Heard a lot of speculation about the two, but at the end of the day I pulled the trigger on a $95 shipped Silla radiator from Genesis auto parts. I assume there's a difference and I'm wondering if this is it:





As you can see the body (1.5") is thinner than the side tanks (2.5"). I'm curious if in the Nissens the body is wider, allowing greater capacity and therefore better cooling. Can anyone pry the shroud off the top and take a picture of their Nissens?

 

I actually just did my rad on Saturday. I used a Nissens. And I don't remember it looking like that.

 

I'm not sure about the difference, but I can tell you that I put in a Silla radiator almost 5 years ago and I have had no problems with it at all.

 

My temps aren't where I'd like them...200ish with spikes up to 215 on the hwy going 75. Problem is it could be the:

-Silla radiator
-Motorad thermostat
-3,300 CFM electric fan swap
-H2O pump that's leaking (airtex is on order)

I thought with the pics, this could be an easy one to eliminate or confirm.

 

How long has it been since you've done the other components?

My experience with the D2 and other cars seem to confirm that when one piece of the cooling (water pump/t-stat/radiator give up the ghost, you best change it all at the same time (including rubber hoses) as they are all wear parts and will save you headaches down the road. Especially since your water pump is leaking and you'll need to remove the hoses anyway.



T-stat is an easy fix.


My biggest learning curve was my ZJ Cherokee. It took over 2 years to fix all the cooling issues. First it was the water pump, then the radiator, then the fan clutch, then a blown hose on top of a mountain (had to leave it on the trail and hike out), then the radiator cap, etc.

My D2 had full records, including a head-gasket job, within 1 year prior to me purchasing it. New radiator, every thingEXCEPT the thermostat. The poor PO was going in to the shop for each component within months of each other and eventually blew a headgasket, all because it was the T-stats fault (or the T-stat failed along the way).

So you've already got the radiator. Go on roversnorth and use their diagram to figure out what hoses you need, then get the TD-5 T-stat, the throttle body heater gasket, a fan clutch, your water pump is on the way, the radiator cap, and you'll be done for another 100k miles....

With the TD5 180 degree T-stat, I'm sitting around 188-190 highway and up to 205 in 4-low crawling up-hill in triple digit temps. I can handle that.

 

Those temperatures are very high compared to what I am getting here in the Texas summer. Based on my experience, I don't think that the Silla radiator is your problem, but I can't know for sure. I use the Land Rover 180 degree thermostat, it is better than the Motorad (I have used both) and will lower your temperatures are few degrees, but my temperatures never spiked that high with either thermostat. Also, just a note, I went though several waterpumps (they kept blowing out the seal at weep hole) before I figured out that my system was over-pressured due to a blown head gasket. I hope that is not your problem.

 

Looks a little thinner than the one on mine, but I don't know what brand I have.
It was on truck when I bought it , & it looked new, so I never bothered finding the brand, & my temp goes up & down between 185 & 197, depending on city or hwy,
(City - Ambiant +97* with traffic +AC 185 to 194) (Fwy Ambiant +97* 75mph +AC 190 to 196)
(ideling with AC on after 20min in +97* ambiant goes up & down every 40second 192-197)
That's with a aftermarket soft spring 172.5*black thermostat , with 190* thermostat it used to run 4-5 degree higher,

(4.6 motor)

 

2 years ago I replaced the engine with a Top Hat one from GPR. Nothing was inop in the system...just thought it a good idea for my new engine not to reinstall the old radiator with potentially 10 years of Dexcool sludge. Replaced the T-stat with a 180F Motorad. I have a since bought a 180F grey one and will install with the water pump. All the hoses appear fine...no cracking or anything. The electric fan works better than the crank fan at idle or slow speeds (gives me a couple hp and better MPG as well), but I think becomes more of a block at highway speeds but I'm not certain. Thinking of cutting relief flaps to see if that helps.

Temps were read by my UG. If the new T-stat or H2O pump fix the problem, I'm still curious about the thickness of the Nissens by comparison. You really can't be too careful with the cooling system on this thing!

 

Seriously...no one has a nissens they can snap a picture of? Don't even have to take the shroud off (unscrew a corner and lift). The suspense is not killing me, but it's still suspense!

 

Here is a pic of the original factory radiator before I changed to a Nissens: