Replacement Radiator

What replacement radiators does everyone suggest? Mine is leaking just below the oil cooler line. Apparently AcDelco and Delphi stock replacements are not as thick as the originals and the store brands are of course cheap China crap. Should I run a 454ss one or will it not heat up very well in winter or have fit issues with the tranny/engine cooler lines? Or is there a decent aftermarket all aluminum one ?

Several years ago I bought a Delphi and it was identical to the original except that it didn't have a drain plug. It was US made in the Delphi/GM plant in New York that's made GM radiators for years. When Delphi went bankrupt that plant went back to GM, and Delphi no longer makes my radiator. In fact Delphi no longer has a thermal division. Whatever Delphi you looked at it probably old stock and just as good as an OEM, but it may be a lower capacity radiator, as there were several depending on how the trucks were originally equipped. I would think any any ACdelco would come out of the NY plant, unless maybe it's just new vehicle parts they build there now. It could be that older stuff is subbed out. If I had to replace my radiator today, I'm not sure what I would do either.

I was looking at some all aluminum radiators a few weeks ago, but I can't recall the brand name. The tanks were aluminum, but not the racing/fabricated look. They were stamped and looked like OEM plastic tanks except they were plastic. They were more expensive than a plastic tank radiator and were coming out of New York, but I'd guess they were simply distributed from there. They had a website, and were also being sold on Ebay.

98 Nitro said:

What replacement radiators does everyone suggest? Mine is leaking just below the oil cooler line. Apparently AcDelco and Delphi stock replacements are not as thick as the originals and the store brands are of course cheap China crap. Should I run a 454ss one or will it not heat up very well in winter or have fit issues with the tranny/engine cooler lines? Or is there a decent aftermarket all aluminum one ?

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I ran a 454SS rad in my 97 K1500 Suburban, it was just an AutoZone/Spectra rad and it was the same quality as my OE rad. I didn't have any issues in the winter time with it running too cold, and it was a pretty harsh winter here in NC. The only problem with fitment was the brass fittings for the oil cooler not threading properly, so I just cleaned and reused my old ones.
I replaced the radiator in my 96 K2500 with a NAPA unit, great quality and everything fit perfectly.

BowtieBrody said:

I ran a 454SS rad in my 97 K1500 Suburban, it was just an AutoZone/Spectra rad and it was the same quality as my OE rad. I didn't have any issues in the winter time with it running too cold, and it was a pretty harsh winter here in NC. The only problem with fitment was the brass fittings for the oil cooler not threading properly, so I just cleaned and reused my old ones.
I replaced the radiator in my 96 K2500 with a NAPA unit, great quality and everything fit perfectly.

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Do you know what brand the Napa one was?

98 Nitro said:

Do you know what brand the Napa one was?

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I believe it was also a Spectra brand, just rebadged or marked as NAPA parts.

Some aftermarket radiators have an extra port below the cap that is used on some older models but not on the vortec. The manufacturers stick a rubber cap on it and call it a day, but these can crack after a few months.

The radiator in my 98 truck is aftermarket and came with that stupid ass cap. This was after about a month of use...



I ended up putting a piece of heater hose on it and clamping a bolt into the end. Looks like crap and my confidence in it isn’t 100% but it seems to be holding up.

The alternative is to find a more permanent fix for it...or just get one that doesn’t have the port to begin with. When the radiator in my Tahoe started leaking, I used a Delco radiator and it didn’t have the extra port. I’ve had no issues with it.






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east302 said:

Some aftermarket radiators have an extra port below the cap that is used on some older models but not on the vortec. The manufacturers stick a rubber cap on it and call it a day, but these can crack after a few months.

The radiator in my 98 truck is aftermarket and came with that stupid ass cap. This was after about a month of use...

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I ended up putting a piece of heater hose on it and clamping a bolt into the end. Looks like crap and my confidence in it isn’t 100% but it seems to be holding up.

The alternative is to find a more permanent fix for it...or just get one that doesn’t have the port to begin with. When the radiator in my Tahoe started leaking, I used a Delco radiator and it didn’t have the extra port. I’ve had no issues with it.

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I had the same cap issue with the rad in my 97 Burb; I discovered it the day I was supposed to drive an hour to look at a truck, wound up being a 6 hour round trip due to detours, all the while that damn cap was dry rotted and leaking.
I found a pack of fittings at the auto parts store made by Dorman, found one that fit and jammed it on that night.
My 96 K2500 has that same port but it's a feed line for the heater core.

I installed a Murray's brand 2-1/4" radiator from Oreilly's about two years ago, no problem thus far, the factory/stock radiator I removed was 1-1/4".

The Murray radiator from Oreilly's has a limited lifetime warranty.

The 2-1/4" part # 431334 is listed for 152.99
The 1-1/4" part # 431333 is listed for 170.99

The new radiator does have the rubber cap / heater hose fitting, my old one did not, doesn't really bother me though.





Side by side, original vs new, I would say there was no difference in quality/craftsmanship.

Cooling and warm up time is about the same as it ever was.

mattillac said:

I installed a Murray's brand 2-1/4" radiator from Oreilly's about two years ago, no problem thus far, the factory/stock radiator I removed was 1-1/4".

The Murray radiator from Oreilly's has a limited lifetime warranty.

The 2-1/4" part # 431334 is listed for 152.99
The 1-1/4" part # 431333 is listed for 170.99

The new radiator does have the rubber cap / heater hose fitting, my old one did not, doesn't really bother me though.

Side by side, original vs new, I would say there was no difference in quality/craftsmanship.

Cooling and warm up time is about the same as it ever was.

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Thanks for the pics. I was about to order the Delco one on Amazon as it is now $183 instead I am going to O'Reilly's today to pick one up.

BowtieBrody said:

My 96 K2500 has that same port but it's a feed line for the heater core.

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It's actually the return line. The supply line is from the intake manifold. I have a 454 too, and I've never liked the line going to the radiator. I don't know if its any better or worse for cooling, but if you want to run the engine with the cap off to look for bubbles or flow or whatever, you can't because of all the coolant coming back from the heater core obscures it. I have tentative plans to move the line to the water pump, now that I have a pump with the second port. I bought a set of caps for the radiator port, and I admit, they do make me a bit nervous, as it's a potential failure point.