How I spent $920 on leaky radiator

[MotoWells]

After exhaustively researching radiator options for my LS swap I decided to purchase a radiator from a trusted forum “Gold Vendor” - R&D Fabrication. I was sold on US built with US materials! What I received was a leaky radiator after 4k miles and a frustrating / ludicrous customer experience with no resolution. All told, I’m out $920 on a chunk of leaky aluminum.

Timeline of events with more detail (have emails for each event):

10/24/2016 - Purchased R&D radiator from Sparky for $730.00

...Building truck

8/15/2017 - Installed radiator in truck

...Put 4K miles on truck

2/14/2018 - Noticed radiator dripping and leaking from bottom

3/23/2018 - Me - Emailed R&D explaining leaking issue with pictures

3/27/2018 - Thanked me for pictures and replied that the pictures were too hard to tell what was happening, needed the radiator to pressure test and fix.

4/4/2018 - Me - Shipped radiator to R&D at my expense of $125 to his shop

4/13/2018 - Me - Emailed, checking on status

4/16/2018 - R&D -Replied, should be testing soon, will reply with results as soon as possible.

4/20/2018 - Me - Emailed asking for status of test

4/24/2018 - Me - Emailed asking for status of test

4/24/2018 - R&D - Emaiedl, All radiators have 1 year warranty, no refunds after that, no status provided!!

4/25/2018 - R&D - email, shop guys tested didn't find any leaks

4/25/2018 - Me - please pressure test overnight, I am positive it has a leak.

4/26/2018 - R&D - Found tube to header leak, fixing and will recheck for leaks

4/30/2018 - Me - Checking on status, how is it going?

5/1/2018 - R&D - Able to fix, will ship tomorrow. Need you to cover shipping, Invoice sent

5/1/2018 - Me - Paid invoice of $70.00 to get radiator returned

5/4/2018 - Me - Need status, please send tracking number

5/8/2018 - R&D - Found two more leaks after shop manager asked workers to test. Assured it would be fixed and shipped out this evening.

5/9/2018 - R&D - Tracking code sent

5/16/2018 - Me - Radiator arrives, I flush per instructions, when I add coolant I notice aluminum shavings that appear to be Stop Leak. Email R&D with concerns.

5/17/2018 - R&D we never use “Stop Leak”, most likely weld or resin residue, we use resin to “cover weld bleed through”

5/18/2018 - Me - Looks like leak is back, no joke.

5/20/2018 - Me - emailed R&D confirming leaks are back and worse than ever.

5/21/2018 - R&D sorry, pressure tested it multiple times before sending back, what cap and water pump are you using.

5/21/2018 - Me, 16psi cap with stock LS3 pump

5/22/2018 - Oh, we recommend 12-15 psi cap, I don't feel confident with further repairs. We will need to build a new one.

5/22/2018 - Me - how much?

No further emails received from R&D

Lessons learned:

I need to do my homework on a small shop before pulling the trigger. Next time I will request any terms and conditions as well as the warranty info upfront, before I purchase. I will also ask what they will do / what I need to do in the event of issue (i.e. shipping) Lastly, check to see if they are a legit company, just because they are a “Gold Vendor” doesn't mean they are a valid company. A quick search on that net revealed R&D does not have a valid business license since December 2016.

Ending:

I waited a long time before posting and really worked at only including details and not emotion here.

In the end, I called Entropy, they seem to be the real deal. I received my radiator in a couple weeks, exactly as promised. It fit perfect and it keeps the truck running quite a bit cooler. The materials and build quality are much more impressive, too. I only have a few hundred miles on at the time of this post so we will see if it holds but I have a lot more confidence in this unit already.

Lastly:

Anyone have ideas on what I should do with this leaky radiator? I can't seem to bring myself to recycle it.