Mishimoto Radiator Leak from new..

[ThreeFiddyZ]

 

Recently replaced my oem radiator with a Mishimoto Aluminum Performance Radiator and after less than 2000 miles its developed a pinhole leak under hot pressure from a weld near the end tank. 

 

Do they not pressure test these radiators as part of QC? I get the feeling that they aren't manufactured very well, as the fitment was also poor! 

 

Whilst I wait for a response from Mishimoto regarding a warranty claim, I'm pretty disappointed for a £300 radiator. 

 

What are others experiences with the Mishimoto Radiator? I'm running it in conjunction with a Mishimoto Fan Shroud. 

 

 

[nissanman312]

That's not ideal 

Hopfully mishimoto will give you some support 

[ZMANALEX]

Mishimoto rads. suck.

 

If your car is N/A then go for Koyo for street or occasional track events.

 

If FI then consider ARC.

 

Alex.

[ThreeFiddyZ]

Most of the opinions I've received align perfectly with what Alex has said. 

 

I'm now concerned that if they issue a replacement, that it will do the same. 

 

Has anyone here had a good experience or experiences with Mishimoto Radiators and their customer support? 

 

Two days and even though I've submitted an online warranty claim and had an automatic acknowledgement, nobody has got back to me. 

[Snjur]

I've got money back. Although it's a bit of a long process in the end I was refunded for Radiator and Fanshroud.

 

They where offering replacement but for me was pointless as car was overheating with Mishimoto Radiator.

 

Got money back and bought Skunk2 Alpha Radiator. Work's flawlessly

[G1en]

I have had a mishimoto rad fitted for 18 months. Never had an issue with overheating, sounds like i may have one of the rare good ones. I still have the oem fans and an oil cooler which may help. Anybody else have a “good” mishi rad?

[ThreeFiddyZ]

UPDATE: So after chasing Mishimoto support myself, and resending pictures of the leak and the Radiators serial number, Mishimoto have confirmed that they cannot get a new radiator to me until the 31st January 2018, as the radiator is out of stock. 

 

The suggestion in the meantime from Mishimoto is to add the Mishimoto stop leak product to the radiator to stop the leak for now . Although they are offering this for free, and adding it would not void the warranty, for the sake of their faulty radiator, I'd rather not risk a blocked heater matrix or a blocked cooling jacket! 

 

Whilst I appreciate the effort, I'm going to ask for and review any other options they can give me. However,  I suspect that if I request a refund they won't process this until they receive the faulty radiator back, which means over a week with the Zed on the driveway with no radiator before I can even order an alternative 

 

I hate to slate vendors, but had this radiator been subject to proper QC, they could have identified this before it was shipped!! Would not recommend. 

Edited December 1, 2017 by ThreeFiddyZ

[Ekona]

Did you buy it direct from them then?

[ThreeFiddyZ]

Yeah, was bought directly from Mishimoto UK. 

 

I lied in my original post, I've actually covered less than 1000 miles since it was installed. Hence my anger, as the leak would have been spotted as a manufacturing defect if tested properly. 

 

I'm skeptical about all aluminium radiators now. People are recommending a Koyo radiator instead,  however Koyo only appear to warranty the initial startup of the radiator and the radiator is an eye watering £400 odd quid!! A lot of money to loose if the radiator develops a leak in the first two months after the initial 'start up', and the Koyo doesn't even come with a cap for that price. 

 

I just want a water tight radiator, is that too much to ask 

[Ekona]

It would appear so

 

How much is OEM? If you're not massively FI, of course.

[ThreeFiddyZ]

Well, truth be told the Mishimoto OEM plastic end capped radiator is £180, the Mishimoto aluminium performance radiator is around £290.

 

I wanted the latter for its enhanced cooling capabilities as I like to think in the next three years, the car may be FI so it was on the list in addition to other upgrades. 

 

Maybe I should just cut my losses and go back to plastic capped. 

[ZMANALEX]

Just refit the original rad. that came out the car and send the Mishishitti one back for a full refund.

[Snjur]

14 hours ago, ThreeFiddyZ said:

Well, truth be told the Mishimoto OEM plastic end capped radiator is £180, the Mishimoto aluminium performance radiator is around £290.

