A stock replacement radiator seems the most popular.
That said, we went with an AFE Power GT radiator. It is a stronger bar and plate design.
We replaced ours not because of a leak but to gain cooling capacity.
The new one is only a year or so old, so too early to tell.

 

The one @GuzziMoto got is the most popular here in NZ too.

 

Personally I would (and did) stick with the stock OEM unit from Mopar, which guarantees zero fitment issues. The stock radiator has plenty of cooling capacity for stock or lightly modified vehicles. I can understand the 'an OEM replacement will just leak again' thought, but not sure that's necessarily true, or that an aftermarket replacement will necessarily be better in that respect. The aFe unit is what I would probably choose if I did want to go aftermarket though.

 

I also have the AFE Bladerunner GT. I've got only about 6 months on mine so it is to early to tell. But the the bar and plate design makes it one of the strongest radiator on the market. It is not cheap but 4 radiators in 8 years, I am will to spend the money to see if it works.

 

There are many cases of multiple OEM radiators here in NZ too. Even with correct fluids and intervals.

 

My radiator has a tiny leak in it. 2012 JKU Sport. Reading some other posts, I'm surprised mine has lasted this long! I've read some things saying aftermarket radiators are just as bad, or even worse than OEM. I believe the smaller grille is the trans oil cooler? The leak is either both or one of them with it being so hard to tell where it's actually coming from. I notice the leak/smell on the passenger side towards the top of the radiator. Along with a slow drop in my coolant level that I have to top off every 2-3 weeks.

Any recommendations? I've seen many people say their replacements only lasted a few years, if that.
Thanks!

Just get it re-cored. Normally they do a better job cooling and it's a lot cheaper.

 

I doubt you can have a plastic tank radiator re-cored.

 

https://www.morris4x4center.com/afe-power-bladerunner-gt-series-radiator.html

this one? What is the warranty?

 

That is the one I have. The warranty is a two year limited warranty. Not sure what the details are. I have not needed it so far.
They also offer a Street Series version, but that one is not bar and plate design, it is the typical fin and tube of the stocker.

 

Many cases of what ? My first Jeep had 140k miles when i sold it. Didn't have any issues with the factory radiator. it was a 13 model. My 2nd one is 18 with only 40k miles not expecting to have any issues either, knocking on wood i see more people having issues with aftermarket radiators, and for the looks of it, many will replace those serveral times. the stocker is only $350-$380 or so ?

 

I was replying to @TerryC6 .
The Pentastars do seem to run pretty warm.
Some people here in NZ have had multiple OEM radiators at relatively low miles with correct fluid and fluid interval which have split and leaked. A lot have had no problem. Noone I know of has had an AFE Power brand Blade runner model failure here.

 

For many people the stock radiator works fine. They do fail, but not at particularly high rates.
If you have failure issues with the stock radiator, and some people do, the AFE bar and plate radiator seems to be a step above the stock radiator. Most people probably don't need it, but if you are having an issue with the stock radiator and need something better that seems to be the only option I know of. It is true that most of the fin and tube aftermarket radiators seem to fail more than the stock radiator.

 

Wow, prices have really gone up. I purchased a Mopar 68143886AA radiator for my JK a little over a year ago for $230 including shipping from Amazon, now they are out of stock at Amazon and at least $100 more (if you can find one, they seem to be out of stock most everywhere.) That may figure in to a choice to go aftermarket.

Another option (if price is a concern) is to have your unit repaired. Many radiator shops have the jig to remove the side tanks from the core and do repairs, and if done correctly can be as good as new. It used to be that the cost of a new replacement was so close to the rebuild price that it wasn't worth the effort, but now with the price increase and availability issues it might be a more attractive option.

 

I’m on my 4th radiator.😕 I have had 2 mopar ones and two aftermarket ones. The current one in is an oem style with a lifetime warranty. I was thinking of getting the big mishimoto radiator with a lifetime warranty and then always having one on hand, in case of lead times for replacements.

 

I suggest that you stay with the MOPAR OEM stock radiator. Some have tried other brand of Radiators, with not much luck. Leaks and cooling issues.

 

Murray is the brand that Orielles and Advance Auto / carquest carry I believe. It's an OEM copy. At least one of them carries a lifetime warranty. If you go this route you can buy a second replacement if the Murray fails and then take the other one in for a credit.
I went with orielly's to hedge my bet that if I'm on a trip far from home I'd likely be able to get one in on the road if needed.

The AFE looks interesting and as mentioned above there are some trusted, long timers, on here that have taken multiple laps on this familiar circuit and are still in the "testing" phase with them. Look forward to hearing how they pan out in the durability category over time.

I figure I'll go AFE if they prove out and then have a spare "Murray" on hand. If needed at some point.

Best of luck.

 

Normally I would prefer to go OEM for something like this vs. the 'parts store' route, but the latter does provide a lifetime warranty so that's something (plus they are actually availble, that's another plus ). But while swapping a radiator on a JK isn't terrible it's not exactly fun either so I wouldn't want to be doing it often even if the parts were free.

 

...if you got 10yrs out of the stock one...

