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Thu Nov 26, 2020 7:40 pm

Anyone know about Spectra Premium CU357 radiators? Price very good but is quality poor?

Thu Nov 26, 2020 9:16 pm

Although I cannot speak of the Spectra, I was a big fan of the made in RSA Behr/Hella Premium Line radiator ( original VW).
The chinese Behr/Hella were apparently terrible according to a pro friend a France who had 2 failures back to back, leaking out of the box pretty much...

Lately it`s becomning near impossible to get the good Behr radiators, I had to settle down for a chinese copy by Nissens. I was actually pretty please with this version, their brand was the worst piece of sh!t radiator ever made a few years back.
Besides the actual weight ( super light, cheap feeling), they seem to be fairly well done. I just installed one last week for a customer, no cooling issues.
I wouldn`t be surprised the Spectra come from the same manufacturer....

Thu Nov 26, 2020 11:57 pm

I suspect that Spectra is a re-brander of stuff from a variety of manufacturers, especially those from China. A few months back I ordered a Spectra A/C condenser from an online vendor, but received a damaged Behr unit made in China. I specifically chose the Spectra because it was parallel flow, but the crappy Behr bent up unit was tube and fin; a double fail. Parts be suckin'

Fri Nov 27, 2020 6:57 am

Quote: Price very good but is quality poor?

Price/ Quality > Fine structure constant, as shown by Feynman

Fri Nov 27, 2020 8:18 am

I went through 2 spectra heater cores for a ford f100. One lasted 2 years and sprung a leak. The second lasted 3 months.

Fri Nov 27, 2020 2:04 pm

Anyone have a recommendation as to who makes/sells a good Vanagon radiator right now?

Fri Nov 27, 2020 10:05 pm

MartinJS wrote: Anyone have a recommendation as to who makes/sells a good Vanagon radiator right now?

I told you, Behr/Hella premium line.
Everybody out of stock, a couple left at a hefty price on "Amazenone" ( fnck Bezos).

Part number 376713631 is the good stuff from RSA, 376713634 is the chinese version of the same brand.

Unless the RSA radiators become available again, the party`s over. Chinese crap wins. I doubt they will last as long, but so far so good. See you in a couple years, avoid overheating and popping a side tank :lol:

Sat Nov 28, 2020 6:35 am

Nissens rad x5 years. I snapped the plastic bleed screw in the first year. Replaced it with a metal bolt same thread and ground off some frame metal above the bleeder for better access.

Sat Nov 28, 2020 11:56 am

wesitarz wrote: Nissens rad x5 years. I snapped the plastic bleed screw in the first year. Replaced it with a metal bolt same thread and ground off some frame metal above the bleeder for better access.

They now have a nice brass M8 bolt with a 14mm hex head ( not 13 curiously), and an o`ring incased in a fancy knurled edge brass washer. I wasn`t expecting that at all.

The only issue I had was installing the Van Cafe silicone hose, they are thicker and the radiator mount didn`t fit on the plastic tank stub as a result, so I had to pound a bit the edge of the mount to clear the thicker hose. I didn`t run in this clearance issue with a RSA Behr radiator, but remembered it was close .

Sat Nov 28, 2020 1:44 pm

MartinJS wrote: Anyone have a recommendation as to who makes/sells a good Vanagon radiator right now?

GoWesty seems to be the only usual suspect with RSA Behr's in stock. Everyone is backordered/out...just got one coming earlier, to replace everything front to back...it's time!

Sun Nov 29, 2020 12:36 pm

Squidfish wrote: MartinJS wrote: Anyone have a recommendation as to who makes/sells a good Vanagon radiator right now?

GoWesty seems to be the only usual suspect with RSA Behr's in stock. Everyone is backordered/out...just got one coming earlier, to replace everything front to back...it's time!

A customer bought one, waiting to see it. The pics surely don`t look right on their website :?

Tue Dec 01, 2020 9:00 am

I used a Dodge Dakota radiator when I converted my air-cooled. It’s nice to have a radiator cap. I can’t really speak to how it fits as I didn’t have a stock one to compare it to but I used the stock shroud and fan from a diesel. The radiator was less expensive than the stock ones at the time (three or so years ago).

Cools well. I have not had to cut the lower grill hole.

Tue Dec 01, 2020 10:23 am

ALIKA T3 wrote: Squidfish wrote: MartinJS wrote: Anyone have a recommendation as to who makes/sells a good Vanagon radiator right now?

GoWesty seems to be the only usual suspect with RSA Behr's in stock. Everyone is backordered/out...just got one coming earlier, to replace everything front to back...it's time!

A customer bought one, waiting to see it. The pics surely don`t look right on their website :?

Confirmation the radiator supplied by Go Westy Behr Hella Mahle from RSA bears the Mahle sticker and production date 10/09/20. Part number 70822545.

Tue Dec 01, 2020 6:23 pm

ALIKA T3 wrote: ALIKA T3 wrote: Squidfish wrote: MartinJS wrote: Anyone have a recommendation as to who makes/sells a good Vanagon radiator right now?

GoWesty seems to be the only usual suspect with RSA Behr's in stock. Everyone is backordered/out...just got one coming earlier, to replace everything front to back...it's time!

A customer bought one, waiting to see it. The pics surely don`t look right on their website :?

Confirmation the radiator supplied by Go Westy Behr Hella Mahle from RSA bears the Mahle sticker and production date 10/09/20. Part number 70822545.

So that means its the good one?

Tue Dec 01, 2020 7:04 pm

SurfaceRust wrote: ALIKA T3 wrote: ALIKA T3 wrote: Squidfish wrote: MartinJS wrote: Anyone have a recommendation as to who makes/sells a good Vanagon radiator right now?

GoWesty seems to be the only usual suspect with RSA Behr's in stock. Everyone is backordered/out...just got one coming earlier, to replace everything front to back...it's time!

A customer bought one, waiting to see it. The pics surely don`t look right on their website :?

Confirmation the radiator supplied by Go Westy Behr Hella Mahle from RSA bears the Mahle sticker and production date 10/09/20. Part number 70822545.

So that means its the good one?

It looks like the tooling has changed from the pictures I got, they don`t look better or worse than the Nissens made in China but I will know when it comes into the shop for installation. I will report back.

Tue Dec 01, 2020 8:25 pm

ALIKA T3 wrote: Squidfish wrote: MartinJS wrote: Anyone have a recommendation as to who makes/sells a good Vanagon radiator right now?

GoWesty seems to be the only usual suspect with RSA Behr's in stock. Everyone is backordered/out...just got one coming earlier, to replace everything front to back...it's time!

A customer bought one, waiting to see it. The pics surely don`t look right on their website :?

Agreed- I went upon the description - figured I could not be held accountable if it was wrong. Sounds like they are getting scarce and I didn't want to risk it. :vw: Highly been enjoying your IG stories everyday BTW.

Wed Dec 02, 2020 2:32 pm

Nissens is an excellent brand for aftermarket radiators and AC condensers. I have replaced many german rads (and Japanese too) with the Nissens rads over the years and have never seen a failure nor any quality control issues.

ECS Tuning sells the Nissens rad for the Vanagon for $144:

https://www.ecstuning.com/b-nissens-parts/radiator...gJbNvD_BwE

Generally speaking, our specialist Vanagon suppliers like Van Cafe, GoWesty, VanAgain, etc all locate the highest quality versions of our Vanagon parts, but when those suppliers are back-ordered, a few aftermarket brands still make quality parts.