Par for the course for me.
Well, at least the rest of us will benefit by having a reliable source guinea pig on the forum who can let us know if the OSC is a good alternative solution or not.
I decided to be a similar guinea for the Wells EGR valve, so I can relate. I hate to spend more than I have to on stock replacement parts which don't provide any upgrade path, so I get it.
Crash and burn, or dancing in the streets keep us informed!
Well, not to hijack this thread, but I did get the OSC radiator installed this weekend. Man, the old one was definitely looking bad at the same typical failure spot (driver's side fins) -
The OSC arrived, $99 shipped to my door in 3 days. Didn't have to swap anything over from the factory. I have a stubby front and no fender flares making install a decent bit easier....or at least I imagine so. Old one came out easy and I was thinking "why is it taking people so long to do this!!" LOL, well, getting things lined up and back in was more of a pain in the ass. Tranny cooler adds an additional bolt down on the bottom/side of the driver's side which is hard to access, especially if you have inner liners I'd think. Had a real bitch of a time getting the a/c condenser lined up again, and of course those little bolts are the hardest to access. I got the whole thing put back together, looked at my driver's tire and noticed 1 little bolt sitting there! Ugh, it was to the lower driver's side a/c condenser....the absolute hardest one to access with tranny lines in the way! All in all i think it took me good 3 hours or so to swap it out, and I didn't have to mess with some things given my non-factory bumper/fender set up. We'll see how this cheap OSC holds up. One thing I continue to be surprised at is how big of a POS our petc0cks are on these things. Mine barely drained at all! I had put new coolant in not long ago so I was trying to capture what was draining for reuse. I hope the one on the OSC is better, but didn't test it.
Im on my 4th radiator at 160,000 miles. The origional oem, oem replacement and mitzimoto failed. Both with the plastic heads failed at the seam between the head and tubes. The all aluminum mitzimoto failed on day 5 at a weld. Im on a CSF now and so far so good. Its been about 9 months.
One thing I continue to be surprised at is how big of a POS our petc0cks are on these things. Mine barely drained at all! I had put new coolant in not long ago so I was trying to capture what was draining for reuse. I hope the one on the OSC is better, but didn't test it.
I removed that petcok once to change my coolant. That was the 1st and last time. Between how hard it is to reach and how it's a POS like you mention, I found it much easier to just pull the lower hose and drain the radiator that way.
I removed that petcok once to change my coolant. That was the 1st and last time. Between how hard it is to reach and how it's a POS like you mention, I found it much easier to just pull the lower hose and drain the radiator that way.
y, usually I'd do that as well. I knew it drained like POS cuz I had flushed my coolant not long ago. I was just trying to save and reuse what was coming out of the radiator just so I wouldn't have to go buy another gallon of coolant. I had some on hand, but probably not enough had I just wasted everything coming out. I just scratch my head at that....how can a radiator have such a poor drain. LOL. Wife's Armada is like Niagra Falls when you open that.
Trying to recall what kind of temps I was running with the factory radiator. I'm seeing 226-229* with this OSC, and that seems a bit higher than I recall.....which I think may have been more like 219/220*. That said, it is starting to heat up here in Texas so maybe that is part of it.
Well I decided on the Spectra Rad, it should arrive Monday. I also got a new radiator cap and I will also install a new thermostat as well. Not going to short cut it.
04-15-2018, 05:22 PM
