NewportLover77
New Member
So I've been looking for a radiator and I'm not sure what would really work? Comparing radiators, I was told by a family member that the ones I were looking at were wayyyyy to expensive?
77 Newport (first car). Radiator leak
- Thread starter NewportLover77
- Start date
Trust me, leaking radiator needs replaced! Get what you want, original or aftermarket aluminum! It's money well spent! I watch my poor dad when I was a kid fix a leaky radiator and two days later fix another leak. And then another and another. I told myself then, pay the price for a new radiator and count your blessings!
Owen11x
Well-Known Member
Ebay.. Just buy an affordable aluminum rad. You can get them for under $150 delivered
Yes, copper/brass radiators are about tripled or quadrupled what I used to buy 26" Modine 332s for in the later 1970s. Just a few dollars more than a radiator shop "clean out and re-solder", which was about $200.00 back then. For a few dollars more, I got a complete new OEM-spec radiator in all respects, other than no stamping of Chrysler logos and part numbers.
Measure the existing radiator and see how wide the core is. Either 22" or 26" (factory air conditioned cars, as mine were). Usually, the part number of the radiator will have the "industry part number" embedded into it somewhere.
Many of the aftermarket aluminum radiators for Chrysler products will have the correct, or reasonably correct mounting flanges on them. Rather than being totally "universal fit" as they all used to be. Look at the car and take note of how the radiator mounts to the back of the core support so you can judge how close the replacement alloy radiator is to what is on the car. If an automatic car, it'll also need an automatic transmission cooler in the bottom tank. Check the dimension between the lines, too!
DO look through the several threads related to radiator replacements in this forum. IF you get the option, choose the "high-efficiency" core option.
Like other auto parts, they are not as generic as some might suspect. Brand and quality DO matter just as much as "correct fit" (front, back, and sideways).
Personally, I'm not a big fan of the heli-arc welded together alloy radiators. Why? Because they are not rebuildable, becoming "several beer cans" with toxic accumulations in them, after several years. IF there is a larger radiator shop near you, used by the over-the-road trucking operatives, check with them for rebuilds and new radiators. They should be using the better-grade solders to produce a job that lasts at least as long as an OEM new radiator.
Just some thoughts, observations, and experiences.
CBODY67
Measure the existing radiator and see how wide the core is. Either 22" or 26" (factory air conditioned cars, as mine were). Usually, the part number of the radiator will have the "industry part number" embedded into it somewhere.
Many of the aftermarket aluminum radiators for Chrysler products will have the correct, or reasonably correct mounting flanges on them. Rather than being totally "universal fit" as they all used to be. Look at the car and take note of how the radiator mounts to the back of the core support so you can judge how close the replacement alloy radiator is to what is on the car. If an automatic car, it'll also need an automatic transmission cooler in the bottom tank. Check the dimension between the lines, too!
DO look through the several threads related to radiator replacements in this forum. IF you get the option, choose the "high-efficiency" core option.
Like other auto parts, they are not as generic as some might suspect. Brand and quality DO matter just as much as "correct fit" (front, back, and sideways).
Personally, I'm not a big fan of the heli-arc welded together alloy radiators. Why? Because they are not rebuildable, becoming "several beer cans" with toxic accumulations in them, after several years. IF there is a larger radiator shop near you, used by the over-the-road trucking operatives, check with them for rebuilds and new radiators. They should be using the better-grade solders to produce a job that lasts at least as long as an OEM new radiator.
Just some thoughts, observations, and experiences.
CBODY67
Gerald Morris
Senior Member
Sooo RIGHT! I've used a couple aluminum radiators, one of **** quality, the other a good quality for the $ buy, but they're certainly not readily repairable, and the basic electronegativity issue assures electrolysis over time with any water based coolant. As soon as one purchases totally water-free coolant, one has left low budget engine cooling behind!
Copper costs, but copper cools! It is VERY repairable. Your words about using a trucking or other industrial radiator facility should be framed in gilt sheathed wood! THe ONLY reputable (reliable) radiator shop down here is a truck radiator shop. Made the acquaintance of one of their people while working the Big Nose Count of 2024, and this fellow had a working brain in his noggin! I'll use these folks if/when I need them.
As all of the OEMs have shifted toward aluminum/plastic composite radiators (which are lighter, take less total coolant, and COOL better than the copper/brass radiators they replaced), the main places to get radiator work done are at the radiator shops which service the over-the-road trucking industry. They can also sell/fix automotive radiators, too. Their prices are usually better than a private radiator shop, by observation. They can also service many body shops with new radiators, too.
