Chinese Radiator Experience?
Discussion
No personal experience of the rads ; but in my experience elsewhere buying & selling on Ebay (20 years) anything which is (a) made in China and (b) uses the word "fits" or "for" in the title, is usually a cheap & nasty knock-off which probably does NOT fit. The words "false economy" spring to mind.
Your limits for a refund are 30 days within the Ebay buyer protection scheme, and 180 days within PayPal's scheme. What would you do, and who would you call, if it fails after 9 months?
My S radiator was replaced a couple of years ago by X-Works, and they used a Subaru Impreza item. My advice would be stick to a known brand, and talk to your local specialist about what the options are.
BOB
Your limits for a refund are 30 days within the Ebay buyer protection scheme, and 180 days within PayPal's scheme. What would you do, and who would you call, if it fails after 9 months?
My S radiator was replaced a couple of years ago by X-Works, and they used a Subaru Impreza item. My advice would be stick to a known brand, and talk to your local specialist about what the options are.
BOB
I looked at those just recently, for my chim.
From the photos online the quality of the welding looks like stevie wonder did it whilst wearing boxing gloves plus there was no spigot for the otter switch and no mounts for the fans.
Went with ACT and collected it direct from Radtec, who actually made it.
Will be fitting it soon but its a top quality piece of kit with beautiful welding.
From the photos online the quality of the welding looks like stevie wonder did it whilst wearing boxing gloves plus there was no spigot for the otter switch and no mounts for the fans.
Went with ACT and collected it direct from Radtec, who actually made it.
Will be fitting it soon but its a top quality piece of kit with beautiful welding.
I used Aaron down in Londinium for mine, they were very helpful when i called to discuss https://www.aaronradiator.co.uk/
ukkid35 said:
TVR K0359 R on Partsfortvrs actually looks better value
I presume the reason they are only available reconditioned is that the plastic end tanks are no longer available - does that make sense?
I've had plastic end tanks fail before, but admittedly only on rads that are 30+ years old
Plastic? Are they bonded then as every normal radiator I've had is metal and soldered. I had mine rebuilt twice, first time with a larger core, then when I took a stone through it I got an aluminium one, I think it's one of ACT'sI presume the reason they are only available reconditioned is that the plastic end tanks are no longer available - does that make sense?
I've had plastic end tanks fail before, but admittedly only on rads that are 30+ years old
https://www.actproducts.co.uk/product/ar002-griffi...
found a post of mine from 2007 - https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
they haven't gone up much
I’ve also got 4.5 Cerb I bought an ally rad a couple of years back on eBay. It was shipped from Hong Kong. It was ok, it fits and and hasn’t leaked yet…! It wasn’t too hard to fit but I’d recommend trimming the bolts a bit shorter on the rubber bobbins to give a little extra room to slide it in, oh and don’t forget to buy 2 new rubber o’ring thingies for bottom.
Thank you both for the real world experience from people who have bought the Chinese made rads without any serious issues
As it happens, I'm more likely to go for a UK rebuild using the plastic end tanks
I hope I don't have to do so too soon
As it happens, I'm more likely to go for a UK rebuild using the plastic end tanks
I hope I don't have to do so too soon
Edited by ukkid35 on Monday 30th August 05:15
GreenV8S said:
Byker28i said:
Plastic? Are they bonded then as every normal radiator I've had is metal and soldered.
Plastic end tanks are extremely common in mass production and I suspect you'll struggle to find a mainstream car with metal end tanks. They're usually crimped on.Gassing Station | General TVR Stuff & Gossip | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff