Luke_IDI
Registered User
First post on Oilburners, though have been lurking for a year or so since I bought this school bus. It's a 1987 International S1700 with a n/a 6.9 in front of an Allison AT545 transmission. The bus only has 56,000 miles on it, but the enormous copper-brass radiator (probably original) is totally rotten and I am fed up with chasing leaks. These radiators are upwards of $700, and I want to be sure I get the right one for my future needs. I'm here to ask for advice on how much cooling capacity I might need to cool my IDI. It's currently bone stock, but I have an ATS 088 turbo kit I'll be installing at some point, and would like to be able to use this platform to play around with turbos generally in the future. My performance improvement goals will be geared toward efficiency, while also producing enough power to comfortably cruise this thing at 65 or 70 mph (a rear end re-gear is definitely in the plans). The radiator I currently have is this one:
As I have been googling replacements, I find that many of the later model buses have split radiators where an intercooler would fill the other side of the radiator frame, like this one, for example:
Any idea whether a split radiator would be sufficient? How many rows I would need in a split configuration? I like the idea of being able to place an intercooler next to the radiator core in this way, as getting intercooler piping to run in front of the radiator would actually require cutting away some of the fiberglass cowl/modifying the grill of the bus (which is surprising, given the amount of room everywhere else, but true). Moving the rad support back would be a huge project as it is entangled with the front leaf spring mount. I can't imagine these split radiators would not have enough cooling capacity, as it seems they are specified for buses with larger engines, e.g. a DT466. But I'm on a limited budget and need to get this right the first time. Thoughts?
Thanks,
Luke
Edit: The AT545 is a notorious heat producer, and though I plan to add an external oil to air cooler before the oil to water cooler in the radiator, I need to factor this into my decision as well.
Northern Radiator | International / Navistar Radiator - 31 x 26 1/8 x 2 1/16 (4 Row)
232124 International / Navistar Radiator - 31 x 26 1/8 x 2 1/16 (4 Row)
www.northernradiator.com
As I have been googling replacements, I find that many of the later model buses have split radiators where an intercooler would fill the other side of the radiator frame, like this one, for example:
238500 | International 4900 Radiator for Sale
International 4900 Radiator, P/N 238500 for sale. Enjoy our hassle-free online checkout or call to speak to an expert.
www.vanderhaags.com
Any idea whether a split radiator would be sufficient? How many rows I would need in a split configuration? I like the idea of being able to place an intercooler next to the radiator core in this way, as getting intercooler piping to run in front of the radiator would actually require cutting away some of the fiberglass cowl/modifying the grill of the bus (which is surprising, given the amount of room everywhere else, but true). Moving the rad support back would be a huge project as it is entangled with the front leaf spring mount. I can't imagine these split radiators would not have enough cooling capacity, as it seems they are specified for buses with larger engines, e.g. a DT466. But I'm on a limited budget and need to get this right the first time. Thoughts?
Thanks,
Luke
Edit: The AT545 is a notorious heat producer, and though I plan to add an external oil to air cooler before the oil to water cooler in the radiator, I need to factor this into my decision as well.