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Aluminum Rad Upgrade Options for a 2002 4EAT WRX

2K views 14 replies 6 participants last post by  LW_Black4 
#1 ·
so my rad went, and i still have the original '02 capless rad. i was looking at koyo & mishimoto aluminum rads and they dont offer rads with the tranny oil cooler. i have to buy the external oil cooler which is like another $500.

so if ther any other options? i either go with a $150 oem rad with the build in oil cooler or go for almost $1000 for the aluminum rad, cooler & new hoses (oem hardware i can get cheap)

the over $800 differnce isnt really worth it to me since this is just my daily driver. i dont mind dropping $500ish for a new aluminum rad if i can find one with an built in trans cooler like the oem versions. so if anyone has any ideas that would be great.

cheers,
titter
 
#2 ·
I went with CX racing aluminum rad when mine took a crap,think it was like like 150 give or take some if your stock fans still work just stick with them the slim fans are said to not be as efficient as the stock fans.
 
#3 ·
went and looked. cant find a CX rad for automatics. same problem, i still need an external cooler. but being that its only ~$150, splurging for an external cooler doesnt seem that bad with this option. still would like to find one with a built in trans cooler that isnt OEM. or else i will probably just end up getting the mishimoto oem replacement. $600+ is still a little steep for a rad since i dont race the car and dont live in a hot climate. otherwise it would be a different story.
 
#6 ·
yea i was thinking the same. was only doing it if the price was right. but since its not, i have a mishimoto OE replacement coming rush delivery for friday :)
 
#8 ·
yea honestly i feel the same deep down, and WAS planning for such an upgrade in the future when i add power to the car. but like fatal said, not worth it for me to drop that much on a relatively stock car. power mods wont be for a while and they involve and engine swap so i'll get everything i need then. this was only becuase my rad blew up.
 
#10 ·
i couldnt pinpoint the leak as it was along where the metal folds over the seal to the top plastic.



dont know if you can see the coolant pooling in the folds of the metal between the plastic, but it pooled like that all long the front and was raining down all the front of the rad. i noticed when smoke was pouring out from the hood while in the drive thru line for my morning coffee. since the leak was on the top of the rad, it only leaked underpressure while hot and there was no puddles in my garage.
 
#14 ·
so if you need to replace a $150 radiator every 100,000 miles is that such a big deal? Worth spending all this money on something that has a very low liklihood of reaching it's cost in value?

How much would you spend for tires that last 50% longer? 5x as much seems a clear 'NO' to me.
 
#15 ·
I heard from the Rad Shop that Subaru rads leaked from the end-tank / core interface, but the replacement rads had been improved to address this issue. Mine has a slight drip in the extreme cold [I live in Canada with the igloos].

In general I prefer an OEM Subaru part to an aftermarket one if it's good enough. I'm running STi rods in my WRX motor, as an example.
 
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