Would you send this back or is it ok?

[tay97gst]

I just bought this aluminum radiator from Punishment Racing and pulling it out of the box there are already bent fins. I've never bought a radiator before so I don't know if this is common or if I should send it back. For what it's worth this is the side thats going to be covered with the shroud so I'm not worried about appearance as much as I am about it effecting perfromance. So is this ok to run or should I get ahold of them?

 

[blkgst97]

Personally, I would get a hold of them.

 

[93_tsi_fwd]

I wouldnt worry about that as long as there no pin holes on the actual coolant passage. . Youll get plenty more of those down the road anyways.

 

[JusMX141]

Tubes aren't damaged so it's unlikely that it would leak....but then again you didn't pay for a damaged radiator.

 

[miguelmcv]

First thing you would ever do is to Call them and let them know what's going on, They are great people and takes care of their customer.

Some times is just the shipping companies that makes all this stuff, they are not gentle with the packages and even when the package is well packed, they can get damaged.

You have stated this is the first time you buy a radiator, But you shouldn't put this right here, You should off call them before anything, IF THEY DON'T TAKE CARE OF IT, THEN, you can add a review.

If you just wanted an advice to know what to do, You can do it, but you shouldn't say what company you bought it from, that shouldn't be in here.

Is your first time, However, Just call them and see what they say, They should take care of it.

Let us know what happen.

 

[tay97gst]

First thing you would ever do is to Call them and let them know what's going on, They are great people and takes care of their customer.

Some times is just the shipping companies that makes all this stuff, they are not gentle with the packages and even when the package is well packed, they can get damaged.

You have stated this is the first time you buy a radiator, But you shouldn't put this right here, You should off call them before anything, IF THEY DON'T TAKE CARE OF IT, THEN, you can add a review.

If you just wanted an advice to know what to do, You can do it, but you shouldn't say what company you bought it from, that shouldn't be in here.

Is your first time, However, Just call them and see what they say, They should take care of it.

Let us know what happen.

I wasn't saying it was PR to try and make them look bad, I said it was them so that people knew it was a reputable company and not some ebay rad. My intention of this thread was not to badmouth anybody but to see if this was common enough to where I shouldn't be worried about it.
I think I have the information I need, since all it is are bent fins I'll probably just use it, it just had me worried that it would be a worse problem than it sounds. Thank you guys, much appreciated.

 

[my dreamt dsm]

That's right where the fan center would go. It shouldn't effect much if any at all. To much hassle in my book. I would just leave it. Just straighten it out with tweezers if it bugs you.

 

[jayrec]

I would suggest you look closely for any scrapes on the metal tube, not the fins. If the metal tube has been scraped some then return it, if not, its safe to keep. Or if its been dent a little, just return it.

 

[Whiplash]

Send it back. If it was used I would expect something like that. But not new.

 

[SNAKE_15]

That's common to have bent fins on radiators

 

[n0de]

First, they should take care of this for you.
Second, It was most likely damaged during shipping.

I've had a $2600 FMIC delivered to me once with a huge golfball sized dent straight in the middle of it. Called the company I bought it from and they had UPS come pick it up from my house the next day, and already had another one on its way to my house. This should be the same kind of treatment you should expect from them.

 

[Whiplash]

First, they should take care of this for you.
Second, It was most likely damaged during shipping.

I've had a $2600 FMIC delivered to me once with a huge golfball sized dent straight in the middle of it. Called the company I bought it from and they had UPS come pick it up from my house the next day, and already had another one on its way to my house. This should be the same kind of treatment you should expect from them.

That's worth more then your car.

 

[DSMBanditFZ6]

That's worth more then my car.

Fixed that.

I would see about getting another, but I have seen ones that looked like they have been attacked by a wolverine and not leak. But that is brand new. In your opinion, was it packaged well?

 

[Whiplash]

Fix your bumper before you fix anything else.

 

[BoostedinSoFla]

Fix your bumper before you fix anything else.

you're on a roll aren't you?

 

[WES_393]

That was obviously damage that occurred during shipping. Hence the bits of cardboard stuck in the bent fins.

But that's not going to hurt performance by any measurable amount. I've seen entire stock radiators that looked like that and they still cooled just fine. The entire driver side on my radiator is marred up from the handle of a ratchet, and it still keeps coolant temps in check with nothing but a single AC fan. Not to mention the dozens of guys street driving DSM's with a stock Honda half radiator.

If it bothers you, just bend them back with a flathead screw driver.

 

[Colt4G63 also]

I would just straighten them too; the tubes aren't damaged.

 

[tay97gst]

That was obviously damage that occurred during shipping. Hence the bits of cardboard stuck in the bent fins.

But that's not going to hurt performance by any measurable amount. I've seen entire stock radiators that looked like that and they still cooled just fine. The entire driver side on my radiator is marred up from the handle of a ratchet, and it still keeps coolant temps in check with nothing but a single AC fan. Not to mention the dozens of guys street driving DSM's with a stock Honda half radiator.

If it bothers you, just bend them back with a flathead screw driver.

I would just straighten them too; the tubes aren't damaged.

I trust you two guys so that's what I'm going to do. I saw how fragile those fins were when i touched the face of it and it bent them, I know how careless some shipping companies can be so if they bend with me touching them I'm not surprised they were bent during shipping. I'm going to just keep it and make sure everythings alright, and mark this thread as resolved.

 

[DSMBanditFZ6]

Fix your bumper before you fix anything else.

Why would i fix my black bumper when my car is two tone. Silver up top black on the bottom bright one.

 

[n0de]

That's worth more then your car.

FMIC was for a Dodge Stealth... and I'd like to think an extremely clean 99 gsx is worth more than $2600.

 

[99ECLIPSEGSXDSM]

Don't even pay him attention. He's just a troll trying to get attention. They are worth more unless you put crappy eBay parts on the car... Cough cough

 

[Hal]

Buy a radiator comb and be done with it.

 

[Chaosweaver]

Don't even pay him attention. He's just a troll trying to get attention. They are worth more unless you put crappy eBay parts on the car... Cough cough

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[4ged4G63]

Stupid and lazy that they didnt take, literally, less than 60 seconds to cut and tape some cardboard pieces to protect the fins from damage.

Having said that, just take a pick or some other similar tool and bend/comb them straight. The fins on the front will get smashed and bent over time anyway from road debris, rocks, bugs etc.

As long as it still holds pressure you will be fine.

 

[Eclipsed]

It looks almost like it was test fitted and bumped around then removed.

I was sent a "brand new" Mishimoto radiator from an un-named shop and it had the same type of damage. Looked like it was used to test fit a turbo and was smacked into it. I guess their shop hand packaged up the radiator he was using to test fit a few parts on a couple cars, but it was never ran through with coolant. They credited me some money, but I still felt rather annoyed. No affect on performance however.