About to be new owner, radiator question

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brickbox
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Postby brickbox » Wed Nov 06, 2019 1:14 pm

Interesting, I did not realize Japanese OEs used Pentosin.

I plan on doing a fluid refresh next spring on the vehicle (front diff, rear diff, t-case and anti freeze) along with the spark plugs.
I was going to use Zerex Long Life Asian (Blue) on the Pathy. Any thoughts on that?

While I admit I have not searched the forum here, I assume that there are write ups for all the stuff I listed above over here?


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smj999smj
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Postby smj999smj » Fri Nov 08, 2019 3:37 am

brickbox wrote:Interesting, I did not realize Japanese OEs used Pentosin.

I plan on doing a fluid refresh next spring on the vehicle (front diff, rear diff, t-case and anti freeze) along with the spark plugs.
I was going to use Zerex Long Life Asian (Blue) on the Pathy. Any thoughts on that?

While I admit I have not searched the forum here, I assume that there are write ups for all the stuff I listed above over here?
The Zerex Asian Blue will work fine!

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ikulichkin
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Postby ikulichkin » Sun May 24, 2020 9:43 am

I've been thinking to do a radiator replacement.
Nissan parts website seem to offer Radiator-Value Advantage. Is it a good one? What the difference with OEM 21460-9CA0E?

https://parts.nissanusa.com/p/Nissan_20 ... 21JNW.html

https://parts.nissanusa.com/p/Nissan_20 ... 21JNW.html

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palmerwmd
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Postby palmerwmd » Sun May 24, 2020 11:14 am

ikulichkin wrote:I've been thinking to do a radiator replacement.
Nissan parts website seem to offer Radiator-Value Advantage. Is it a good one? What the difference with OEM 21460-9CA0E?

https://parts.nissanusa.com/p/Nissan_20 ... 21JNW.html

https://parts.nissanusa.com/p/Nissan_20 ... 21JNW.html
Its the economy line from them.
But definitely better than what you likely have in your truck.

What does the part number sticker on the right side of your Rad say?

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ikulichkin
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Postby ikulichkin » Sun May 24, 2020 7:08 pm

palmerwmd wrote: Its the economy line from them.
But definitely better than what you likely have in your truck.

What does the part number sticker on the right side of your Rad say?
My radiator says: 21460-ZL11A
I see from previous posts it's best to replace it.

How do you think it the "Value-Advantage" compares to some of the aftermarket radiators? Like smj999smj suggested "Spectra Premium" for example. and is there any place to look up that

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palmerwmd
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Postby palmerwmd » Sun May 24, 2020 9:00 pm

i will defer to SMJ on this. He knows more about our vehicles than the rest of us put together :)

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smj999smj
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Postby smj999smj » Mon May 25, 2020 2:58 pm

The "Value Line" radiators are made by OE companies for Nissan at a more competitive price towards the aftermarket. I haven't priced checked them lately, but they were going for around $260 online, which is good when you compare them to the "original Nissan replacement part," which sells for around $450 but does carry a lifetime warranty providing it was purchased and installed by a Nissan dealer. That said, the aftermarket radiators have proven to be trouble-free and reliable on the whole and are half of the price than even the "Value Line" Nissan radiators. If you are comparing the Spectra Premium to the Nissan "Value Line," I would say quality is similar between the two, the Spectra Premium is half of the price and has a better warranty at 2 years, so I would go with the Spectra Premium. But, it's your money and either one will work fine.

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ikulichkin
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Postby ikulichkin » Mon May 25, 2020 6:18 pm

smj999smj wrote:The "Value Line" radiators are made by OE companies for Nissan at a more competitive price towards the aftermarket. I haven't priced checked them lately, but they were going for around $260 online, which is good when you compare them to the "original Nissan replacement part," which sells for around $450 but does carry a lifetime warranty providing it was purchased and installed by a Nissan dealer. That said, the aftermarket radiators have proven to be trouble-free and reliable on the whole and are half of the price than even the "Value Line" Nissan radiators. If you are comparing the Spectra Premium to the Nissan "Value Line," I would say quality is similar between the two, the Spectra Premium is half of the price and has a better warranty at 2 years, so I would go with the Spectra Premium. But, it's your money and either one will work fine.
I did a bit of research after your words. the value line in my area will cost ~$230 and Spectra premium ~$130. It seems Spectra should be at least comparable and might even be superior to Value line. That's the one I believe I will go with.
What do you think is so special about the $500 Nissan radiator though?

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ShipFixer
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Postby ShipFixer » Mon May 25, 2020 7:00 pm

There is also the CSF all-aluminum radiator for ~$350 depending on where you get it. There was some thread in some Frontier forum where people had issues with it (or hinted they had some issues) but I (and as far as I know, others here) have had no issues with mine.

