I'm replacing the radiator - in my garage at home - on my 2003 stype 4.2L with 117,000 miles. I've received the new radiator via Amazon and began the reinstall when I ran into an issue with the input for the transmission cooling. The new radiator looks different inside the port than the original and the tube will not go in. I've reached out to the vendor but haven't heard back yet. My concern would be that the transmission may not properly get cooled. Thanks for your thoughts.
Bob of Arizona See the photos below.

Reinstall


I can see some shiny mesh here shown at the bottom of the inlet


All clear opening.

 

I can't offer much advice but I'd be wary of using that also, it doesn't look right almost looks like something has been pushed in there.
Hopefully the vendor can shed some light.

 

Is the mesh the amber surface at the bottom? It's not really clear to me.

What really concerns me are the chips around the bottom edge of the opening. Are those loose pieces against the mesh? Or is that a jagged edge that wasn't properly deburred?

If only you had some sort of visual inspection tool, such as an endoscopic camera...

 

Hi rgaz,

That fitting is definitely damaged and the seller should replace the entire radiator. If the seller doesn't have a replacement, he or she should refund all of your money. You could probably replace the damaged fitting with the one from your old radiator, but you have to worry about any of those metal chips having fallen into the cooler and eventually making their way into your transmission and doing damage before they are trapped in the filter. Simply not worth the risk.

Please keep us informed.

Cheers,

Don

 

Thanks for that. I will talk with the supplier tomorrow. I got this through Amazon, so return should be straight forward.
Bob

 

Never had a problem with any auto parts via Amazon, so hopefully you can get this sorted quickly.

For radiators, I recommend these guys highly. I got a very nice quality radiator for my pickup several years ago, zero problems since then:


Radiator For Sale | Radiator Express

 

I am returning the faulty radiator and getting set to order another from RockAuto. Thanks for the reply.
Bob

 

It's on the way back to the vendor, thanks for the advice. I'm ordering another, but from RockAuto this time.
Ahh, Patience!

 

Rockauto is great...i got my radiator from them...they have a few choices and the rep really knew his stuff ...answered every question i had in depth.....oem radiator always ran 203-204 in summer ac on....new radiator with new core design runs 197-200 , same conditions...trans temp was lower also

 

Thanks for the response and the note about Rockauto!
Rookie Mechanic Boib

 

Ended up getting a new one that was perfect, thanks for the advice.

 

Thanks for the update Bob.