Found a puddle under the center front of my car the other day after driving. Looked all over for a leak and couldn't find any near the pump or hoses, but had coolant all over my pulleys, battery, and insulation. Used a pressure tester and discovered why. Apparently I have a small hole in my radiator that turns into a geyser at 10psi. I will have to remove it to find the extend of the damage and potential causes. Maybe it can be corrected, maybe it can't.

In preparing for the worst, what direct fit replacements in all aluminum construction are available? My current radiator is all aluminum construction but has risers on the top to meet the factory mounting locations, unfortunately installed by the PO and I do not know the brand. I have been cautioned that not all listed to fit actually have these mounting locations. Is anyone running an all aluminum radiator that bolted right in with no modifications they would recommend or have one they wished they had used? Money is not as important as having a quality piece that looks and fits well, but not looking to drop a major investment when what was there was doing the job just fine for years.

 

Here is a discussion recently about radiators. Really depends on what you want to spend but if you want top quality/drop in Dewitts seems the best and made in USA. GD only puts the best on his cars. I’ve also seen positive reviews on Coldcase but their stuff is designed in USA but made in China.

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/cool...ml#post6344565

 

You shouldn't need anything more than a standard stock replacement, plastic tank aluminum radiator.

My ~400 hp engine never gets much more than the 180F thermostat temp. Stock water pump, plastic tank aluminum radiator, and electric fan.

 

Sure, but who knows what the car will be one day. With my fun cars, when something breaks, I usually upgrade. Upgrading now keeps me from having to spend money again later. Now, this is all within reason, but if there is a better product available at a reasonable additional cost. Why not? Plus, aesthetically, the all aluminum looks better.

 

Yeah, but is it in an "upgrade" if it doesn't do anything more for you?

 

Sure, how many cars are running around with fancy brakes, upgraded suspensions, ultra sticky tires and so forth that never exploit them? Never really heard of someone against using a superior product. If for nothing else, all aluminum construction should out last plastic.

 

touche!

 

Be advised that "direct fit" DOES NOT mean EXACT fit. Modification is still required for "direct fit" radiators.
I just put a new Griffin "Exact fit" radiator in mine. Have not run it yet. It is single row aluminum with 1-1/2 inch tubes. It's also made in USA and EXPENSIVE...

 

Stock replacement radiators are super cheap and get you back on the road fast. Don't upgrade until you need it. Plus when the time comes you'll want to match the radiator to your new engine and not your new engine to the radiator.

 

Really? Some very odd responses in here from people with modded cars. You remember back in the 80s when we had cars with 90hp that would serve our needs? You certainly don't NEED more than that, so why are we running around in 200+hp V8s anyway? What about the guys running 400+hp? Not to mention the aesthetics, an all aluminum radiator just looks better. I didn't need to use blue silicone hose on the intake tube that I made either. That black dryer vent hose Vortech supplied was all I "needed" and "did the job", it just looked like Sh_t! Why do people install LED tail lights? The original bulbs served the needs just fine.

I don't know that my car won't overheat with a factory style radiator. Didn't have one in it when I bought it. I have to question why the PO had upgraded. My guess based off what is there and how well the cooling system has worked, it was probably just for aesthetics or someone told him that because he had a blow it would "run hot".

I do know the potential extent I will go with the car though and am considering radiators that will support a Supercharged 383 with a mild build. I also don't know what caused the failure in the middle of the core. Pulling it out this weekend to investigate.

 

There are two reasons to upgrade something, lack of functionality or aesthetics. I don't mean to confuse the two. If you have a cooling problem and its not the radiator something else is the problem. You don't buy a bigger band aid. If you just want it because it looks cooler than that's fine, your original post alluded that you just needed a fix. If your criteria is a better looking radiator, and direct fit, that is going to generate different answers. If your goal is to fix the problem and get back on the road, the easiest, and fastest solution is a new OEM radiator.

 

180 with a stock radiator? That's extremely hard to believe...

 

Its up to you. I'm only offering a point of reference. Whoever doesn't believe it can go spend $400-$500 on an all aluminum radiator.

I'm perfectly happy with my 15 year old stock replacement radiator that I spent 120 bucks on.

 

It depends on the engine, not so much how much power its making, although that is certainly a factor. My buddies LS6 runs just fine with the stock TBI radiator. All aluminum and composite engine has poor thermal conductivity and thus doesn't become as much of a heat sink as an all iron motor.

