Hey there all. I did some searching around on the site and could not figure this out so Im going ahead with a post. Apologies if this has been answered somewhere on here and I just missed it.

My wife bought a Ranger new in '99 and I have been looking after it since we got married. It's a nice truck but lately its been leaking coolant.

I'm 99% certain that the radiator needs to be replaced so I went and got one that supposedly fits the truck but the radiator that came out does not have these brass fittings on it.

All the radiators that I can find (amazon, rockauto etc etc) all have these brass fittings on inside front/top with only flimsy plastic plugs that would no way keep hot water in...I have yet to find a rad without these brass fittings

They are clearly visible here on the left of the radiator. Im running out of the ideas here guys - help would be appreciated! thank you!

 

Those brass fittings are for transmission cooler lines. No mixing with the coolant so they aren't needed if you have a manual trans. I have seen several manufacturers that only sell the ones with the cooler fittings. You just ignore them if you have a manual. Just make sure the dimensions are the same.

 

So if i install the radiator and fill it with coolant and fire up the truck, coolant isnt going to come spewing out...?

 

No, those fittings lead to a separate chamber in the side tank to cool the transmission fluid. Not open to the coolant chamber of the radiator inside. Still need to make sure the overall dimension on the radiator is compatible in size and with the mounting points in your truck.

 

All replacement radiators for vehicles 10 years or older will be for use in manuals or automatics, so all will have trans cooler fittings

Its just cheaper to make and stock one kind of radiator

What can matter is single or dual core
Single core is thinner and usually for manuals with no AC, and the fan shroud is is deeper
Dual core is thicker and holds more coolant, for use with automatics, fan shroud is not as deep

If you put a dual core in to replace a single core for better cooling then you will also need a fan shroud from an automatic Ranger
It will work, just very very hard to get fan clutch back on

 

son of a bitch... you guys are right on.

Everything went back in super easy and seems to work fine.

Why do automatic transmission have to ruin everything?

 

It got you a heavier duty radiator, so I wouldn't say automatics ruin everything.

 

Damm.... we you're not wrong...



thanks for the help, ya'll.

Next thing I need to tackle is that serpentine belt coming off at the hint of moisture