Brand New or Surplus Radiator

[rna800]

Guys, I hope you could put your inputs.

My 01 Civic's radiator is losing water and when I brought it to my trusted radiator shop, they told me that the plastic (top) part has a crack on it. Then they said that they will replace it with brass (top) and they added that it is more durable since it can be repaired once there are leaks as compared to plastics. I asked how much, they said 4,500 all in including the radiator cap and cleaning.

Our Civic was bought in 01 and it only overheated once, if I am not mistaken in 05. I brought it to the dealer and never had a problem since. I am not sure exactly what they did. We only put water from faucet and we don't even use coolant anymore.

I did some research here about radiators and I chanced to see Evercool radiators and I got really intrigued. I called Levin Automotive Parts in Banawe to get quotes. And here's what I got: 1 row plastic (4,000 pesos) Taiwan, 1 row brass (5,200), 2 rows brass (6,800). Their installation is 350 and the cap is 150.

A lot of people are saying that brass is better but with my experience with plastic, I think they last long and they are less problematic. With our Mazda B2500 pickup before, we already sold it, it was using a brass radiator cover, I noticed that it always gets leaks, tops would probably 1.3 years. As compared to the radiator of the Civic, its radiator had a leak at 4 years old then the next problem arose after almost 7 years considering the mileage is almost 175k kms. Hence, I am thinking of getting the 1 row plastic Evercool radiator.

Do you think I am making a good decision here? I can opt to go with my radiator shop for 4,500, they will replace the plastic to brass plus cleaning and radiator cap included or I can buy a brand new radiator for 4,000 but it's plastic again.

How is your experience with that product? I asked Levin if those plastic radiators are as durable as the OEMs, they said yes they are. I hope somebody here, especially those who purchased a plastic radiator from Evercool could post.

Thanks!

[raine]

go kung ano ang original design niya, kung plastic go sa plastic, kung brass go sa brass

[EE100shiro]

okay yung bakal na radiator pag nag super overheat oto mo hindi sya masisira ang masisira ung headgasket ng makina

[yapoy86]

pag nag super overheat ang makina mo talagang masusunog ang head gasket nyan whether you are using plastic or brass radiator... may radiator cap naman at rubber hose.. bago sumabog yung head gasket mo sa over pressure yan muna unang puputok

take note that plastic top radiators have aluminum heat exchangers.. hence they use plastic top because its the most economical... mahal ang aluminum at mahirap mag weld.. pero mataas ang heat conductivity ng aluminum.. plastic top also reduces the heat

mas mura ang brass, easy to repair, pero mababa ang heat conductivity.... mas efficient ang aluminum

[rna800]

Thanks for your insights.

I already went to Levin in Banawe to have it replaced. I don't want another day to pass with its condition since I don't know up to when it could hold.

When the radiator got there, unfortunately the plastic radiator is not Evercool, it's from Tong Yang Group which is made in Taiwan. I asked coz I thought the brand is Evercool, the woman said that she failed to explain to me that Evercool radiators are made only with brass/copper and they don't have plastic. I didn't mind anymore but I asked on its quality, they said its quality is ok (perhaps just sales talk).

Now it's installed in the vehicle so we'll see what happens. For as long as it will last 4 or 5 years, I think it's already bang for the buck instead of just having the old one repaired and replaced with a brass/copper top cover and after a year, it will leak again. At least this is a brand new one. Besides, I don't think the car will stay with us for another 4 years if ever we buy a new one.

[dest]

*Fermin Auto Care Services * Fermin Radiator Shop (Jofremar Enterprises) | Facebook

Try niyo pumunta dyan na shop.

[EVO-V]

This may come in late. But Dude for 4500 pesos just buy a new radiator for your Civic.

An aluminum core with a brass tank will = galvanic corrosion. Those replacements are poorly thought of and you don't expect people to do the metallurgical analysis.

The use of plastic tanks and aluminum cores stem largely from cost-cutting initiatives from automotive manufacturers. They are actually very reliable sans the usual marketing drivel spewed out by some manufacturers. Overheating is caused in a large part by improper maintenance of your cooling system.

Copper/Brass radiators (the only copper parts are the fins the rest are brass), actually do better given our conditions for several reasons.

1) Copper is a more conductive metal by 1.7x and has better airflow characteristics in a fin vs thicker aluminum fins.
2) Brass being a more noble metal, is less prone to corrosion given hard water. But it is paramount that you have coolant in your mix given the fact that you use an aluminum block.

All this of course applies if and when the radiator is properly designed.

That said a good radiator that is properly maintained should last the useful lifetime of the car unless of course you have your car by the beach where salt corrosion will become the issue.

[falken]

Guys, I hope you could put your inputs.

My 01 Civic's radiator is losing water and when I brought it to my trusted radiator shop, they told me that the plastic (top) part has a crack on it. Then they said that they will replace it with brass (top) and they added that it is more durable since it can be repaired once there are leaks as compared to plastics. I asked how much, they said 4,500 all in including the radiator cap and cleaning.

Our Civic was bought in 01 and it only overheated once, if I am not mistaken in 05. I brought it to the dealer and never had a problem since. I am not sure exactly what they did.

We only put water from faucet and we don't even use coolant anymore.

I did some research here about radiators and I chanced to see Evercool radiators and I got really intrigued. I called Levin Automotive Parts in Banawe to get quotes. And here's what I got: 1 row plastic (4,000 pesos) Taiwan, 1 row brass (5,200), 2 rows brass (6,800). Their installation is 350 and the cap is 150.

A lot of people are saying that brass is better but with my experience with plastic, I think they last long and they are less problematic. With our Mazda B2500 pickup before, we already sold it, it was using a brass radiator cover, I noticed that it always gets leaks, tops would probably 1.3 years. As compared to the radiator of the Civic, its radiator had a leak at 4 years old then the next problem arose after almost 7 years considering the mileage is almost 175k kms. Hence, I am thinking of getting the 1 row plastic Evercool radiator.

Do you think I am making a good decision here? I can opt to go with my radiator shop for 4,500, they will replace the plastic to brass plus cleaning and radiator cap included or I can buy a brand new radiator for 4,000 but it's plastic again.

How is your experience with that product? I asked Levin if those plastic radiators are as durable as the OEMs, they said yes they are. I hope somebody here, especially those who purchased a plastic radiator from Evercool could post.

Thanks!

Don't use tap water for your radiators or wiper wash, tap water has lots of minerals and other stuff that could cause mineral and rust buildup which clog up your radiators and wiper wash spray nozzles. Instead use distilled water like Absolute or Wilkins. Using distilled water is recommended in your car owner's manual.

[EVO-V]

Better spend on a good coolant that has water softeners than distilled water. Once distilled water comes into contact with metals it becomes ionized anyway.

[crazy_boy]

Better spend on a good coolant that has water softeners than distilled water. Once distilled water comes into contact with metals it becomes ionized anyway.

Can you suggest a locally available coolant with water softener? By using this, can we use tap water with it or still use distilled water?