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$270 plus shipping for replacement stock radiator or Becool?

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MonsterD

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
How much did you all pay for the BeCool?

I'd planned on waiting til I could save a bit, but the shop told me the top of my radiator was reading 230° while the bottom was only 109°. I found a place online that sells stock replacments with aux cooling for $270, or the version without the aux cooling for only $170.

I plan on putting in a new tranny cooler with its own fan. I'm assuming I still need the same radiator since it'd already have the connections for the tranny but, since I'm going to go with a totally separate tranny cooler (I want to isolate the tranny heat from the radiator heat), would I still need to connect it to the radiator?

If I don't need the connections on the radiator, then the $170 radiator is the way to go and just add the tranny cooler. There aren't any radiator shops around to ask. What do you all think?

I've heard the difficulties with the BeCool set up. Do the guys that have it, have any issues with slow speed cooling? Offroad I used to have issues with my electric fans.
 
#2 ·
The BeCool is definitely a bigger radiator but, that said, you can buy a replacement stock size radiator aftermarket that has more capacity than the OEM one.
If you're mounting a remote tranny cooler with its own fan, I'd say don't tie it into the radiator at all.
My stock radiator was doing something similar except the bottom was getting hot and the top 5" wasn't because it was clogged. I replaced it with one from my local radiator shop (took me about an hour to do), burped my D and now all is well. I only have an electric fan as well.
With a new stat installed, my 4.7's temp stays steady right at 195°.
Steve
DOC Pres
 
#3 ·
I'd recommend shopping around a bit more locally.

When I punctured my OEM radiator during a mod install in my old 01 SV Dakota R/T, I was able to find a local distribution warehouse that sold me an OEM-style radiator for $135 vs $200+ from traditional radiator shops.
 
#4 ·
We just finished up a '98 Dakota that hit a deer, and a new aftermarket OEM style radiator cost us $125 from our local radiator shop.

I'd definitely shop around a little.

Oddly, this is the only place where I've ever heard of overheating/hot running issues with these vehicles. In all the Dakotas and/or Durangos that I've ever owned or had for sale at the dealership, not one has ever ran hot, and they've all had stock radiators and fans in them.

My modded-to-the-hilt '94 Dakota would run cold unless there was a genuine Mopar thermostat in it. Even then, with a stock 195? 'stat, I'd be running around 188? going down the highway, according to the datastream at the PCM. With an aftermarket (Stant) thermostat of the same temperature, the gauge wouldn't even get up to the first mark past cold! I never even got hot in the summertime putting around town with underdrive pullies!

SinCity R/T said:
When I punctured my OEM radiator during a mod install
Click to expand...
You did that too? I stuck a screwdriver thru the one on my '94 when installing the aforementioned underdrive pullies. The original radiator started leaking at around 110,000 miles, so I replaced it with an aftermarket replacement. Less than a week later I was trying to pry the pulley off the harmonic balancer with a big screwdriver and, when it popped off, said screwdriver went thru said radiator! :wall:
This was at 11:00 at night nonetheless! Two big bottles of Bar's Leaks plugged it up, got me home, and bought me enough time to get another radiator from the shop a couple of days later. The owner of the shop felt sorry for me and sold me the second one at his cost of $82.

Oh well? Live and learn, I guess.
 
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#5 ·
Dodge guy, if your truck never got over 188°, then the stock 195° stat would never have opened. If it indeed heated to 195° and opened then closed, it probably cycled opened and closed a lot. Those numbers just seemed strange.
Also yes you can pick up an aftermarket OEM type for a lot less $$.
Steve
DOC Pres
 
Discussion starter · #6 ·
I got one from radiator.com for $189.99

It was less than the others and they could deliver it in 3 hours. I had it delivered directly to the shop and they're going to install it. They're only charging and hour and a half of labor, so it should be about $120. I'd have installed it myself but I'm so swamped at work I can't afford to do any work for myself lately. And I kind of needed to throw the shop a bone for all the work they've been doing lately on my truck. It's been over a month and it's still not running right. Now with the radiator, hopefully we can figure out how to dial it in. I'm still running the stock computer as, with the B&G, it was running way too hot and the idle wouldn't settle down. Even with the stock computer, it still idles a bit high.
We'll see?
 
