CSF Radiator Leaking After 2 Years
- Thread starter TheMole
- Start date
Got my Spectra "Premium" 2-row radiator in today and am definitely not impressed to say the least. The fins are are so soft that they bend like foil when you touch them. I'm debating if I should just return it.
Bit of a gap between the frame and core
Ran my finger lightly across some fins and they bent so easily lol
Bit of a gap between the frame and core
Ran my finger lightly across some fins and they bent so easily lol
Last edited:
CSF 3050 // LEAK
Hello Expo ,
So as everyone knows we do not have many aftermarket options when it comes to replacement radiators for our Gen 2's. So like many of you i searched and searched and read up and came to the conculsion that CSF was the way to go . So like a few of you I purchased ?(CSF Radiator 3050 ). I bought back in 2014. Early this summer the CSF radiator has developed a pin hole leak just under the bracket that is welded on. I will leave a few pics below. Anyone else develop this type of pin hole in the same place? I thinks its safe to assume the welds they do suck. I have contacted CSF Radiators directly. They are not great on the customer service front. I encourage others to call and complain to CSF toll free
800) 827-1991 and tell them whats up. I do some race stuff and contacted there race folks and I'm waiting for a call after they get back from the show in Vegas on Monday .. I got no where with there regular customer service people..Seriously call CSF jump through the prompts and complain. If people do not complain how will they ever know that there quality control sucks.... I figure I will give them a chance to make this right and I sent a couple of emails and let them know there is a problem with this series CSF 3050..
There is no reason for an all metal like this to fail in a couple of years.
Photo 1 / cold start
Photo 2 / running for 10 minutes
Hello Expo ,
So as everyone knows we do not have many aftermarket options when it comes to replacement radiators for our Gen 2's. So like many of you i searched and searched and read up and came to the conculsion that CSF was the way to go . So like a few of you I purchased ?(CSF Radiator 3050 ). I bought back in 2014. Early this summer the CSF radiator has developed a pin hole leak just under the bracket that is welded on. I will leave a few pics below. Anyone else develop this type of pin hole in the same place? I thinks its safe to assume the welds they do suck. I have contacted CSF Radiators directly. They are not great on the customer service front. I encourage others to call and complain to CSF toll free
800) 827-1991 and tell them whats up. I do some race stuff and contacted there race folks and I'm waiting for a call after they get back from the show in Vegas on Monday .. I got no where with there regular customer service people..Seriously call CSF jump through the prompts and complain. If people do not complain how will they ever know that there quality control sucks.... I figure I will give them a chance to make this right and I sent a couple of emails and let them know there is a problem with this series CSF 3050..There is no reason for an all metal like this to fail in a couple of years.
Photo 1 / cold start
Photo 2 / running for 10 minutes
'round n' back again
Explorer
has to be the green color coolant at fault......
Could it be? The FSM lists to use "high quality ethylene glycol antifreeze coolant". I used the Peak green coolant which is ethylene glycol based since I bought the car about 2 years ago. Last year my heater core, or possibly one of the hoses, started leaking so I bypassed it. Maybe related? From what I've read it looks like I should be using some kind of OAT/HOAT coolant like Pentosin A2. Holding off on the radiator until I figure it out.
http://www.autozone.com/antifreeze-...eze-coolant-oe/534412_274709_0/?checkfit=true
if that was a problem, the csf documentation should have warned against using green coolant... does any radiator replacement company claim that green coolant is bad for the radiator?
i got one of those three and half years ago, a cu147 model, put it in my '87 4runner, which is sas'd, running 37's... the truck weighs over 4,000 lbs, it has both body lift and spring lift, so it's like pushing a brick into the wind, and of course with leaf springs front and back, it rides rough.
the radiator has not failed, it does not leak, and it's had plenty of cooling capacity, whether on the freeway going thru bakersfield in 120 degree temps, or geared way down, crawling offroad in summer heat.
it replaced a csf radiator, which actually worked fine, until it took a big piece of aluminum thru the grill, going down the i-5 in l.a... ended up costing me both an engine and a radiator.
if this thing dies, i'm fine with it, because it was so cheap, $93 plus shipping at rockauto.
i put in peak long life coolant when i put the cheap radiator in, no problems so far.
i went thru the same drama, the toyota fsm says to use a specific color of coolant, i think, and there are plenty of people who spew hype about it all over the 'net... from the peak website:
"PEAK® LONG LIFE® Antifreezes & Coolants feature a LONG LIFE® coolant technology that is compatible for use in all automobiles and light-duty trucks, regardless of make, model, year or original antifreeze color.
Specific benefits include:
Compatible for use in all automobiles and light-duty trucks
Yellow color will not change the current antifreeze color when used for topping-off
Provides 150,000 miles or 5 years of maximum protection when a complete cooling system flush and fill is performed
Features a phosphate-free and silicate-free formula
Meets ASTM D-3306 and ASTM D-4340"
http://www.peakauto.com/products/antifreeze-coolants/automotive/long-life-full-strength/
Swank Force One
Adventurer
I've installed about... 13 Spectra radiators in my cars over the years. Not a single one made it much longer than a year. Many less than 6 months. Pure garbage that i now avoid, and only used before because it was all i could get same day.
CSF racing radiators have a good reputation. Shame their factory replacement stuff may not be as good.
CSF racing radiators have a good reputation. Shame their factory replacement stuff may not be as good.
'round n' back again
Explorer
im funnin' you on the color.
if your green is silicate and borate free the color is unimportant. what is important is the formulation for japan spec.
my napa asian is one color ( cant remember) eneos is green
if your green is silicate and borate free the color is unimportant. what is important is the formulation for japan spec.
my napa asian is one color ( cant remember) eneos is green
JohnnyBfromPeoria
I'm Getting Around To It
I always get my radiators rodded and cleaned, before any symptoms arise. Cost is about $100 and would include them soldering any leaks on the tanks. If the core is bad, it's really expensive to fix. If you want a row added, that's also usually really expensive. Had an '86 Montero radiator at the shop last year and the guy called and said its core leaked so bad it looked like somebody shot it (It was from a resto project we had never seen running). After he told me how much it would be to recore it, I just told him to keep it.
John B.
John B.
'round n' back again
Explorer
hart radiator in kelso washington is roughly 350.00 for a complete 3 row core install, assuming the tanks are good
i do not know if they ship via ups
i do not know if they ship via ups
There's a good reason that the aftermarket radiators are cheap - they're built as expediently & cheaply as possible and quality is a secondary consideration. I've stopped buying products like that because I don't have enough time in my life to do a repair multiple times. For me, the extra expense of a quality part is more than worth the time and frustration that it saves.
Find a used radiator in a wrecking yard and have it cleaned/rodded/repaired at a radiator shop, otherwise you'll likely be replacing aftermarket radiators before your coolant is due to be changed again.
Find a used radiator in a wrecking yard and have it cleaned/rodded/repaired at a radiator shop, otherwise you'll likely be replacing aftermarket radiators before your coolant is due to be changed again.