Recently replaced the rad. on my V70R (header tank seam leaking) with an aftermarket (Nissens) - not too bad once you clear a bit of space and in my case deal with the mounting tabs which had separated from my intercooler (that's another story). Anyway, the new rad had a pinhole leak in the right side header tank, so out with the rad. I figured I didn't want to chance another one, so I ordered an OEM from the dealer, get home, open the box, and the rad looks like it had been cut with a sawzall (2 cuts one side, 1 on the other), plus the lower part looks somewhat distorted.!! Back to the dealer this am, and they say that they're
all like that?! I've got another one coming tomorrow but has anyone seen this or heard of this? BTW, the parts guy said that when this first started happening, all the techs were bringing the rads back as defective. Sounds strange.
Thanks for the input, Mike

 

As a follow-up, this has become the radiator replacement from hell! Picked up the replacement rad from the dealer yesterday and it looks as bad as the first one. Go to install it today, and the holes for the 4 "sandwich" bolts (rad, intercooler, condensor) don't line up - way off. The intercooler and condensor line up and the Nissens fit perfectly. I'm beginning to think that the sawzall appearing cuts are a relief to allow them to attempt to square-up the rad during the manufacturing process? All this for $350! So now, do I try another Nissens?

 

Get one from IPD or FCP. I haven't heard of any complaints from them. You can get it overnighted for less than you paid for that one from the steeler.

 

Update #2 - OEM #3 fit! rspi: thanks for the reply. The original replacement (Nissens) was from FCP. This seems to be the more common brand with the on-line parts sellers. As a follow-up to my original post, I was surprised by the lack of posts both here and on another forum (mathews) regarding the mounting tabs separating from the intercooler. After seeing the price of a new one (close to $500), I decided to try used. A search of E-Bay found Tom's Foreign Auto Parts in Waterbury, Ct with 15 listed, all for $150. Since its about a 45 min. drive from me, I took a morning off and went to pick one up. All of them were missing the mounting flange on both sides (rusted off)! I ended up repairing mine.