So they can usually supply a host of services, usually geared to the OTR trucking industry. Or even the medium-duty trucking entities. Plus gas tanks, diesel particulate filter cleaning, and such.
CBODY67
So they can usually supply a host of services, usually geared to the OTR trucking industry. Or even the medium-duty trucking entities. Plus gas tanks, diesel particulate filter cleaning, and such.
CBODY67
It's very simple to keep the aluminum radiators healthy and lasting a very long time. Buy some pure zinc plates and drop one in the top radiator tank. It will desolve, protecting the radiator. It's too big to get sucked into the top hose and even if it does, the thermostat will stop it from getting into the pump and it will still do its job. The only other two metals are Beryllium (poisonous) and manganese (flammable).
https://www.amazon.com/99-995-Elect...cphy=9030186&hvtargid=pla-1181794647579&psc=1
https://www.amazon.com/99-995-Elect...cphy=9030186&hvtargid=pla-1181794647579&psc=1
Gerald Morris
Senior Member
Yes, I used a zinc anode to good effect w my second aluminum radiator, the one made in Chicago. It worked well, and I even had fashioned a nice box shroud from angle aluminum which did what shrouds should. But there was NO repairing it alas, after that damned Infinity rear end got into it. Admittedly, copper would be difficult to fix too.
Zinc anodes do best when attached to your ground. Are you sure you're not thinking of MAGNESIUM as the "flammable" metal. Yes, it sure as **** is, even in a glycol solution! Manganese will oxidize, I concede, but I don't think its that reactive.
Gerald Morris
Senior Member
The modern radiators as described use lateral flow also. That I suspect is the most decisive design improvement for engine cooling, and GM get's the Innovation Prize for designing these first. Tighter tubing spacing helps also, as does the superior structural strength of aluminum. Be this as it may, copper remains a better thermal conductor. I liked how my second aluminum radiator performed, and suspect that had it not been wrecked, I would never have resorted to using my old copper radiator(s) but damned if they didn't work very well, despite outrageous depletion of the original metal!
This winter, I've had to put a 195 degree thermostat on my current cooling system, just to allow the coolant a chance to warm up to a good running temperature. My old summer 'stat, a 370-180 likely was failing to close quickly, thus allowing coolant flow even when undesirable. It finally got cold enough to warrant such attention just this past week.
If you haven't replaced or recored a radiator lately, be prepared for massive sticker shock. Thanks to the pandemic, the price of EVERYTHING has skyrocketed. Two other things to consider, the aftermarket rads are usually very cheaply made, made as "universal" as possible, and "may" fit in your car. I bought one for a Diplomat years ago, and most of the bolt holes in the flanges were off by nearly 1/4", the upper and lower rad hose nipples were so short, there was only about 1/2" of engagement to the point the clamp barely had anything to grip. On the other hand I just recored the rad in my Aspen wagon at a proper rad shop, with a core that was the right size and shape which fit perfectly, looked absolutely OE when it was in the car (since I used the OE upper and lower tanks) and coughed up $700.00 for it.
So as the saying goes, you get what you pay for. If you want to buy cheap, you're going to get cheap and it's either going to look like crap, work like crap or fail far sooner than later. And don't get me started on these all aluminum rads that look like they were made by some ten year old kid in a grade school shop class.
I strongly concur with you assessment of the lower-cost full-alloy radiators sold by many sellers today. eBay might claim they fit, but their fine print also states something like "Will fit, with modifications". Which means it is a more-universal item that will require some work to fit your vehicle exactly. This is purely a marketing ploy by eBay to get more business for their participants.
Some of their vendors sell the right stuff as others do not, by observation. Many also do not look further that that massive eBay product listing of models the parts allegedly fit, by observation. ALWAYS check the return policies before it is too late.
With all of the new tech in how to build things, where's that 3D Printed OEM-style radiator tank that crimps to an aluminum core like the composite radiators that GM and VW introduced in the earlier 1980s? THAT would be the cooling advance we need, even if it might initially be $300.00 selling price.
Everybody stay warm!
CBODY67
Some of their vendors sell the right stuff as others do not, by observation. Many also do not look further that that massive eBay product listing of models the parts allegedly fit, by observation. ALWAYS check the return policies before it is too late.
With all of the new tech in how to build things, where's that 3D Printed OEM-style radiator tank that crimps to an aluminum core like the composite radiators that GM and VW introduced in the earlier 1980s? THAT would be the cooling advance we need, even if it might initially be $300.00 selling price.
Everybody stay warm!
CBODY67
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