+1 to what Paul said. Get it out of your radiator immediately, and do some flushes asap. You have significantly increased your chance of fubaring your motor.

 

and why I mentioned we carry stock ones as well

-Noah

 

What about that dude that was parting out the bugeye at BAM? I saw 2 radiators for sale at BAM.


I'd go that route or pick one up from LIC. No reason to go aftermarket unless you have the motor to make it worth it or money to burn.

 

I have no price range for this repair at this point. Spent all my money on tires =P

So, my options are:
Koyo
Mishimoto
CXracing

All of these seem to have been used with success by other subaru owners. Can anyone give me any solid reason to choose one over the other?

Why should I get the OEM one if it is an inferior design(?) which has already failed on me once? Plus, it'll be expensive. All of these solid aluminum ones are under $350.

And I'll have to do the work myself. Any tips on how to flush the radiator and cooling system of the engine now that I poured crap into it?

 

OH, and it is leaking again. Drove it another ~10 miles today and lost about half a liter of coolant by the time I parked it.

 

I would try not to drive it until you get your hands on a replacement radiator.

If you're stuck on getting an aftermarket one, get the koyo.



Just curious how the radiator failed and why you believe it's an inferior design? I have over 170k on mine just for reference.

Aren't stock ones under $200?

 

I was under the impression that the stock design was prone to failure due to it being made of plastic tanks and aluminum fins instead of one piece of aluminum.

Mine has developed a fairly small crack that spits fluid. Here is a picture:

 

Whatever you do don't put an egg in next.

 

Holy crap... I'm glad you posted that. I may have to bite my tongue.

I have had phantom spray under my hood that I though was coolant and a coolant smell but not been able to find the cause... that looks like it could be EXACTLY it and in the same exact spot.

 

I'll be the first to admit that I don't really know what I'm talking about when it comes to this car. I've had it for a year and i've been figuring it out as I go. That's why i'm here asking for advice.

So again, can anyone with experience give me some solid advice on which radiator to go with?

Noah, your opinion is not forgotten. OEM is at the top of my list. I'll have to decide by Monday so I can get it ordered and installed ASAP.

 

ive ran a mishimoto, a koyo before and all i can say is mishimoto is fine if it fits in the stock location fine, the one for my mr2 sucked ***** for fitment.

has a koyo for both my rs and my rx7 and yes the koyo looks nice, performs nice, but they were bigger than stock size so itll be a tighter fit in your bay.

id honestly stick with stock if you dont have that many mods. fits right back in place, everything bolts up perfectly and itll last you for quite a while.

 

That sucks. that spot was the exact same spot my stock radiator cracked at as well. I replaced mine with a Mishimoto radiator several months ago. I havent had any problems with it so far, and they have a lifetime warranty; which was the reason why i bought it.

 

What's up with the Mishimoto radiators that you recommend staying with stock? Bad fitment? Poor Quality? Poor Design? Something else?

 

Exact same thing happened to my stock radiator at around 105k miles. I was fortunate enough to find a uses OEM one for about $50 with low miles, and just replaced it myself. If I had the extra money, an aftermarket radiator would've been nice, but a used stock one was just fine for a stock-ish power level daily driver. It's been about 35k miles since, and no problems so far.
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