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third party OE replacement radiator brands?

Aharami

Aharami

Lifer
I need to replace the radiator in my 2013 Ford Fusion 2.0T. Anyone have any experience with these third party OEM replacement brands? Motorcraft RAD166 (last one) is the OE.
I'm leaning toward the Motorcraft one just for the peace of mind, but then I started wondering if the Motorcraft one is just a rebranded version of one of the cheaper ones and I'm just paying extra for a name.

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Price difference seems relatively small between the motorcraft and some of the better brands. I wouldn't go for the cheapest versions unless they come with strong warranties.
 
CSF is well known in the racing and HPDE world and makes good stuff, at least at the higher performance price points.
 
Well, one cause of of radiator failure is simply not changing the coolant frequently enough. Manufacturer specs can be very optimistic and too high.

The other possibility is the metal is thinner and weaker on a cheaper one.

You probably can swing for the Denso and be fine; Toyota partly owns Denso.

The TYC has a "Limited Lifetime" warranty. So as long as RockAuto exists, you can ship it back on your dime for a replacement.
 
Honestly I have not noticed a difference. They are all made in china. I had a customer who had to have Denso for their Toyota. Came in the same brown box with a sticker as the other Chinese ones I have installed.

Start at the bottom and see how much shipping is. Even one that is $5-10 more might be cheaper as its ships closer.
 
I've used quite a few different Denso parts over the years for my Toyota and Honda vehicles, and I have been very satisfied with their quality. They are one of the better OEM parts companies out there IMO.
 
Aharami said:
Decided to give the Denso a try after finding out that they are one of the OEM for the Japanese brands
Click to expand...

Aftermarket Denso is not the same as OE Denso. I guarantee the radiator you get will be in a basic brown box with a small sticker that says Denso (Made in China).
Factory Denso says Denso stamped on the radiator, aftermarket will not.
 
IMHO they all stink. Stupid plastic end tanks. My vote is an aftermarket all-aluminum unit but obviously that may not exist for a Fusion...
 
Ended up with a Motorcraft ordered through fordparts.com

The Denso was better built, IMO, and beefier product than the Motorcraft. Also came better packaged. But the Denso had more fins and tightly packed than the Motorcraft
Denso on left, Motorcraft on right.
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Denso had more of the horizontal channels, and the fins were more tightly packed. But I wasn't sure if the tighter spacing would impede airflow through the radiator and ultimately hamper cooling. But the dealbreaker was that Denso ordered through rockauto.com arrived with a small leak in it. Likely happened during shipping.

So I reordered a Motorcraft from Rockauto. That one came with a plastic piece cracked off. At that point I just decided to order straight from Ford.
 
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