CSF radiator -- review -- 2011 4x4
Posted: Fri Aug 25, 2017 8:39 pm
So a few months ago I found myself reading the forums and essentially found myself in a concerned stated of mind. I was worried that I would eventually run into the dreaded radiator/trans issue. My vehicle was approaching 80k miles so I decided to pick up a aftermarket radiator to save myself from this headache. Granted my vehicle is a 2011 and this issue seemed to be limited to 2005-2010, but my thinking was that this went on for 5 years and with a sub-par effort to resolve by Nissan I wasn't going to risk it.
The radiator I decided to purchase was a CSF all aluminum radiator. Picked it up for $330 with free shipping off of eBay. I actually left a review there as well if you'd like to read it. -- https://www.ebay.com/p/radiator-2-row-a ... serReviews username - kmfdm1308
Ordered the radiator and took it out of the box and noticed how shiny it was. I also noticed that lower radiator outlet was bent out of shape. The box wasn't damaged and everything looked factory sealed with no tampering. My assumption is that this happened in the factory somewhere and still passed QC. I eventually bent it back into shape as shown in the pictures below. I would have returned it, but for whatever reason, I didn't. If you decide to purchase it and this happened, I would send it back if possible. Judging from CSF Facebook page, you'd be fighting an uphill battle if you went that route.
All the welds on the radiator look pretty good from what I could tell. I didn't see anything that would indicate the welds were crap or would crack. I've had it on there for about 5000+ miles so far and it's held up great.
One thing that really irked me was that the cap that was included was a pressurized cap. The pressure on these systems is on the overflow tank. Why? Who knows, but it is. I had to bend the old radiator cap to fit the new one. As of this writing, no leaks yet. Note that I found this out the hard way. Before I fixed the cap I had my temp gauge jumping all over the place which I was assuming was air in the tank. Did all the recommended steps for clearing the air out (park on incline with cap off, turn on heater, let vehicle heat up and refill), but that didn't resolve it. Ended up having coolant spray from the radiator after every drive. Did some searches and found on an Xterra forum that the old cap had to be reused. Funny that this radiator specific for this vehicle (and Xterra/Frontier) came with the wrong cap.
Installed the radiator and as mentioned earlier, have driven on it for 5000K+ miles and everythings good. Bought new Nissan hoses for it as well, but got rid of the factory clamps and just used some basic screw type. I know the general consensus is to not use those, but I've personally never had an issue with them on any vehicle I've owned ::knock on wood::.
Overall review -- would I recommend this. ONLY if you had the extra cash to burn. With all the mistakes I've had with this radiator just out of the box, I realized I should have just gotten a Spectra Premium plastic tank and saved some cash. Not regretting my decision, just wish things initially would have played out better.
With that said; pics below.
Radiator part number from CSF Race website
Side by side
Welds/build quality
Coolant aftermath when the cap that came with the radiator was on. In the pic, it shows the Nissan cap which is what should be on there. This pic is before cleanup.
[/img]
Straightening out the bend. Wasn't sure what to use at first. Figured I can go to Harbor Freight and get creative with my 20% off coupon and pick up a set of crappy screwdriver set as well for the hell of it. Ended up being a success as I found a cheap Harbor Freight tear drop mallet -- https://www.harborfreight.com/2-inch-te ... 66205.html. Placed it into the bent hole and hammered on it until it rounded out. That got most of it. There was still a slight bend to it so I looked around with random metal items to assist with bending the aluminum. Found out that the tire iron was a perfect fit. Hammered on that as well. After about 30 minutes of playing Thor, the hole was as close to round as I could get it. Note that the ratchet in the picture was my hammer
The radiator I decided to purchase was a CSF all aluminum radiator. Picked it up for $330 with free shipping off of eBay. I actually left a review there as well if you'd like to read it. -- https://www.ebay.com/p/radiator-2-row-a ... serReviews username - kmfdm1308
Ordered the radiator and took it out of the box and noticed how shiny it was. I also noticed that lower radiator outlet was bent out of shape. The box wasn't damaged and everything looked factory sealed with no tampering. My assumption is that this happened in the factory somewhere and still passed QC. I eventually bent it back into shape as shown in the pictures below. I would have returned it, but for whatever reason, I didn't. If you decide to purchase it and this happened, I would send it back if possible. Judging from CSF Facebook page, you'd be fighting an uphill battle if you went that route.
All the welds on the radiator look pretty good from what I could tell. I didn't see anything that would indicate the welds were crap or would crack. I've had it on there for about 5000+ miles so far and it's held up great.
One thing that really irked me was that the cap that was included was a pressurized cap. The pressure on these systems is on the overflow tank. Why? Who knows, but it is. I had to bend the old radiator cap to fit the new one. As of this writing, no leaks yet. Note that I found this out the hard way. Before I fixed the cap I had my temp gauge jumping all over the place which I was assuming was air in the tank. Did all the recommended steps for clearing the air out (park on incline with cap off, turn on heater, let vehicle heat up and refill), but that didn't resolve it. Ended up having coolant spray from the radiator after every drive. Did some searches and found on an Xterra forum that the old cap had to be reused. Funny that this radiator specific for this vehicle (and Xterra/Frontier) came with the wrong cap.
Installed the radiator and as mentioned earlier, have driven on it for 5000K+ miles and everythings good. Bought new Nissan hoses for it as well, but got rid of the factory clamps and just used some basic screw type. I know the general consensus is to not use those, but I've personally never had an issue with them on any vehicle I've owned ::knock on wood::.
Overall review -- would I recommend this. ONLY if you had the extra cash to burn. With all the mistakes I've had with this radiator just out of the box, I realized I should have just gotten a Spectra Premium plastic tank and saved some cash. Not regretting my decision, just wish things initially would have played out better.
With that said; pics below.
Radiator part number from CSF Race website
Side by side
Welds/build quality
Coolant aftermath when the cap that came with the radiator was on. In the pic, it shows the Nissan cap which is what should be on there. This pic is before cleanup.
[/img]Straightening out the bend. Wasn't sure what to use at first. Figured I can go to Harbor Freight and get creative with my 20% off coupon and pick up a set of crappy screwdriver set as well for the hell of it. Ended up being a success as I found a cheap Harbor Freight tear drop mallet -- https://www.harborfreight.com/2-inch-te ... 66205.html. Placed it into the bent hole and hammered on it until it rounded out. That got most of it. There was still a slight bend to it so I looked around with random metal items to assist with bending the aluminum. Found out that the tire iron was a perfect fit. Hammered on that as well. After about 30 minutes of playing Thor, the hole was as close to round as I could get it. Note that the ratchet in the picture was my hammer