Double the cooling capacity of the OEM design...pretty awesome to never have thermal throttling, A/C drop out in heavy traffic, etc...

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ikulichkin
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Postby ikulichkin » Mon May 25, 2020 7:36 pm

ShipFixer wrote:There is also the CSF all-aluminum radiator for ~$350 depending on where you get it. There was some thread in some Frontier forum where people had issues with it (or hinted they had some issues) but I (and as far as I know, others here) have had no issues with mine.

Double the cooling capacity of the OEM design...pretty awesome to never have thermal throttling, A/C drop out in heavy traffic, etc...
They do look cool, shining right out engine compartment 8)
I'm more of a daily driver type user though, with occasional light offroad, so extra cooling would be overkill for me in my opinion.

Do you think radiator caps are reusable though? Did you buy new ones for your new radiator?

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Postby ShipFixer » Mon May 25, 2020 8:15 pm

I used the original Nissan radiator cap and just trimmed or bent the clips back a little bit. Tried to take the pressure valve out of the CSF cap but it didn't work.

I don't off road at all. But the main selling point for me is *no plastic tanks at all* :-D Eventually all standard radiator with plastic tanks crimped to the aluminum core will start to let go and leak. So long as I keep this thing flushed and don't let it get plugged, I should never have to replace it.

Just driving around it is way better though. Here in DC, it's not abnormal on a horrible commute day in the summer (stop and go traffic in 90+ degrees F) for the ECU to dial back A/C and other things when the engine gets hot. Since I installed this thing, the A/C never, ever backs off.

You also don't notice how often it will dial back power when you are going uphill hard in hot weather either. I notice now because it doesn't. Last year I was headed uphill around 3,000 feet at 80 mph in 95 degree air. All the other vehicles eventually dropped back except my Pathfinder.

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Postby ShipFixer » Mon May 25, 2020 8:17 pm

Oh and I've watched the temps with my OBD II scanner dongle and a Nissan DataScan clone app on my phone. I'm pretty sure this radiator will never let me temps even get close to too hot.

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smj999smj
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Postby smj999smj » Tue May 26, 2020 8:42 pm

ShipFixer wrote:There is also the CSF all-aluminum radiator for ~$350 depending on where you get it. There was some thread in some Frontier forum where people had issues with it (or hinted they had some issues) but I (and as far as I know, others here) have had no issues with mine.

Double the cooling capacity of the OEM design...pretty awesome to never have thermal throttling, A/C drop out in heavy traffic, etc...
Last I heard they stopped making the CSF all-aluminum radiators because they were having too many problems with them. Griffin Radiators # NIS-70002 is an all-aluminum option for the R51 but it sells for around $750.

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smj999smj
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Postby smj999smj » Tue May 26, 2020 8:51 pm

ikulichkin wrote:
smj999smj wrote:The "Value Line" radiators are made by OE companies for Nissan at a more competitive price towards the aftermarket. I haven't priced checked them lately, but they were going for around $260 online, which is good when you compare them to the "original Nissan replacement part," which sells for around $450 but does carry a lifetime warranty providing it was purchased and installed by a Nissan dealer. That said, the aftermarket radiators have proven to be trouble-free and reliable on the whole and are half of the price than even the "Value Line" Nissan radiators. If you are comparing the Spectra Premium to the Nissan "Value Line," I would say quality is similar between the two, the Spectra Premium is half of the price and has a better warranty at 2 years, so I would go with the Spectra Premium. But, it's your money and either one will work fine.
I did a bit of research after your words. the value line in my area will cost ~$230 and Spectra premium ~$130. It seems Spectra should be at least comparable and might even be superior to Value line. That's the one I believe I will go with.
What do you think is so special about the $500 Nissan radiator though?
There's nothing special about them. They've been pricing their radiators at $500 forever it seems, even back when I worked for them and that was in 2003 when I left. The only thing "special" is that when it comes to the "original Nissan replacement parts," that many will have a limited lifetime warranty when purchased and installed by a Nissan dealer if there is a "Value Line" alternative to it. At least that's the way it used to be.

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Postby ShipFixer » Wed May 27, 2020 1:36 pm

smj999smj wrote: Last I heard they stopped making the CSF all-aluminum radiators because they were having too many problems with them. Griffin Radiators # NIS-70002 is an all-aluminum option for the R51 but it sells for around $750.
I tried pulling that thread when you or someone else first noticed it on another forum - didn't seem to lead anywhere with specific problems. When I ordered mine two or three years ago, there were only one or two vendors. Now there's a lot popping up on Google, including Amazon.

YMMV but no problems here...


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