Ready-Rad radiators any good?

[Steve Harkins]

Well, I have to replace the radiator on my wife's '92 Toyota Corolla (130k
miles). I called the auto parts store I normally buy from (not a chain
store), and they didn't show a listing in the Modine catalog :-( . They
sent me to a radiator shop that's been in business for 64 years, and they
stock them, possibly made by Ready-Rad. Who makes Ready-Rad, and are they
any good? This one carries a one-year warranty. I'm afraid to ask how much
the dealer wants for one.

Reply to the group, and to my email address too, please.

Thanks,
Steve

[John A]

it's not as good as modine. the only way to describe it is as a
'walmart' radiator...
try looking around some more. 1 year is nothing. i got my rad replaced
and it's on a 5 year warantee. do some shopping, you'll find something.
modine should make rads for toyota...especially for such a popular car
as a corolla. ac/delco is good, csf is good...go/dan....etc.

[news.ti.com]

Well, I installed the Ready-Rad radiator on Wednesday. It turns out that
the company that markets them, Go/Dan (www.godan.com) is a
bean-counter-style merger of the Allen Group and Handy & Harman (remember
G&O radiators?). Anyway the radiator is made in, you guessed it, China.
Can you say "maximize shareholder value"? I paid $149 for it, and it's got
a 1-year warranty. AutoZone sells the same radiator for $197.99 with a
limited lifetime warranty. If you read their warranty, limited lifetime
actually means one replacement, and then then a maximum of 90 days after
that. So I felt pretty good about saving $48.99.

While I try to avoid buying Chinese-made stuff, my only other choice was to
spend $374 for an original radiator, from the Toyota dealer in Indianapolis,
IN where I generally buy Toyota parts. The car is otherwise in very good
condition, but with 130k miles on it. The new radiator seems to be pretty
well-made, the same construction as the original (plastic tanks with
copper/brass core). The guy at the place where I bought it says they've had
good luck with them. So we'll see how long it lasts. I back-flushed the
system after installing the new rad, with new hoses, and filled it with
Dex-cool antifreeze (I like the stuff).

Steve

"John A" <ja...@home.com> wrote in message
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