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eBay radiator installed

Messages
405
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122
Location
Chino Hills
#1
So ya.... Like the title says, it happened. It only cost $260 out the door with eBay bucks and a portion of my soul lol.

Unboxing it, very little padding, just styrofoam. Sadly the driver side water neck came bent and too much heat was put in that area during welding and it caused the radiator to cave in.

Right off the bat many things are off, welds are shit at best, fins are bent, top brackets that hold the condenser are off by a half inch almost. Top fan shroud bracket completely bent at the tip for no good damn reason at all. The fan shroud does not seal fully, insulation tape is needed but won't last in that area.

Yes there is a bleed screw on top, it functions! The company event sent me a second one for idk why!?

The damn thing holds water! Is it efficient in cooling down the fluid.... It actually looks like a, yes. I literally finished it about 4 hours ago, therefore no serious driving time with it yet. I went out for a sprint, a good 35 minutes and although I'm using distilled water with "water wetter" it is definitely keeping temps below 190* F currently. It took quite awhile for my oil temp to rise to operating temperature, and it stayed that way through driving it. We have some very steep long riding hills where I live at the moment, my city roads are not quite modified/old car friendly.

Would I suggest this radiator over an actual brand to anyone else you may ask?

Hell no! You get what you pay for.




You definitely get what you pay for

**Update 12/10/19** My distilled water and water wetter mixture heats up quickly to 191 max. Does not go any higher, it's just odd that it heats up so quickly to that mark. I have a feeling my Cobb AP is not reading the coolant sensor correctly.
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Last edited:
OP
D
Messages
405
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Location
Chino Hills
Thread Starter #3
I actually didn't take any, I was so annoyed and involved with the troubleshooting that I forgot to grab some shots.

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TyphoonFiST

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#4
I actually didn't take any, I was so annoyed and involved with the troubleshooting that I forgot to grab some shots.

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Dammit!




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Last edited:

HBEcoBeaST

Active member
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417
Location
Huntington Beach
#5
Thank you for posting! I've been eyeing that eBay radiator for too long. You know for the price it had to be junk, but the off chance it works...

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OP
D
Messages
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122
Location
Chino Hills
Thread Starter #7
So far it's still holding pressure, no complaints yet,. My water hits 189*F very quickly but then just stays put.

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Messages
148
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188
Location
CT
#9
I have an ebay radiator in my Neon. Its a Mishimoto knockoff and has been excellent for the last few years. If the fiesta ones are similar id expect it to function just fine but some holes may be off or the rad itself may be slightly out of square. Good on you for being the guinea pig!
 


danbfree

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Tigard, Oregon, USA
#10
Can you confirm it is THIS exact one? And would you say that you had shipping damage that caused a portion to cave in? Did you change the thermostat, or at least know what temp you have? Was it hanging out mostly at 194 but then go up from there too before the upgrade or?
 


OP
D
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Location
Chino Hills
Thread Starter #11
Can you confirm it is THIS exact one? And would you say that you had shipping damage that caused a portion to cave in? Did you change the thermostat, or at least know what temp you have? Was it hanging out mostly at 194 but then go up from there too before the upgrade or?
Which one are you referring to?

It wasn't shipping damage that caused the quality issues it was too much heat from welding it, I really believe I just need to take pictures to give a better understanding. I did not touch the thermostat, still doing just fine at the moment, I'm not aware of which one I have but I am fairly certain it is 194*F.

A couple times during the bad Summers in socal had me a bit worried. The temp just kept climbing to 220 for my oil, got a bit worried. One occasion I did have the A/C running at low.

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Last edited:

danbfree

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#12
Which one are you referring to?

It wasn't shipping damage that caused the quality issues it was too much heat from welding it, I really believe I just need to take pictures to give a better understanding. I did not touch the thermostat, still doing just fine at the moment, I'm not aware of which one I have but I am fairly certain it is 194*F.

A couple times during the bad Summers in socal had me a bit worried. The temp just kept climbing to 220 for my oil, got a bit worried. One occasion I did have the A/C running at low.
Was trying to confirm it was the exact one I linked too, did you click and take a look? And normally people do the lower temp thermostat at the same time, bit I guess some don't, the therrmostat alone helps with temps a bit, at least buys you more time before you get too hit... anyway, oil temp of 220 is nothing, synthetic oil doesn't really even begin to lower protection until at least 250 and it's a slow drop in protection to 275, I just use a huge oil filter to use a little more oil and have more heat dispersal on the long filter, I'd have to drop down to just the regular oversized filter with a thicker radiator, but of course would be well worth it... I'm still on the fence on this one so was just hoping to confirm on the exact one listed...
 


