Rant on Buying genuine OEM parts for vehicles...

[68Charger]

Nearly 2 years ago, I had the radiator on my 2007 charger start leaking (slow leak), so I looked for a replacement- ordered genuine Mopar replacement (along with a coolant reservoir and factory cap) from a dealer back East that was way cheaper than local... based on feedback that "genuine Mopar part would last, aftermarket is crap" cost wasn't bad for OEM: $180.32 plus Shipping: $38.45 for the entire order.

That radiator just went out while wife was in a drive-thru... (with a boom that dumped all coolant out within a minute)

Order was placed Oct 14, 2014... Mopar changed their policy that warranty on parts ordered after Oct 1, 2014 would have 24 month, unlimited mileage warranty "with invoice"... (previously was 12mo warranty) Too bad I can't locate the "invoice" (email order from dealership doesn't qualify, and dealer I ordered from haven't answered email)

had it towed back home, now I'm thinking why bother with genuine parts if they don't last, and have a worse warranty? getting a Carquest replacement with lifetime warranty for $115.99+tax locally so I can get the car back in service.

Maybe if I had the service department rape me for the labor to replace it, then I'd get a new one for free, but they don't really want to warranty when a dealer didn't replace it... so I'm done with using the stealerships if that's the way they do business...

It's our fault for bragging the car has been fantastic, with very little issues after recently turning over 200k miles (we bought it with 97k miles from Auction- former CSP vehicle)... next day, boom

Once I get the radiator out of the car, I'll post pictures... got to be a serious failure based on the rate of dumping coolant.

[BushMasterBoy]

8 dollars for a OEM Chevy tire valve cap from the dealer? I ended up at Walmart! I got 4 for under 2 bucks. Watch out for the crappy OEM battery, mine got low one winter and killed a computer! I got it going again for $700! ($200 for the battery) + $500 to the dealer. Finally got a spare computer from Ebay for $50 Stealership is right!

[davsel]

Sure it's the radiator? The only time I had a vehicle dump that fast, it was the water pump.

The money I've saved buying aftermarket parts - even when they don't last and I have to replace sooner than expected, outweighs the money I would have spent on OEM parts.

[68Charger]

Sure it's the radiator? The only time I had a vehicle dump that fast, it was the water pump.

The money I've saved buying aftermarket parts - even when they don't last and I have to replace sooner than expected, outweighs the money I would have spent on OEM parts.

I surveyed the damage before the tow truck showed up... (my trailer is down with bad tires, or I would have towed it myself)

poured a gallon of water in to be sure- dumped out of passenger side of radiator below hose connector- so yes, I'm sure the radiator popped.. also based on "boom" described when it failed.. I'm sure the plastic tank split or separated from the core.

ETA: I replaced the water pump previously, it was leaking out the weep hole (another slow leak- before the radiator failure, IIRC... ) and I put a quality aftermarket water pump on it... but no indication it's leaking from there..

[zulu01]

I went with an aftermarket radiator on my Jeep Liberty. I just finished installing the second warranty radiator this morning. First one lasted a year and the second made it two years. Apparently Napa radiators are total crap. Lifetime warranty, but it's a hassle to keep changing them. The OEM radiator lasted 10 years.

Your issue might be the water pump. I had a large crack in my radiator, but it didn't dump the fluid super fast.

[Sawin]

I'd recommend checking the waterpump and go ahead and replace the thermostat while you're down there... if the thermostat didn't open and pressure built up so much, it could pop the radiator, cap, hoses, whatever happens to be weakest/hottest at the moment.

[BushMasterBoy]

I'd recommend checking the waterpump and go ahead and replace the thermostat while you're down there... if the thermostat didn't open and pressure built up so much, it could pop the radiator, cap, hoses, whatever happens to be weakest/hottest at the moment.


This!

[68Charger]

I'd recommend checking the waterpump and go ahead and replace the thermostat while you're down there... if the thermostat didn't open and pressure built up so much, it could pop the radiator, cap, hoses, whatever happens to be weakest/hottest at the moment.

Good advice, since I have to put 2 gallons of coolant (14+ quarts after diluting 50/50)... I put new upper+lower and heater hoses on it at 150k miles when I did the water pump... I know I did the stat at that time, I thought it was a failsafe model...

[MrPrena]

What they said above.

As for radiator
Just replaced my radiator about 3weeks ago.
I went with good aftermarket radiator. Costed me $73.25 shipped. I did my hw on youtube and other website to see which aftermarket radiator was highly recommended before I replaced mine. I am fairly certain there are radiator which are affordable and as good as oem.

https://www.ar-15.co/threads/42773-Post-a-picture-of-your-latest-purchase?p=2009448&viewfull=1#post2009448

[68Charger]

I went with good aftermarket radiator.

