Radiator Swap - 16psi Cap

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Slash32

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Hey All,

Did some digging and found some people are running 16lb Radiator caps compared to the OEM 13lb caps. I'm replacing my OEM Radiator with a Champion Alu. radiator and it comes with a 16lb Cap. Just want to see if anybody has any negative experiences with the higher psi rad cap. Everything in my truck is stock, no modifications what-so-ever and going to keep it that way. Just looking to refresh parts and not a fan of radiators with plastic in the mix.

Thanks in advance!
 

Tiha

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Running a higher pressure cap could create leaks in other places if pressure ever reaches that high. e.g. weak hose or heater core.

BUT if one of those parts fail then they needed to be replaced anyway. 16 psi is just fine. Run it.
 
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Slash32

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Running a higher pressure cap could create leaks in other places if pressure ever reaches that high. e.g. weak hose or heater core.

BUT if one of those parts fail then they needed to be replaced anyway. 16 psi is just fine. Run it.
I concur, I am planning on replacing the entire cooling system even down to water pump, heater core etc while I’m in there. Thanks for the reply!
 

ragtop69

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There's an old engineering adage about "If it ain't broke, don't fix it". Is the 13 lb system a problem? Are there clear advantages to having a 16 lb system? Are you just fiddling around with your vehicle? Adding three pounds of pressure to an old cooling system is like taking an old man off of his blood pressure meds for no reason. Asking for a stroke.
 
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Slash32

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There's an old engineering adage about "If it ain't broke, don't fix it". Is the 13 lb system a problem? Are there clear advantages to having a 16 lb system? Are you just fiddling around with your vehicle? Adding three pounds of pressure to an old cooling system is like taking an old man off of his blood pressure meds for no reason. Asking for a stroke.
It’s the cap that comes with the Champion radiator, which is why I’m debating using it or not. The rest of the cooling system is being replaced with Motorcraft parts So no old men being taken off their meds 😂
 

Gromero

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So I have a 1997 Jeep Grand Cherokee I had bought an aluminum radiator for. It came with a 20# cap as opposed to the stock 16# OEM cap. I used the 20# cap. It ran fine all last winter but when Summer came around, the gasket on the water pump was pushed out. I originally thought the water pump went bad and so ordered the parts only to find that when I started taking it apart, you could see the gasket completely out on one side. It's up to you, but from past experience, I side with ragtop69. "Do you feel lucky"
 
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Slash32

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After receiving the radiator, found it comes with a cap labeled 0.9 (bar) which is 13psi. Guess they need to update their online specs that states it ships with 16psi cap.
 

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