Messages
133
Likes
83
Location
Tucson, AZ, USA
#14
So ya.... Like the title says, it happened. It only cost $260 out the door with eBay bucks and a portion of my soul lol.

Unboxing it, very little padding, just styrofoam. Sadly the driver side water neck came bent and too much heat was put in that area during welding and it caused the radiator to cave in.

Right off the bat many things are off, welds are shit at best, fins are bent, top brackets that hold the condenser are off by a half inch almost. Top fan shroud bracket completely bent at the tip for no good damn reason at all. The fan shroud does not seal fully, insulation tape is needed but won't last in that area.

Yes there is a bleed screw on top, it functions! The company event sent me a second one for idk why!?

The damn thing holds water! Is it efficient in cooling down the fluid.... It actually looks like a, yes. I literally finished it about 4 hours ago, therefore no serious driving time with it yet. I went out for a sprint, a good 35 minutes and although I'm using distilled water with "water wetter" it is definitely keeping temps below 190* F currently. It took quite awhile for my oil temp to rise to operating temperature, and it stayed that way through driving it. We have some very steep long riding hills where I live at the moment, my city roads are not quite modified/old car friendly.

Would I suggest this radiator over an actual brand to anyone else you may ask?

Hell no! You get what you pay for.




You definitely get what you pay for

**Update 12/10/19** My distilled water and water wetter mixture heats up quickly to 191 max. Does not go any higher, it's just odd that it heats up so quickly to that mark. I have a feeling my Cobb AP is not reading the coolant sensor correctly.
Sent from my moto g(6) using Tapatalk
Hey pal, posted looking for options outside of Mountune and Mishimoto and someone pointed me to you.

I was wondering how this radiator is holding up outside of the initial fitment/quality issues.
 


M-Sport fan

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#16
Unless we KNOW for certain that it is made in the same factory as, with the same QUALITY CONTROL as the CSF/Mountune unit, it just is not worth it to me at more than half the price anyway.
(Way too much bother/impossibility for me to change out, unlike everyone else on here, to even take the chance on not getting it right the FIRST TIME! [wink])
 


Dpro

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#17
Unless we KNOW for certain that it is made in the same factory as, with the same QUALITY CONTROL as the CSF/Mountune unit, it just is not worth it to me at more than half the price anyway.
(Way too much bother/impossibility for me to change out, unlike everyone else on here, to even take the chance on not getting it right the FIRST TIME! [wink])
It will not be because that Radiator is coming out of Taiwan and CSF does not have a factory in Taiwan. Their factory is in Indonesia. Two totally different locations. :LOL:

You are not going to get a Mountune/CSF copy from Ebay you could get a Mishi Copy because they do manufacture in Taiwan and China.
 


danbfree

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#18
Well, there WAS an exact clone of the 3 row Mishimoto but without the included fan shroud and needed your own petcock valve too for $256 free shipping from US stock and I ordered one, but never installed it. I traded the car in and returned the radiator and now no longer even offered, though it was for a while with $50 shipping from China after I apparently got the last US stock one... Can't say how it would have actually worked but workmanship was very good, very decent welds and materials, it really could have been the same maker as Mishimoto as I'm pretty sure they are made in China as well. Yes, no included altered fan shroud and petcock are downsides, but at half the retail it seemed like it was going to be worth the bit of hassle to make it work.
 


OP
D
Messages
405
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122
Location
Chino Hills
Thread Starter #19
Hey pal, posted looking for options outside of Mountune and Mishimoto and someone pointed me to you.

I was wondering how this radiator is holding up outside of the initial fitment/quality issues.
Radiator is still going strong. Have 0 problems to report.

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Messages
256
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229
Location
Vancouver
#20
Radiator is still going strong. Have 0 problems to report.

Sent from my moto g(6) using Tapatalk
Nice, I've had good experience with ebay / knock off performance parts. I'm running an intercooler I bought off aliexpress and on my integra, which I don't have anymore, had a cx-racing aluminum radiator which was very well made.
 


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