Champion Radiator Aluminum 3 core swap

Yep. Clears the 01-04 hood.

I'll be looking into moving my intercooler radiator to behind the grille in the future, so it could serve as a model for adding a trans cooler radiator as well. Right now there's a cutout in the ARB for it, which I'm not really a fan of.

 

that looks great!
I wish it would clear the hood of a 99

 

$30 for a radiator cap? Jesus. What do they want for the radiator?

 

The forum discount code knocks $30 off the radiator price, which basically covers the cost of the cap.

From the sounds of it, the Champion radiators are a lot less durable than stock Denso units. If the Koyorad is as durable as stock radiators but offers better cooling, then the added cost doesn't matter to me. The cost of rebuilding or replacing the 1KZ motor due to overheating and cracking the block is significantly more than any radiator costs (and I have a receipt from the previous owner to prove it), so I consider it another layer of insurance against that.

Pricing was $370 shipped- just go to the 4Runner forum thread that I linked to then click on the link to the seller's website to look. That's why I included said link in the post.
Or search for the radiator part number in the googles. Also included in the post.

 

Thanks. $370 really isn't a bad price.

I will be doing surgery on my truck soon, will most likely remove the Champion radiator, since it got bent in the accident, even though it isn't leaking.

No, I have NO idea how that was possible. Yet it did happen. Or rather, didn't.

Either way, I don't trust it now. I will be going back to a stock radiator (the mid of the three sizes, to clear the spring mount).

 

I dunno- if it didn't leak after an accident then maybe you got the only bombproof one out there...

But yeah if you're just sticking to normal operation of the truck then the stock radiator should do just fine.

 

About all I can figure is, it actually DID sprout a leak during the accident, but the fact that I always add a container of Copperseal when I service the cooling, proactively masked the issue.

I know some of you are cringing at this, but I've been doing this for something like 30 years now, and have never had a pump failure that can be attributed to it. About the worst I could imagine would be erosion of the impeller, and that just hasn't been the case.

Bottom line, I had a parking lot accident where an F150 backed into me hard enough to cause enough damage to total my truck. I bought it as salvage and am stil ldriving it, with banged up fender and bent core support/radiator and all. Will be taking it off the road soon to repair this damage, and am considering doing my SAS while I'm at it.

 

Bottom line is really that yes, it's time for you to do the SAS!

Add an ARB bumper while you're at it to protect against those rogue F-150s.

 

Nah, I'm allergic to $1000 bumpers. I'm going to build my own.

 

I'm a fan of bumpers that are compatible with the truck's airbag system. Someone ran me off the interstate in my last truck and into a rock wall at 55-60 and I walked away from it, in no small part because my airbags deployed when they were supposed to.

That doesn't mean ARB bumpers are the only thing I'd use, but the unfortunate reality of our trucks is that they're too old for a company to spend R&D money to develop & test an alternative. All the fancy new stuff goes to 2nd & 3rd Gen Tacomas now.

 

The only difference between an ARB and the rest is that ARB paid to have the testing done to earn them the official "works with factory airbag sensors" title. I'm not sure what that agency is in Australia or if they did it here in the US, but either way I don't believe it's got anything to do with their design being different than the rest.
I'm sure any bumper on the market will trigger the airbag sensors when hit equally as hard as an ARB. There is a thread on here about steel bumpers and collisions where people have had their airbags go off with a variety of aftermarket bumpers, not just ARBs.

 

This is an extremely good point I am ashamed to admit I hadn't considered. Especially as a dear friend walked away from a head-on with a tree at 45 (though the airbag didn't inflate).

Dodge builds a strong truck, apparently.

 

Actually, ARB does design in crush-zones into their bumpers which are helpful in reducing the impact... just like the factory does with the rest of the front end.

Rest assured, ARB *does* put a lot of testing and R&D into their designs.

 

Gotta love TW. found this thread while searching for info on my leaking Champion Radiator cap. I have it in my 86 Toyota pickup. Has been great since install.. but just recently I've noticed it leaking, and traced it to the cap. Seems like a common issue online. They just can't handle the pressure huh. Mines stamped 0.9.

Any recommendations for a replacement cap? Or modifications to the Champion cap to get it to seal better?

 

Go to the top of Pg. 7 post #121. A good alternative was posted

 

Radiator caps are replaceable items. Available at any parts store. I have a Stant on mine.

 

Appreciate it guys. I'll go pick up a new one.

 

So are these champion radiators worth it?

 

Well, mine lived through a front end collision bad enough to total the vehicle. I am still driving it with a munched hood, fender, fender apron, and missing bumper. Or, was til yesterday, when I took it off the road

 

Minus my recent cap issues, I've had no complaints. I noticed a massive improvement in my cooling system and temps are much lower. It alone essentially fixed my overheating issues on my 86 22r pickup. That's even after replacing the t-stat, waterpump, fan clutch, doing a flush, etc. The Champion Radiator did the trick.