peterls

As the title says... So far I found out that Denso aftermarket is crappy quality. Does Koyo make the OEM? Is it available anywhere, or should I just buy the OEM?

peterls

Ok, this is what I found out after some research:
- Any aftermarket radiator will fail relatively quickly, unless you want to experiment with non-standard radiators, like all aluminum, specially made for racing or something... they will last a long time, but may or may not include oil cooler, and the fit will most likely be off, so you will have plenty of improvisation to do.
- The radiator I have right now, is OEM. It says "TOYOTA" smack in the middle, on the top. I know that the previous owner installed it some time around 2011 or 2012. That means it has been around 7-8 years, and that's probably its life-span. Maybe it could last 10? But in any case, I don't think that anything else comes close in terms of quality and fit.

Considering most aftermarket ones are around $100, and the OEM can be found for around $300, I am going for OEM. It's probably not a hard job to do, but I don't like doing anything twice, or thrice. (and many who have gone with aftermarket and Denso had to do just that).

deanshark

7 or 8 years for a radiator? I would say that is pretty bad quality for an OEM especially seeing how most of us have 20 - 25 year old cars with average 200K miles and still have the original radiator in them. If you're gonna change the radiator I would flush out all the coolant clean and start with fresh.

peterls

I agree, sounds crappy to me too. I believe the top seal is all plastic. Who would put plastic and metal to hold hot water??? I guess Lexus. I am only wondering if there was something I did that made it fail quicker - but can't think of anything. I never had it overheat, but I have to admit that I caught the coolant level being way low once recently (cold weather though, so engine was fine - the temp needle didn't move a hair). Maybe that contributed to the failure? (have a small leak so that's how that happened)
And then, I am thinking that previous owner replaced it around 2011, so that means that original OEM already failed. OK, after 20yrs.

oldskewel

iTrader: (1)

On my '91 with now 200+k miles ...

The original radiator was Denso, and had a copper core. I checked it carefully when I removed it and don't think I saw any "Toyota" or "Lexus" anywhere, but I did see "Denso."

About 3-4 years ago, the plastic at the top developed a crack that would gradually leak only when hot and under pressure.

It seemed that Toyota/Lexus would sell a Denso replacement for ~$400. I'm guessing based on the price that those had copper cores, vs. aluminum for most others. Aluminum vs. copper is almost as good, and the price of copper is a lot higher now than it was back in 1991.

So I bought a Denso 221-3122 from RockAuto.com. Unfortunately when it arrived I could see it had been installed. It had some coolant droplet marks on it, and had been bent so it was slightly (by about a centimeter) trapezoidal vs. rectangular. Returned it. Then since I had planned everything I was doing based on having a working radiator, I did some plastic welding on the original (cracked) radiator, with some JB Weld, and got another year out of it.

One year later, I installed a Spectra Premium CU1304 from RockAuto.com for around $96. BTW, the CU (elemental symbol for copper) in the part number is correct and the radiator core is aluminum.

Still working great.

I would not hesitate to use a Denso from RockAuto, but realize the Denso you might get from the Toyota dealer is different from the Denso you get from RockAuto, and I think in this case the 5x price difference is paying for something - e.g., the copper. I don't need to get another 25 years out of this car.

peterls

Thanks for the advice Oldskewel! I am wondering - how long did your Spectra Premium last, or how long since you installed it? And did you install it yourself? How hard was that?

Interestingly enough, Denso radiator comes with 12 mo warranty, while Spectra premium comes with 24 months. I guess Denso is telling us - "our radiators last one year at the most."

oldskewel

iTrader: (1)

I installed it 2.7 years and 10k miles ago. Still working fine. I expect it to outlive the rest of the car. Very easy install.

I don't have any reason to think Denso would be bad.

BTW on the copper vs. aluminum ... the Cu is a lot more expensive; Al is lighter; both conduct heat very well. I expect most (all?) modern cars ship with aluminum-cored radiators, and most of those have plastic tanks.

bradland

I put a Denso in my 99 back in 2010 and it was still fine when I sold it last summer approx 100k miles later.
Also, put a Denso in my 430 last summer during a TB service. It's still fine as well but, of course, ymmv...
Both endured Arizona heat with no issue.

peterls

Great, thank you for the info! I ordered Spectra Premium only because I read a few posts by toyota owners who complained (recently) that their Denso radiators didn't last very long. And their warranty is only one year, vs. Spectra's 2 yrs.

YODAONE

At one time aftermarket parts offered improvements over OEM...

Unfortunately that is not often the case anymore

Same brand supplier, yet different quality part.

Buyer beware.

Have encountered this with certain Denso, Aisin and Mitsubishi (sp?) aftermarket parts

peterls

Yep, that seems to be the way of the notsobright future... I even read recently that car makers are using these crappy aftermarket suppliers as their OEM suppliers nowdays - economy is so hot that no one cares if they buy a new junk! And even suppliers like KOYO or Denso now have factories all over the world, so no guarantees what we're getting. I still hope that Lexus sticks to their initial OEM quality, at least on new cars and OEM parts.

oldskewel

iTrader: (1)

... and I believe in that philosophy too. So I often try to repair a part when possible vs. replacing it, following the assumption that anything new is likely to be of lower quality.

I saw your other thread regarding the CV joints - I'd apply that philosophy there too. Replace only the boot and grease if you can get away with that. I too am baffled why people love those $50 axles. I can't understand how they can be that cheap. Raw materials alone ...

peterls

Yup, just go to amazon for instance and look up the reviews for aftermarket axles - lots of negatives. Same if you go to other cars forums where they discuss aftermarket axles - most people hate them.The only ones who swear by them are car mechanics and people who just had them installed. How naive can they be?
"i think aftermarket are great. I just had my mechanic install chinese ones and two months later, they are great!"