 

I wanted the latter for its enhanced cooling capabilities as I like to think in the next three years, the car may be FI so it was on the list in addition to other upgrades. 

 

Maybe I should just cut my losses and go back to plastic capped. 

As mentioned before take a look on this

 

https://h-tune.co.uk/skunk2-alpha-series-alloy-radiator-nissan-350z-03-06/

 

I've got it on mine Greddy Twin Turbo 350z and works flawlessly.

 

Bought it after I had Mishimoto overheating issues

[TT350]

Being FI too, I can say that the OEM works fine. I put mine back on last week. Still using the fans from the sh1timoto though. They seem really decent.

[350_Jer]

I'm very glad this thread is on here, saved me buying a crap rad as I was planning to get a Mishimoto one in the new year in preparation for going S/C hopefully next year! Got the fans with shroud that they do fitted and thought it was pretty good like you TT so was going to go for one of their rads, not now though!

[wizard]

Agree with what most people have said OEM > Mishimoto

At the first opportunity I will replace the Mishimoto oil cooler and rad i think.

[coldel]

Can confirm a number of Celica GT4 owners have had bad experiences with fitment and quality of Mishimoto rads too.

[ThreeFiddyZ]

Thanks for the replies guys, much appreciated.

 

Call me sour, but I've lost so much faith in the product (and Aluminum radiators) that I'm leaning towards declining a replacement and pushing for a refund, to source an OEM radiator. The experience has put me off Aluminum radiators completely, given that our engines suffer heavily if not adequately cooled.

 

I'm just not convinced by the competition either - they seem to offer even less in terms of warranty, for a radiator that looks identical, costs more (in terms of the Koyo) and come with less. 

 

I'll do some browsing tonight but anyone know where I can source a high quality (new, not used) OEM fit radiator? 

[ZMANALEX]

Not quite sure what you are asking for but I have stock pre owned rads. in stock.

[Adrian@TORQEN]

We're in the process of removing most of the Mishimoto products from the website due to the bad quality. CSF, Skunk and Koyo are much better, although more expensive. 

 

https://www.torqen.uk/104-radiators-fans

[kayjay0_7]

My mishimoto rad started leaking a few days after being fitted , got it through Eurocarparts on eBay 

 

ended up ordering a Koyo rad from Chris at tarmac, had no issues since 

Edited December 5, 2017 by kayjay0_7

[ThreeFiddyZ]

I'm currently seeking refund with Mishimoto at the moment. I think I'll be going for a Skunk next 

[ThreeFiddyZ]

Received my refund today. Overall I can't really fault the customer service, it was a little slow at times but in the end they've done well. However, let this post be a lesson to anyone who's considering one of their products... 

 

I'll be ordering a Skunk tonight. Fingers crossed 

 

@Snjur, Did your Skunk radiator slot straight in without modification or hassle? 

Edited December 14, 2017 by ThreeFiddyZ

[Snjur]

11 hours ago, ThreeFiddyZ said:

Received my refund today. Overall I can't really fault the customer service, it was a little slow at times but in the end they've done well. However, let this post be a lesson to anyone who's considering one of their products... 

 

I'll be ordering a Skunk tonight. Fingers crossed 

 

@Snjur, Did your Skunk radiator slot straight in without modification or hassle? 

Straight in working with OEM fans. Awesome product

On 01/12/2017 at 17:23, ThreeFiddyZ said:

Well, truth be told the Mishimoto OEM plastic end capped radiator is £180, the Mishimoto aluminium performance radiator is around £290.

 

I wanted the latter for its enhanced cooling capabilities as I like to think in the next three years, the car may be FI so it was on the list in addition to other upgrades. 

 

Maybe I should just cut my losses and go back to plastic capped. 

As mentioned before take a look on this

 

https://h-tune.co.uk/skunk2-alpha-series-alloy-radiator-nissan-350z-03-06/

 

I've got it on mine Greddy Twin Turbo 350z and works flawlessly.

 

Bought it after I had Mishimoto overheating issues

[TT350]

Still not heard from MM cs. Been a while now.