My experience with eBay Alloy Radiators

[D16]

Hi,

Just wanna give mini review on eBay radiators I have used in the past 2 years for my EG. Afaik this topic hasnt really been covered on ozhonda so I thought Id give some advice for those in the same boat as me. As everyone has different setups, your experience may be different to mine so you may not agree with me.

For starters, my factory EG radiator started to leak in 2010. I didnt want to repair such an old component and wanted something new. Since I was in a tight budget I decided to look on ebay. The Alloy 'racing' radiator caught my eye, compared to aftermarket looking one it was $105 shipped with one year warranty compared to $200 shipped with one year warranty. Being half the price, I thought why not?




Ebay has a few different models listed, but becareful for which model you buy. Without any knowledge I accidently bought the 32mm inlet/outlet suited for B series. The D series is 28mm inlet/outlet but is pretty much identical. Theres also 2 or 3 row models listed I doubt it does jack difference for daily driving.

If you end up buying the 32mm(B series) for your D series, dont worry. You just have to stretch your 28mm hoses to fit like I did, but it was a pain to do so.


The unit itself looks pretty shiny looking, however being ebay stuff it's obviously not perfect. Problems I came across.

1. The factory OEM fan doesnt bolt on perfectly, from memory I could only get 3 of the 4 bolts on due to the placement of the bolts.

2. The factory OEM fan shroud MAY need to be cut to fit the upper engine hose.

3. The alloy radiator seems a bit shorter than the factory one, simply bend the top radiator bracket down a bit to hold it in place.

4. Due to the 'thicker' size of the alloy radiator, you will need to move the overflow bottle back abit.






Other than that, its pretty much it. Now 2 years down the track, the alloy started to leak again. It could be my engine, but being an 'alloy' radiator I thought it was bullet proof, none the less it was the top again. Warranty was well off so I decided to go the same path, as I thought $105 for 2 years is not bad. (Surprisingly it stopped leaking the week I was waiting for my new one to arrive)






I tried to buy back from the same seller, but he couldnt match the price a different seller which was listed for $89 shipped. Im pretty sure its the stuff from China, so I went ahead. I know Im cheap lol but being a DD civic, I wanted the best bang for buck.

Pretty much it was the same as installing the previous, except this time i ordered the right 28mm with some new hoses. Same crappy fitment, this time the fan was a little bit more off than the old one.




THIS pos on the other hand only lasted 3 months, the leak now came from the bottom of the radiator. As you probably know I was pretty annoyed, so I asked my mechanic whether it could be my engine causing the problem, he said probably not, just a pos radiator haha.

Being only 3 months I decided to contact the seller and request a refund/exchange, but he didnt seemt reply to any of my emails. Ive reported the case to PayPal but I dont think anything is going to happen, so Id recommend you to stay away from seller "J P"

So in conclusion you pretty much get what you pay for, the best I got was about 2 years. Now im in the market again for an alternative, feel free to leave back any advice aswell, at the moment Im leaning towards the OEM looking one.

Thats pretty much it, I do apologise if my grammer is crap. The reason why I buy cheaper parts is give it a go, because not everyone can afford brand name parts. Hope this mini review helps you and thanks for reading.

[Drifter995]

Interesting. I was going/ still am going to go down the eg alloy rad route for my first gen. I wonder how long the proper ones last for.
Either way, alloy rad would look a bit better next to an intercooler, compared to a black plastic one. meh.

But yeah, thanks for the write up. Always good to have a guinea pig in the field of cheap car parts

[IEVAQ8]

this makes a interesting thread...
my bros k20 s13 has been running a ebay ek alloy radiator for 2years...
we always had a fluctuion of.water temps...but neva over heated...
for a.laugh last night (30degree melb weather)
we installed my old orig d series ek radiator....
not a issue at all...
i think our issue was not enuf flow with the alloy ebay radiator and it caused fluctuating water temps...

thats my 2cents...lol

[curtis265]

thanks for the input, good info here guys

[Boznian]

Was contemplating about buying one of these radiators from "J P" but now i think i'll stay away. 1+ rep for you son

[egsohc]

You need to be careful with stray current in alloy radiators, it can destroy them in no time. Good coolant should be used too.
You do get what you pay for though.
When the radiator went in my eg i was told to just get the Koyo standard replacement by the radiator guy i use. I wanted the Koyo fabricated radiator, was advised against it as they are difficult to repair and cost a lot more.

Here is a link on how to do a stray current test, fact sheet 119
http://www.nulon.com.au/support/factsheets/

[mocchi]

You need to be careful with stray current in alloy radiators, it can destroy them in no time. Good coolant should be used too.
You do get what you pay for though.
When the radiator went in my eg i was told to just get the Koyo standard replacement by the radiator guy i use. I wanted the Koyo fabricated radiator, was advised against it as they are difficult to repair and cost a lot more.

Here is a link on how to do a stray current test, fact sheet 119
http://www.nulon.com.au/support/factsheets/

good shit. feel my bbc

[bennjamin]

Guise

Firstly - most standard radiators I've seen are made from alloy anyway lol ?!
I guess the term "alloy radiator" in car mod speak refers to slightly thicker core and alloy colour lol

Like anything that is copied from an original engineered part - there is cost cutting everywhere to reduce the cost so likely little to no quality control. Hence why you see the same (copy) part lasting 2 years or two minutes.

[mugen_ctr]

what are the temp difference between the all alloy units like OP vs the OEM alloy core, plastic end tanks?

If a oem can last upto 15 yrs, i dont see how any ebay rad lasting 2yrs or so is good haha, if u can re-weld the cracked part in the alloy rad, maybe it might last bit longer

[D16]

haha no worries, next radiator to try is the OEM looking one. Unless someone else has tried them.

Being a 'alloy' radiator all welded, didnt expect quality to be that bad...Im just wondering who has an ebay radiator aswell that has lasted more than 3 years daily use.

Just letting you know i was running Nulon premix long life coolant in both systems and the temperature was all the same. The needle always sticks below half way :S

[mugen_ctr]

haha no worries, next radiator to try is the OEM looking one. Unless someone else has tried them.

Being a 'alloy' radiator all welded, didnt expect quality to be that bad...Im just wondering who has an ebay radiator aswell that has lasted more than 3 years daily use.

Just letting you know i was running Nulon premix long life coolant in both systems and the temperature was all the same. The needle always sticks below half way :S

ahhh sweet as... good to know... Mayb in the future ill defs look into a decent branded ebay one, for track an DD duties

And being all alloy, means u can weld bungs for water lines for turbos or sensors on the end tanks

[kenc77]

I replaced my leaky original radiator on my EK4 with an Ebay 42mm core aluminium unit from ASI, had 1 year warranty. Fitment was fine, stock fan bolted without issue, clearance was also fine. Noticed it leaking all over the radiator abit after a year, probably been happening for a while before i noticed it. I also couldn't justify spending $500+ on a Koyo unit for a DD car. Ended up buying a Koyo OEM replacement (plastic top and bottom with aluminium core) for $189 off an Aussie seller on ebay. Its been 6 moths, no problems so far.