Radiator help

[BrotherNick]

Hey y'all. Like I said a little bit earlier I needed a new radiator but I have found one for a killer deal. Only question is, will it work? I have a 1993 7.3 IDI non turbo diesel. So the question im getting to is I found a radiator from a F250 Power Stroke. Will this work? Or did I make a mistake? Please help me out.

Regards.
Nick

 

[chris142]

Does it look like it will fit? I replaced a radiator on a 6.0L Powerjoke yesterday and it does not have a radiator cap. It has a radiator cap on the overflow bottle instead.

 

[dmaxjoe]

I'm not sure. But, I think the hoses are on opposite sides.

 

[icanfixall]

A powerstroke radiater will not work in our trucks. Sorry for the bad news. Look up champion alauminum radiaters. They cool much better than the oems do and are cheaper too.

 

[TWeatherford]

I think you could make the Powerstroke radiator work, just with custom hoses, and maybe work on how it mounts. Probably more trouble than its worth. If you get a Champion, make sure you get a 3 core and not a 2 core unless you never tow. I'd still get the 3 core anyway.

 

[whiteboyslo]

If you get a Champion, it's a 3-row. The 2-row is called the American Eagle. Assuming you need the tall, narrow radiator, the PN is CC1165. Hit up eBay to purchase.

Mike

 

[BrotherNick]

Crap. Well it looks like I will have to try and get my money back. Thanks guys!

 

[jaluhn83]

I know many on here like the champion radiators, but I'm still going to say that if it's that cheap it's not that well build and will cause you problems down the line. Also realize that putting an aluminum radiator in changes the requirements for cooling system chemistry and there may be potential for electrolysis due to the different metals.

My experience has been that a healthy OEM design radiator is perfectly adequate unless there's other problems with the system. I have seen aftermarket OEM design units that cheat though. I've got an off brand 4 row I was just comparing to my Ford 4 row and noticed that the individual core tubes on the aftermarket radiator are about 75% the size of the Ford unit..... I would if at all possible try to rebuild your before I threw aftermarket junk in there.

 

['94IDITurbo7.3]

agreed on the cooling system chemistry, but the heater core is aluminum as well so....

 

[idipwr]

What year powerstroke is it from?
If its from a 94 or early 95 it is the same rad that is in your truck. But as stated before I see no reason why you cant make a 95 1/2-97 radiator work.

 

[icanfixall]

There is lots of talk about radiaters with differant amounts of rows of tubes. Ideally what we want is plenty of rows of tubes like 4 rows but most of all we want lots of fins per inch on the tubes. 16 fins per inch is the most deseriable on a 4 row radiater. The dimple 3 row radiaters are a cheap design that trys to slow down the drop of coolant thru the raidaters for more heat transfer between the coolant and the tubes.. It does not work so please.. Save your money. I ran the stock oem 4 row for many years till I tuined it by using tap water and the wrong coolant. The high mineral content in the water here plated out and really stopped the flow of coolant thru the radiater. The top of the tubes was barely visible from all the mineral buildup on them. This happened towing horses to oklahoma city for a show one year. Lucky for me I got it replaced but.. The dimple three row was not cooling very well on the drive home but we did get home ok. Just ran hotter than it should have. I don't recall the fin count on that radiater either. So in the end I talked with RLDSL about his nice upgrade aluminum radiater called the Rodeny Red. It has two rows that are 1 1/4 inch wide and they have 15 fins per inch. That sucker cools just sitting in the driveway. When I decide to use the truck I lift the hood to check everything under there just to make sure I'm ok to drive off safely. Well the radiater will usually have sweat on the top tank and its cold to the touch. So in closeing get 4 rows with 15 or 16 fins per inch. A fin count of 12 or 13 is just not going to cool well engough no matter now many rows you have. And finally please use only steam distilled water and quality coolant. Distilled water is non electrically conductive plus the minerals in it are gone so they wont drop out and ruin your radiater no matter what type you have. I did have a modified 5 row made up that worked very well but decided I needed more so that why I went to the Rodeny REd. It was as great an investment as was the Moose pumps or the electric lift pumps or the hydroboost brakes.

 

[idipwr]

Gary, what about the idea of removing the plugs in the heads of a 7.3? Is the thought that with them removed that a stock radiator would be adequate or more than adequate as it seems to be in the 6.9?

 

[jaluhn83]

The stock radiator should work fine for any IDI. I *think* where most folks have issues is the fan clutch coming on too late or not at all.

 

[Wicked97]

The stock radiator should work fine for any IDI. I *think* where most folks have issues is the fan clutch coming on too late or not at all.

Also improperly mixed coolant as well as the wrong radiator caps. Those three things are the most neglected IMHO.

 

[BrotherNick]

I have premixed coolant. Also, I seemed to have drained the engine of coolant. how do I get all the levels back to normal? Put the coolant in the radiator and the plastic tank? Also, When the batteries are plugged in the break lights are always on no matter what. How can I fix this? is it a loose wire? Oh, and I can only start it from the solenoid, how do I fix that.

Thanks guys!

Nick