 

The Mishimotos have a lifetime warranty, but sorry to say that I have had to use it multiple times. If I had to do over again, I would probably go OEM.

 

If you have the opportunity to change your fan settings via tuning your can run your fan 10-12f earlier in the fan cycle without affecting fan life while still allowing your Jeep oil to get hot enough to do its thing. For those of us who have tried this route the fan starts running in low speed at 212f instead of 226f. The difference in cooling is day and night without compromising reliability of your fan with stock radiator. It wouldn’t matter if you run a bumper with winch and bullbar with lights etc.

 

Hi rsmwrangler, which tuner (and tune) are you using for your 3.6 engine? THanks a lot and sorry for the old thread revival....

 

I don't think it is a heat issue, well with stock it may be because of using dissimilar materials that have different expansion rates. My stock radiator failed failed on the drivers side of the tank. This could be because of dissimilar materials or because we can flex our vehicles so much. My second radiator, all aluminum radiator out of China failed in about 9 months. I am guessing it failed of because for the coolant. It did have a lifetime warranty so they sent me a new one. It leaked from everywhere, reference Champion Radiators:

What Coolant Color Should I Use In A Champion Radiator?

shop.championcooling.com

For the replacement radiator I swap to green anti freeze. This radiator almost made it 3 years. The leak was on the passenger side this time and the only thing I can attribute it to is flex. With the AFE radiator instead of green I went with non-toxic AMSOIL Propylene Glycol Antifreeze & Coolant.

About a year ago I talk to almost every major aftermarket radiator manufacture about JK's. All of them said our vehicles are very hard on radiators. The company I first went through no longer manufactures radiators for JK's. Griffin and Champion both have done multiple redesigns. I am really hoping the bar and plate radiator does it. If not it will be time to redesign the radiator mounting system to better handle the flex.

 

Edit: Never mind. I was being obtuse.

Where did you find the Amsoil Propylene? The only place I can find it is on their website, and I would need to buy 4 gallons of concentrate at once.

 

I installed an APDI/PRO one from rock auto about a month ago. So far so good, fit and finish is exactly like the Mopar OEM one, no leaks and coolant has stayed on the max level. $113 cant beat the price.

More Information for APDI/PRO 8012957 (rockauto.com)

 

Has anyone Tried the Ron Davis or CBR replacement radiators? Want to do a one and done.

 

No, but our AFE radiator is still going strong.

 

Checking the factory option, the Mopar 68143886AA is $310 from one of those Mopar online dealers you see out there. The only thing i've found when buying from them is that you have to pay shipping and their shipping rates can be fairly expensive. For example

68143886AA - Engine Cooling Radiator 2007-2018 Jeep | Mopar Factory Parts

Get Your OEM Engine Cooling Radiator (68143886aa) Delivered Right To Your Door For Your 2007-2018 Jeep Vehicle At AN Affordable Price With Nationwide Shipping!

www.moparfactoryparts.com

Shipping to my zip code from these dudes is $92. So in the end the price will be literally the same if you get the same part# from Amazon or Quadratec unless you can drive to the dealer.
Don't know if they'll honor the online price but most if not all seem to be actual Mopar dealers.
For instance the one showing in the link is 11503 SAINT CHARLES ROCK RD BRIDGETON, MO 63044 which seems to be an All Star Dodge/Chrysler/RAM dealer according to Google maps.

 

I can only speculate about what I have seen. My stock radiator failed where it seems most do, drivers side toward the engine. I put this down to dissimilar materials with slightly different expansion rates. While this should not be an issue per say these types of installations have to be perfect when it comes to the join.

2nd failure was do to the article I referenced. Even though it was a cheap Chinese radiator it would not a failed in the matter it did. They replaced it under warranty.

3rd failure occurred on the passenger side. This radiator lasted the better part of 3 years but I switch to green coolant after the previous failure. This is the cool side of the radiator so there should not be any issue when it comes to expansion rates and welds. But the failure has to be a broken weld either caused by pressure, flex or just a bad weld. Or the combination of all the above.

4th radiator is only 6 months old, no issues at all so far.

When I put the 2nd radiator in I swap to silicone hoses, not sure it makes a difference. And I would say that considering I am totally armored I have reduced frame flex as much as possible. Maybe it is all pressure and luck of getting a good radiator. Oh and this is flex, we do it in the racks as well:

 

There are no dissimilar metals in the stock JK radiator since it consists of an aluminum core crimped to plastic tanks, so only one metal. And I don't think it's dissimilar expansion rates only because most all radiators use that same type of construction these days, and they aren't failing at the same rate. If I had to guess I'd say that this construction technique works OK in street vehicles, but when subjected to high levels of vibration or torsional stress the joint can be torqued enough for the gasket between the core and tank to fail (this is why the most common leak is often in the same place, at the core/tank joint vs. the core itself.)

So it ends up being a luck-of-the draw kind of thing, depending on slight production variances when the radiators are assembled. I'm not sure what you can do beyond either 'hope you get a good one' or go to a different type of radiator construction. The problem is from what I read the latter doesn't seem to have even as good a track record.

 

This thing is awesome. The welds are beautiful.

 

Welcome to the Forum @pablorgc

Good Luck, L.M.