(Rufant’s FZJ105 for your time)
Stopped by the Land Cruiser museum today because I was having lunch nearby and because I had 30 minutes to kill. In addition to seeing the new arrivals (105 series...drool) I got to talk to the museums curator who happens to be the planet’s authority on 80 series and pretty much all Land Cruisers. Dude can spout of part numbers for just about any part on any cruiser off memory. Anyway, I mention I haven’t been out touring because of my cooling problem, we talk through it and he’s convinced its a flow problem.
I am too. I’ve done every conceivable test I can think and replaced any ancillary parts to the cooling system to have it NOT be the radiator. When I told him that it wasn’t overheating at all before I changed to a different brand that sealed the deal.
My temps on a short drive up the canyon the other day, for reference.
Backstory - My Toyota OE radiator tank started leaking like mad one day so I bought a koyorad...it didn’t fit, so I returned that and replaced it with another brand...it was the same radiator exactly in a different box so...it didn’t fit. So I bought the bullet and ordered an all metal CSF, it was supposed to have a good reputation and I thought the all metal unit would be better. It has not worked out well as you can see (FYI, though 221 may seem “cool” for some cars, the 1FZ-FE is supposed to sit between 186 and 217 max, 221 the gauge moves to red and anything above 226 is bad news.)
sigh. Im trying to get CSF on the phone to do an RMA but they wont answer. So its probably $300+ down the tube, plus another however much I want to spend.
$150 on the NAPA end to $350 for OE.
This guy bought the cheapie for his wife’s 80 (6 inch lifted battle wagon 80 that she fixes and wheels...badass) and its worked great.
What would you do? OE (mixed bag for durability but pretty sure it will cool properly) or cheapo (mix bag on reliability but seems to work and half the price)?