Review on Mishimoto MMRAD-WRA-87 Performance Aluminum Radiator for Jeep Wrangler YJ/TJ 1997-2006: Enhance Cooling Efficiency and Performance by Quintin Boner

Bought to replace a 2002 TJ with a 4.0 cooler that had a cracked tank due to poor plastic tank design. It's all aluminum and won't necessarily fail like a standard design. The cooler has been replaced. I had to bend a small portion of the passenger side mounting flange due to my AC lines, but Mishimoto took this into account in their design and it was already perforated and slightly folded (I broke it completely, but maybe you should just crease it) The The design of the radiator is very solid and of high quality. I noticed that the Jeep actually runs about 10 degrees cooler compared to the stock cooler. The included cap is 19lbs, the standard TJ cap is 18lbs. The radiator was well packaged and arrived safe and sound, fully lined with thick honeycomb cardboard. This cooler also comes with a lifetime warranty, even if your vehicle is involved in an accident. I have never heard of anything like this as the accident is in no way their fault. If I ever need to replace a radiator in another car again, I will definitely look into Mishimoto. Highly recommended, I also have a manual gearbox. This cooler also includes provisions for automatic transmissions. It would have been nice if Mishimoto had provided some small plugs to screw into the fittings, but I stuck a couple of the supplied nipples into the holes, then slipped a length of hose over them, folded it up and closed it up. so that nothing gets into this part of the radiator. I've heard of people installing it to be able to heat water for a camp shower or whatever, so it's nice to have that option. sent me because the first one started leaking at the bottom where the core meets the lower reservoir. For some time it leaked out slowly and wasn't even felt because only a small amount flowed out under pressure. I drove it, I would say 6 months. Then it got a little worse, but I still had to top up the reservoir once a week or so. I've had the replacement for about a month and was going to put it off, but yesterday I finally noticed it was leaking enough to leave a small puddle of coolant on the floor. I contacted Mishimoto and they sent me a new replacement for $30 shipping which I think is reasonable. They didn't ask for the old one, but they wanted a photo. Not sure if it can be repaired and kept as a spare. The new one was installed well and arrived safely. This time I just bent the perforated area of the AC line forward 90 degrees instead of breaking it like before. The new one isn't leaking yet. After some research, it turned out that Mishimoto coolers in general have leakage problems. At least there are some stories like mine. Luckily, the warranty process was easy. Time will tell if the second one starts licking or not. But it cools well, I'll give it to him. I have never seen the gauge go above 210 even when climbing long hills. Usually, as I said, about 10 cooler than Stock. And it's also a quick direct bolt exchange! As another reviewer mentioned, the holes in the fan shroud are threaded inserts. The thread is not for normal screws. Ah, it will work. But they don't go in as easily as they should, and you'll likely twist at least one of the inserts in the hole, requiring a vise to hold it in place while you tighten or loosen the bolt. So be careful. If you want to get it right, just get a few properly threaded screws ahead of time to use on the cover. For the money you hope the cooler doesn't leak, but at least they live up to their warranty. I bought a quality radiator because I didn't want to worry about it leaking like a stocker. When the 2nd starts leaking I will update again. I hope not.** UPDATE 12/2015 **Okay. That's the deal. I'm downgrading this item to 3 stars. Shortly after installing my second Mishimoto cooler, it was replaced under warranty. THIS WILL START TO LICK. I can understand if I drove my Jeep on Baja or crawled on rocks, but only on paved roads? I think it only took 6 months to start leaking in the same spot as the first time. Once again, Mishimoto has sent me a new radiator that I haven't even taken out of the box because let's face it - replacing the radiator and draining the coolant is quite a hassle when monthly topping up the expansion tank is enough. The only reason I paid for a quality aluminum heatsink was to avoid future problems and now I will be installing my third Mishimoto heatsink. They honor the warranty, but I have to cough for shipping every time ($25 if I remember correctly?) and then have to spend time replacing them. If I were to pay someone else to replace it, forget it. You should have just bought a stocker that lasted 10 years. So last thoughts. The cooler looks good. Fits well, cools very well and comes with an excellent warranty which they have held to date. But none of that matters unless it lasts a long time and you have to keep replacing them.