 

Not to be snotty here, did you read my original post? I did not mention a cooling issue. I stated I have a leaking all aluminum radiator and would like to replace it with one and was curious if there is a "direct fit all aluminum one that anyone would recommend"

 

Absolutely, compression ratio, cylinder wall thickness, fuel type, boosted or not, is there an intercooler in the way and a host of other factors all play a roll in this.

 

Okay, what's different about your thirdgen from other thirdgens that run at 225 with the stock cooling system?...

 

Mine was hard down on the T-stat cruising (180*) Fans responded accordingly and always kept everything in check. The only difference on my was a larger radiator. People mostly want their engine to run cool for physiological reasons, but our fans are not programmed to keep the car below 200*F. I have had a handful of thirdgens and the only time I have had overheating issues is when the fans have failed to kick on.

 

I reread it and you are right. I read it as it was a stock style radiator. Sorry about that. Not trying to be an a$$.

 

Oh. Its a 2nd gen. But its still just a gen 1 SBC.

 

So, airflow maybe? How does a 2nd- gen radiator compare to a thirdgen radiator? ...

 

Basically it's this...

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/s...t/model/camaro

Or

https://www.autozone.com/cooling-heating-and-climate-control/radiator/duralast-radiator-a571/219956_1522069_0

Not the same brand, but the construction is the same. I got mine from a radiator shop many moons ago... it has the name Visteon molded into the plastic.

During stop and go city driving, the fan is probably a huge contributor. At speed, I know the early 2nd gens have a very large grill, so it gets a lot of air.

 

'Just checked out your website. That car is NICE. A friend of mine has a nice '73 RS split bumper with a pretty mean 350, Ford 9-inch with 3.70 gears...

 

Thanks!!

 

I imagine your Taurus fan moves more air than my stock '84 electric fan. That may be the ticket...

 

Maybe... that Taurus fan is like a wind tunnel.

But again, it allows for a stock style radiator to do the job.

 

Aluminum has a MUCH higher thermal conductivity than iron, so an aluminum block is going to be a heat sink, not iron

 

I used a stock 4th gen F-body radiator in my car with a stock 4.8 LR4 and it was able to keep the temperature consistent on the road course at NJMP for 5 laps where I was bringing the car to 6000+ RPM for much longer periods than anyone on the street is going to see. The stock cooling systems should be plenty sufficient to keep engines cool on the street with sufficient airflow. Very few people are actually going to take advantage of needing a higher wattage radiator.

 

honestly people get bent out of shape when it comes to radiators, I've seen people spend mad money on a rondavis rads and some people use champion or cheap ebay reps and all work fine. Usually over heating problems with these cars have to do with the car having some sort of other underlying problem not the size of the rad.

On the subject I have a 200 dollar eBay probably Chinese rad that came with two electric fans works great, it is only cooling a 2.8 but I beat the hell out of the car aka it sees track days running the thing up to 5500rpm for like 15-20mins sprint and it never even smells hot.

 

Use whatever works, and fits your budget. I have a car with a $179 Champion radiator that has worked great for the past 4 years. I also now have a car with a $750 Griffin radiator. I just wanted an upgrade over stock that would not require modifications to fit, and I wanted to use the original electric fan and mounting system...

 

I have a Ron Davis, with dual electric fans, and their billet aluminum top full length mount, made right in phoenix arizona. as far as fitment goes it's straight bolt in, plug and play. it'll take a minute to wire up the fans, relays and such but everything you need is included, except for the ends to plug into a key operated hotwire in your fusebox, instructions are good.

I bought a griffin before and both tanks blew out at seams in lower corners after about two years... 700$ + down the toilet... never again, bad as that ccp chinese crapola on fleabay and all the autoparts stores sell...

it gets damm hot in Las Vegas & Phoenix, especially in traffic in summer, (I live in vegas & visit family in phx) and 3rd gen engine bays are poorly ventillated and not enough radiator from the factory. My factory radiator did not have the plastic tanks on it like the replacement ones that are sold by autozone and others, way worse product than factory one.

Ron Davis was my final solution to overheating.
Part Number: 1-16CA8292T
http://www.rondavisradiators.com/radgallery.htm