Reviews for Northern 205053 High Performance Aluminum Radiator for 73-86 Jeep CJ5, CJ6, CJ7 & CJ8 Scrambler with 4.2L & 5.0L

Price and availability. Also the material.

do not let the price point scare you off.. i am running a ls 5.3 in my 85 cj7 this is more than enough to keep it cool. it runs cooler than the old 4 core copper top. it is a true direct mound plug and play.

Same as Nicole H.'s comment, it doesn't fit an '86 CJ7, 4.2 with the fan clutch. It also won't allow for the use of the factory shroud. Nice looking unit but not a direct fit.

Pro: Good looking radiator and the welds look nice. Cons: It doesn’t fit with the proper clearance between fan clutch and the radiator in my 84 CJ-7. The Northern Radiator has flat brackets instead of the recessed brackets that the stock radiator has which, reduces the clearance between the fan clutch and the radiator.
Also your stock fan shroud (In the 84-86 CJ-7)will not work with this radiator because the top tabs are higher than the radiator itself and because the upper radiator hose inlet is farther to the passenger side than the stock radiator.

This radiator did not work for me. It appears well built and fits the grill fine but there is not enough room to mount the fan. I have the 258. The original radiator has a thinner core and the core is backset from the mounting brackets. This radiator looks like it probably would work for a v8 application. I wasn’t able to find an electric fan that would work with it either so I just had the original re-cored.