This is where the difficult part is... lots of opinion, very little objective evidence... I don't own a 1998-2002 Toyota Corolla, and I'd need a few years to determine if your purchase was a good choice... looks good now, let me know 2 years if it's still working!
I did some research, and found many saying go OEM (not confident), and couldn't find any BAD reviews on the carquest radiator I went with.

I was told by what I thought were reliable sources to go Mopar... and it failed me
maybe the next one would last 10 years, but the factory one failed at 7-8 years (assuming it was the factory radiator)

one of the questions nagging in my head- who made the OEM radiator that failed?... It is certainly an outsourced part

[ray1970]

For those of you going through radiators every year or two, do a little research on galvanic corrosion. I had a truck that was doing the same thing. Ran a ground wire to the radiator core and never had an issue after that.

I know, sounds strange. But for a few inches of wire and five minutes of your time it might save you from constantly replacing radiators, no matter who made them.

[fportmen45]

What type of coolant were you running?

[68Charger]

Zerex G05, same as the mopar coolant

Good point on the galvanic reaction, had a cast iron fitting eat itself from the inside out because of that. .. but that was in the ground, not on my car.[dig]

[slvyj]

I own a Jeep. I've found Mopar parts are usually re-branded aftermarket parts. You are paying a lot for the Mopar name.

[jmg8550]

I try to buy OEM Ford parts for my 2000 Ranger and 2005 Explorer Sport Trac. The Ranger I've had since 2005. In my experience, at least with the 5 Ford vehicles I've owned, the OEM stuff is better. When OEM isn't available, I look for manufacturers that are known for quality. NAPA ​WAS​ a good source for quality parts, now they're no better than O'Reilly. Lifetime warranty means nothing if I have to keep replacing parts every few years. And the fact that more parts are coming from China isn't helping either.

[jmg8550]

I try to buy OEM Ford parts for my 2000 Ranger and 2005 Explorer Sport Trac. The Ranger I've had since 2005. In my experience, at least with the 5 Ford vehicles I've owned, the OEM stuff is better. When OEM isn't available, I look for manufacturers that are known for quality. NAPA WAS a good source for quality parts, now they're no better than O'Reilly. Lifetime warranty means nothing if I have to keep replacing parts every few years. And the fact that more parts are coming from China isn't helping either.

[ray1970]

And the fact that more parts are coming from China isn't helping either.

I'm sure you wouldn't be surprised that a lot of OEM parts are coming from overseas these days.

In fact, it's gotten so bad that there are only about seven or eight cars that meet the criteria being considered "American made". I don't recall the exact requirements but being assembled here in the states with at least 75% domestic parts are two of the factors. On that short list of "American made" vehicles are things like the Toyota Camry, Honda Accord, and a couple of other Toyota and Honda products. Even long time best sellers like the Ford F-150 now have less than 75% domestic parts.

So, these aftermarket parts might be rolling off the same assembly line as the ones that came in your vehicle when it was new.

On a semi-related side note, I had a guy giving me crap about my "Japanese" truck one day when I owned a Nissan. Once I showed him the VIN's on my truck and his GMC and explained to him that my truck was assembled in Tennessee and his was built in Mexico he pretty much shut the hell up.

[jmg8550]

Yes I realize that, I was an auto mechanic for 10 years, and now I work on Kubota tractors and equipment. But there's a difference between junk chinese parts, and parts made overseas to a higher quality specification. In my experience, genuine Ford parts are superior to most aftermarket parts. I can't speak for MOPAR, as I'd rather eat lead paint than own one. GM OE quality is hit or miss, some stuff is good, some not so much. Fuel pumps comes to mind with horrible quality in GM OEM parts.

Are all Phillipine made optics junk? No, some are pretty good because they're made to a higher specification of quality.

[68Charger]

Well, turns out the radiator only failed because it was ventilated when the electric cooling fan came apart.

67188
67189
67190

The irony is that years ago we had a recall to replace the cooling fans (and it was completed by the dealer) because... wait for it...

there had been a number of them that came apart and destroyed the radiator.
Guess I'll have to see if Dodge will cover it (doubtful, it's been years since the recall)
ETA: not actually a recall, was a "Service Bulletin"
Service Bulletin Number: CSN-L08 NHTSA ID #: 10041252 Bulletin Date: Wed, 06/01/2011 Failing Component(s): 062200 ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING: COOLING SYSTEM:FAN Summary: CHRYSLER SERVICE CAMPAIGN: SEE DOCUMENT SEARCH BUTTON FOR OWNER LETTER. THE RADIATOR COOLING FANS MAY SEPARATE DURING OPERATION AND DAMAGE THE RADIATOR. *RM

I [ROFL2] about eating lead paint before owning a Mopar... you couldn't pay me to take most Fords... by Brother-in-law's diesel was supposed to be one of the good ones- I thougth it was a horrible POS.. I hated working on it. And I seriously doubt they're immune to the outsourcing of parts- all of them have got to meet the bottom line.

[wyome]

Time to go aftermarket.....BeCool

[Gman]

So much for being proactive. [Coffee]