I bought my KJ new in 2005, and it's on its third Mopar rad. They seem to last 3 years on average. I'm not going to bother spending Mopar money on the next one. My ZJ has had a Silla (bought through Radiator Express) for 4 years now, half the price of the KJ rad and doing just fine.
Radiators
- Thread starter eyehatetofu
- Start date
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CzarKJ
Full Access Member
I'm kinda wondering what other issues you have If you are popping rads.
None. Jeep runs just fine, never a hint of overheating. I've always had early warning of leaks so I've been able to change the rads before the coolant loss got serious.
My experience is that Mopar is massively overrated. There's nothing magical about it, it's still just third-party parts sourced from the lowest bidder who can meet the required spec, same as any other OEM.
Most Mopar parts I've ever bought have had "Made in Mexico" stickers on them, and I'm not aware of Mexico being considered a bastion of high-quality manufacturing.
My experience with aftermarket parts is that as long as you don't buy the cheapest, there's no need to buy the most expensive either. My power steering pressure hose blew 4 years after I bought the KJ from new, and after choking at the price of the Mopar replacement, I bought an Edelmann from RockAuto. It's now 6 years old and counting. Even if it had lasted only as long as the Mopar one, I'd've felt I'd got more than my money's worth from it because it was so much cheaper, but the quality appeared absolutely identical.
My experience is that Mopar is massively overrated. There's nothing magical about it, it's still just third-party parts sourced from the lowest bidder who can meet the required spec, same as any other OEM.
Most Mopar parts I've ever bought have had "Made in Mexico" stickers on them, and I'm not aware of Mexico being considered a bastion of high-quality manufacturing.
My experience with aftermarket parts is that as long as you don't buy the cheapest, there's no need to buy the most expensive either. My power steering pressure hose blew 4 years after I bought the KJ from new, and after choking at the price of the Mopar replacement, I bought an Edelmann from RockAuto. It's now 6 years old and counting. Even if it had lasted only as long as the Mopar one, I'd've felt I'd got more than my money's worth from it because it was so much cheaper, but the quality appeared absolutely identical.
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CzarKJ
Full Access Member
Mexico is awesome for parts. Alot of our airforce is flying on mexican made parts (I have a friend at Pratt and whitney). But seriously my Mopar one lasted 10 years and I have a second going strong. There has to be something that is different from the rest. Not wrong but different.
Ask any Jeep dealer and I bet they'll all say that they have changed plenty of leaky Mopar rads that were WAY less than 10 years old.
I live in Dubai, where summer temps routinely reach 120F for about 4 months of the year, so it's possible that the heat stress is that much higher. Every single KJ sold here from 2002-2007 came with the heavy-duty cooling as standard. But still, an average of 3 years isn't great given the price of the Mopar rads when much cheaper aftermarkets are equalling or exceeding that.
I live in Dubai, where summer temps routinely reach 120F for about 4 months of the year, so it's possible that the heat stress is that much higher. Every single KJ sold here from 2002-2007 came with the heavy-duty cooling as standard. But still, an average of 3 years isn't great given the price of the Mopar rads when much cheaper aftermarkets are equalling or exceeding that.
dude1116
Full Access Member
Mine lasted about 100k miles and 9.5 years without an issue.
CzarKJ
Full Access Member
Ya it sounds like Temps may be a serious factor. Hey whatever works is what I say. If a aftermarket can out perform there AWESOME! we just haven't seen the same results here.
uss2defiant
Full Access Member
This is exactly what I don't want to do. The Mopar one only costs a few more bucks. My time and effort are worth that at least.
Good to know. Mopar it is.
Operational. I'm at 108k miles is this something that would be smart to replace while I have everything apart? I don't want to replace something that isn't broken but if it is a smart move I will defer to the more knowledgeable. A new water pump seems to be reasonably priced.
Thanks for the replies everybody.
Could just replace the water pump as a preventative maintenance but I guess don't fix it till it's broken. Mine started weeping a bit so I changed mine out. ~150k miles for the original water pump. Replaced it with a NAPA one. life time warranty with that.
Yes, my own vehicle and I planned to keep it a while? A new water pump would go on while I had the radiator off, system drained, and all the extra working room.
Bob
My water pump went at 108k, then the radiator a week later.
Was trying to find receipt for my radiator, but the original went about 185,000 I think. Now with 217,000 still has the original water pump.
Of course hoses, thermostat have all been replaced 4 times, system flushed 4 times , maybe better upkeep/ maintenance is needed on some
Of course hoses, thermostat have all been replaced 4 times, system flushed 4 times , maybe better upkeep/ maintenance is needed on some
libertybob
Full Access Member
napa
I think like cplchris and go for the cost effective solution. As long as a part is accessible and not too difficult to change, go for cost value.
I think like cplchris and go for the cost effective solution. As long as a part is accessible and not too difficult to change, go for cost value.
eyehatetofu
Full Access Member
I have went with the most cost effective option and it has left me stranded in the desert. Not fun. I couldn't find a non-Chinese unit cheaper than the Mopar one. The original lasted over 9 years in the AZ heat; fingers crossed the new one will too.
Ended up getting the radiator from the dealer. They beat RockAuto's price by $2. Going to be picking it up tomorrow and will hopefully have an operational Jeep by the end of the day.
Great choice
eyehatetofu
Full Access Member
OK, so I didn't finish my task by the end of the day.
. But got it finished today. Would have been a quick job if it wasn't 112° out. Got 'er pretty much buttoned up; just got to fix a head light issue I saw with everything a part (the head light bulb likes to rattle itself loose).New radiator, new thermostat, new hoses, new water pump; the KJ should be a happy gal for awhile.
Also while I had it apart I trimmed the electrical fan housing so it will clear the mechanical fan. Will make future removal much easier.
uss2defiant
Full Access Member
good job!
