Plastic vs metal radiator

Hi there,
I have a 98' Super custom, 3ltr diesel (KZH100G-MRPGT) in Australia. The current radiator is partly made of plastic, and one of the outlets at the top that connects to a small hose has degraded and is not long enough to clamp a hose to, so I have been told a I need a new radiator.

I have been quoted $1000 aud for a new Daiwa (japanese) radiator from a local radiator specialist, that is also plastic like the one I have.

I also found a seller on ebay selling full aluminium radiators for my van with a 30,000km warranty for $630 (https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/222332614247).

Has anyone else used a full aluminium radiator? Will it be better than a plastic one in the long term?

I noticed the cores are running horizontally on the aluminium radiator, and the are vertical on my current one - will this make a difference?


Cheers in advance.

Those prices sound way over the top. I had my radiator supplied and fitted for around $350 by Natrad. Probably around 4 or 5 years ago and for the 2.8L diesel.

Hi MaIL,

Thanks for letting me know. They quoted me $1K installed or $535 for just the radiator. It is still a plastic one.


I guess no one has used any of the full aluminium ones.

Wow!

Can you gently tap a hole into the plastic for a hose fitting?

Like they did here...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVSw3KSevEc

It's a good suggestion GPW.

I have access to the tools, but the plastic around the hose outlet is very brittle, so its probably time to replace the whole thing.

Apparently this is a common problem on Mercedes radiators, so there is a channel on youtube (Mercedessource) showing how to repair broken plastic fittings on radiators. I think they also sell kits there, but only for Mercedes though...

They even do that procedure on radiators without cracks i.e. preventive maintenance.

Worth taking a look.