Bryan Irons
10 Mishimoto Flex-a-lite install
Words by Bryan Irons
Engineers seem to be easy targets when we’re wrenching on our piles of rolling junkyard fodder we call “trail rigs”. After all, why not blame the nameless, faceless folk who design the “faulty” systems we have to repair or modify. Unlike these engineers, we are lucky that we don’t have to deal with the pressure from artists, bean counters, and concept designers, but that doesn’t stop us from imagining them all as Peter Griffin’s inbred cousin (Family Guy). Our latest four-letter word infused meltdown involves aluminum radiators with plastic side tanks. Given the differing materials and thermal cycles, corrosive chemicals and vibration, the modern radiator is not long for this earth. Luckily, there are options.
Replacing a faulty radiator with a unit having the same inherent design faults makes about as much sense as accepting a job as a technical editor at an off-road magazine if you need a good paying job. With our 1997 Jeep TJ’s radiator crying green fluid from the faulty side tanks, and threatening to overheat in the Okanagan sun, we called up Mishimoto for an all aluminum direct fit replacement radiator (pn MMRAD-WRA-87), and Flex-a-lite for a direct fit electric fan conversion with controller. Had the original engineers had the chance, we’re sure they would have made the same decisions we did…
The Mishimoto was an easy pick with all the features they build into their radiators like magnetic drain plugs, thick mounting flanges, and fully TIG welded construction. The radiator also comes with a lifetime warranty should anything ever go wrong. At $475 Canadian, it was not cheap, but the added piece of mind was well worth the extra cash. A new radiator cap was supplied and we decided that we should probably replace the factory hoses while we were in there and also ordered a set of high quality silicone Mishimoto hoses (pn MMHOSE-WR4-03) for another $180.
The welds and machined parts of the radiator look great and we were pleasantly surprised with the easy fit and quality hardware that was supplied. If you have a Jeep with an automatic transmission, the radiators have the provisions and fittings to attach the cooling lines to built-in cooler ports. With the unit being all aluminum, having the tanks separate from the radiator core is no longer an issue. Mishimoto claims there is 20% better cooling efficiency with the twin row radiator and an extra 1.3L of coolant capacity over stock. For the little 2.5L 4 cylinder, the radiator was WAY overkill, but we weren’t done yet.
Maybe we just love the sound of mechanical fans hitting the bottom of the scrap bin, maybe it’s a genetic hate of them failing, we’re not sure. What we do know is that ditching the power robbing, water pump killing, engine driven fart dispersal machines mounted behind the radiator of our rigs in favour of an electric fan is a step in the right direction for any vehicle. Junkyard pick-a-parts and sketchy electrical fan switching setups are no longer your only viable option. We scooped a Flex-a-lite direct fit replacement setup (pn 485) that includes their 15” 3,300 CFM cooling fan setup complete with a shroud, all the mounting brackets, and a 40-amp adjustable fan relay and temperature sensor. We found the whole shebang for under $400 Canadian pesos at Summit Racings website.
In the end, we threw around a grand into a Jeep we only paid 2K for, which may seem crazy to some, but we plan on keeping this rig for some time and Okanagan summers are BRUTAL on vehicle cooling systems. Had mother Mopar done our upgrades from the beginning, we wouldn’t be in this predicament. To add insult to injury, we found the head cracked the water pump pooched as well while we had it apart. Remember, this Jeep has less then 200K on the clock! With the hard work done, we’re back on easy street and lacing into the 2.5L for all it’s worth. After all, who needs a rev limiter when you have valve float? And with that mentality, we’re sure it’s not the cooling system that will fail us next!
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1.
Remember to dispose of any used antifreeze you drain from the system properly for recycling, NOT down a drain! We flushed the entire system in our case and disconnected all the hoses.
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2.
Because of the massive factory fan shroud. It is much easier to take the fan and fan clutch off first and remove the whole shebang as a whole inside the shroud.
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3.
Replace the nuts that were removed from the fan back to keep the pulley in place. It felt really good just to get to this place and know we were going to get back a pony or two from the old 4 banger.
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4.
The old radiator can now be decommissioned and scowled at for its failings.
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5.
It is easy to see how closely the footprint of the old and new radiators match. The included rubber isolation mounts included in the Mishimoto radiator will further insure we won’t have any vibration caused stress cracks.
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6a.
As you can see in the pictures, the original radiator is a single core unit (6a), and the new radiator is dual core (6b). This design causes more air turbulence going through the rad, which improves the radiators efficiency.
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6b.
As you can see in the pictures, the original radiator is a single core unit (6a), and the new radiator is dual core (6b). This design causes more air turbulence going through the rad, which improves the radiators efficiency.
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The Flex-a-lite cooling fan included everything we needed for mounting the fan.
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8.
The stainless-steel mounting brackets will add to the longevity of the setup. We dropped the entire radiator/fan setup into the Jeep in one shot. With the radiator in, hoses attached and the system refilled, we were back on the road!
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9.
OK, a replacement cylinder head had to be found, checked and installed, but we didn’t really see that problem at the time. The only things we had to meddle with was the power steering reservoir mount which was factory mounted to the massive shroud. Some Ty-wraps and a cutout piece from the factory shroud got it back in place.