Xantia radiator - which brand to get ?

[CitroenCrazy]

After 18 years and 260,000 miles, my Xantia Hdi (110) is in need of a radiator.

Looking around, there seem to be loads of brands, most of which I've never heard of, with prices from about £45 to £150. I can't believe there's a different factory behind each brand, I mean, who's actually making new Xantia radiators now ?

In my mind, Valeo is the best choice, but coincidentally, it's at the top of the price range.

Anyone any good / bad experiences ? What would you choose ?

[xantia_v6]

Nissens are good, but usually expensive. Some of the cheap ones are made in Spain, and may be of lower quality. A bought a Xantia A/C condenser once, which was cheap, but turned out to be made in Argentina (!!) and failed due to electrolytic corrosion after 18 months. You pay your money and take your chance.

[CitroenCrazy]

Well, decision made - I've just ordered a Valeo unit for £89, delivered.

The non-UK suppliers seem to be able to offer much better prices than domestic ones.

I went with Mister Auto for this one, so it's coming from France.

[Deacon]

Last year my 1.9TD's radiator leaked at the usual lower right end. I too was facing the same issue and ordered the Valeo Classic radiator for the model. It doesn't have a top rail / protector like many aftermarket (and the original) radiators and also doesn't have a drainage on the bottom, but it has big and long enough tubes and radiator fins to cool down the engine efficiently. I believe this is the best choice, and a must, if you live in Southern Europe. The car now stays at 80-82 degrees, always, under normal operating condition.

I read horror stories over a Peugeot forum where people bought cheaper radiators for their 1.9TD only to find out they cannot cool them down efficiently, with temps staying in 90 - 110 degrees C range during summer, with normal engine speed, which isn't normal for this engine.

[white exec]

80-82 is pretty chilly for an engine. Our 2.5TD is spec'd to run around 90C (the two stats not fully opening until 88C and 100C respectively), and does just that - staying in the range 90-100 in normal driving, with fans properly controlling higher temperatures when climbing mountain roads, outside temps up to 45C at times.

As you say, important to have adequate radiator capacity to shift the excess heat. Nissens and Valeo both seem very capable. Febi Bilstein and Behr-Hella get reasonable reviews too.

[Deacon]

Well, the thermostat in my XUD is rated for 80-82 degrees, even as per service.citroen's website. Now, I might be wrong, I read in Heynes that for the 1.9TD the 82-90 (temporarily) degrees is the normal temp range. My understanding is that the car manufacturers generally like sticking to 90 degr. Celsius normal operating temperature for aluminium blocks and lower temps like 80-82 for iron blocks.

But Nissens or Valeo is the way to go in our case.

Anyhow, I've been told that the lower temps lead to lower water pressure, which is kind of good. Higher temps lead to higher water system pressure. My mechanic told me that newer engines (post 2015) are set to 1.2-1.4 bar water pressure with 100 degr. C normal operating temperatures, 102 degr. C is 1st fan speed, 105 degr. C is 2nd fan speed. IIRC he cited Open and VW. I don't like the idea of that high of a water pressure. When a vehicle ages, this might lead to a hose or radiator rupture.