#7 ·
Did anyone catch Myth Busters when they fixed a leaking radiator with an egg. They were busting the myth, but it worked! I don't know how long it'd have lasted, but it worked on camera.

I believe everything I see on TV :cheesy:

As far as radiators, the OEM has proved worthy of a new OEM replacement for me if/when/hopefully never needed. With all the BeCool issues each install has had, no way would I go that way.

Someone mentioned some magic wand they pointed at the radiator to read the temps all over the surface, and it could tell the diff from the temps upper and lower, and side to side. WTF? Sounds cool and I'd be up for the StarTrek thingy pointed at my D just to see how cool she really is.

IndyD
 
#8 ·
We used to overheat constantly but not recently? I can't remember why it stopped now?? 225,000 miles with poor maintenance and still on the factory tranny. Says something about Dodge trucks :clap:
 
#9 ·
Ahh

Indy, you remember my non contact Laser Thermometer? Just point, shoot and read the display.
I use it in my job everyday (HVAC service manager.) No climbing on ladders, just aim the laser and get temps off pipes, lines, etc., etc. up to 30 ft away!
Steve
DOC Pres
 
#10 ·
FSTDANGO3 said:
Dodge guy, if your truck never got over 188?, then the stock 195? stat would never have opened. If it indeed heated to 195? and opened then closed, it probably cycled opened and closed a lot. Those numbers just seemed strange.
Also yes you can pick up an aftermarket OEM type for a lot less $$.
Steve
DOC Pres
Click to expand...
The T-stat did cycle quite a bit. It was constantly fluctuating up and down. Wonder if the truck not having air conditioning made that much of a difference in the efficiency of the radiator? There was nothing obstructing airflow to the radiator like there would have been if it had been equipped with A/C.

Indy, you can pick up one of those laser thermometers at Harbor Freight pretty reasonable. One of my mechanics at work has one and they're pretty slick. I used it in the wintertime to determine the warmest place in the shop's ceiling to hang a fan. The way it was before, all the heat traveled up to the ceiling, and the shop was freezing cold even with the heat on full blast. Hung a breeze box fan from the ceiling right at the warmest point, and the heater started running about half as much to maintain the same temperature. I'll bet I cut our gas bill almost in half doing that!
 
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#11 ·
TheDodgeGuy said:
Indy, you can pick up one of those laser thermometers at Harbor Freight pretty reasonable. One of my mechanics at work has one and they're pretty slick. I used it in the wintertime to determine the warmest place in the shop's ceiling to hang a fan. The way it was before, all the heat traveled up to the ceiling, and the shop was freezing cold even with the heat on full blast. Hung a breeze box fan from the ceiling right at the warmest point, and the heater started running about half as much to maintain the same temperature. I'll bet I cut our gas bill almost in half doing that!
Click to expand...
Great ideas. Will do, thanks!

IndyD
 
#13 ·
IndyDurango said:
Did anyone catch Myth Busters when they fixed a leaking radiator with an egg. They were busting the myth, but it worked! I don't know how long it'd have lasted, but it worked on camera?IndyD
Click to expand...
I just saw this tonight.
 
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#14 ·
That trick has been around for years
It's meant as a temporary fix to get you home
Not something Permanent
So you want your radiator sunny side up or Scrambled
Another weird one that can be done: If any of you're familiar with Steam Boilers in Homes, If the boiler should develop a small crack in the cast iron you can simply let boiler cool off open top of Boiler put in 1 can of Quaker Oats and refire Boiler. Once the Boiler makes Steam the Crack will be filled shortly with the oatmeal and cemented closed. I have had to do ythis a few times in my career as an HVAC Tech so we could order and schedule a new Steam Boiler install for a customer and it has held for days sometimes even a month
Steve
DOC Pres
 
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IndyDurango
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