Van Radiator Info/question?

[jayro88]

So it is looking like I am going to have to replace the radiator i my '88 E250. I know a lot of people have had good success with using Champion Radiators in their trucks. Unfortunately, my searches show that the van radiator part number is different than the truck radiator part number and I am not finding anything on the Champion website.

I checked out RockAuto and the cheapest van model is $320 while the trucks run between $160-300.

Any van people out there that can help point me to an affordable quality replacement? I don't need anything super heavy duty, just something to work for normal driving and occasional towing.

Thanks

 

[The Bus]

You may want to check around local radiator shops to see if you can have it repaired. It may be a less expensive option. A lot of shops are equipped to re-core and some can even repair/replace the tanks too.

I looked around about a year ago or so just in case I ran into problems. They are just not a lot of options out there for us E Series folks.

 

[IDIBRONCO]

It's been so long since I've worked on a van that I can't remember. what is the difference between van and truck radiators?

 

[BeastMaster]

I had Tom's Radiator in Orange, California recore my radiator. 1994 IDI E350 Van. About three months ago.

Total bill ran almost $3K, but that also included removal and replacement of everything in the HVAC system. I just took possession of this old beast and all that 25 year old collection of hoses, belts, pumps, compressor, freon components, air conditioning system, everything; it was just a time bomb with a few minutes left on it. And, being a van, its a pain in the **** to work on, as in the van, half of the engine is in the doghouse in the passenger compartment. Once that radiator was out, the rest of the stuff was much easier to get to. So I did a pre-emptive run on parts changeout.

They did not say much about anything being hard-to-get, but it is a helluva big radiator. They commented on how it took two people to get it out and back into place. I got to tour his shop, and he had numerous tanks and torch-soldering setups with support gantries to hold the radiator at the proper angle so he could use heat and gravity to get the solder in the right place. I was quite happy to have professional help on this. By re-using the existing top and bottom of the radiator, he was able to insure an exact mechanical fit. He did a beautiful job on it. Here's hoping for another 20 years. I am putting the red DELO ELC coolant in it, as it has our SCA that our old 7.3 IDI needs to address the cavitation issues. I have read on other forums that there are often problems with coolant conductivity and aluminum... and I do know those nitrites and molybdates are conductive.

Coolant is claimed to hold the proper SCA for 750,000 miles... which to me is quite more than my anticipated lifetime.

Boy, you are sure out in the middle of nowhere! I was using Google and Yelp to see what you had available nearby, as you need a shop which is prepared to handle something like this. Many people *sell* stuff, and have it shipped to them, which you were doing the same with Rock Auto ( I've bought stuff through them, too, with excellent results ). In the middle of farm area, gotta be someone out there thats handy with torches, solder, and radiators.

 

[woodstock]

Hope this helps. I have an 88 E350 idi van. I just bought a 92 F350 idi that needed a waterpump and new radiator. The 92 had a 88 E350 rad in it from a junk yard. Top of rad tank was marked in yellow paint E350 van .
Here is what i found upon reserch and installing a new correct rad in the F350. Van had 1 more row and the collant capacity was 32 qrt for the van and 28 qrt for the F350 as I own both vehicles and I have both owners manuals with capacity info. They both layed on my garage floor at time of swapping and measuring both. They both bolt up the same but the van rad had the mounting holes egged out a little ovaled to fit. Also the van rad had 2 mounting holes on top and bottom . The F350 had 2 holes top and 2 slots in bottom for the bolts . But still both will interchange with maybe very little mods if any at all. All hose inlets and outlets and tranny lines were exactly the same. One more row meaning the copper van rad had 4 core and the F350 had 3 core. My van does not have rear heat. So I'm not sure if the 28 qrt vs 32 qrt is for the van because some club wagons have rear heater core.
Good luck.

 

[genscripter]

Hope this helps. I have an 88 E350 idi van. I just bought a 92 F350 idi that needed a waterpump and new radiator. The 92 had a 88 E350 rad in it from a junk yard. Top of rad tank was marked in yellow paint E350 van .
Here is what i found upon reserch and installing a new correct rad in the F350. Van had 1 more row and the collant capacity was 32 qrt for the van and 28 qrt for the F350 as I own both vehicles and I have both owners manuals with capacity info. They both layed on my garage floor at time of swapping and measuring both. They both bolt up the same but the van rad had the mounting holes egged out a little ovaled to fit. Also the van rad had 2 mounting holes on top and bottom . The F350 had 2 holes top and 2 slots in bottom for the bolts . But still both will interchange with maybe very little mods if any at all. All hose inlets and outlets and tranny lines were exactly the same. One more row meaning the copper van rad had 4 core and the F350 had 3 core. My van does not have rear heat. So I'm not sure if the 28 qrt vs 32 qrt is for the van because some club wagons have rear heater core.
Good luck.

Could you post pics of this? this is crucial information for us IDI van guys. Many of our parts are really rare.

 

[woodstock]

Sorry to say that I dont have photos as I did everything sper of the moment . I did 3days of reserch then bought the radiator at a local radiator shop and did the install in my garage. I did measure the van and pickup radiators prior to installing to make sure that the new one would fit as it should. Far as I am concerned they are interchangeable. One could interchange the van to pickup or pickup to van. Given the years I mentioned in earlier in paragraph above .
NOTE these part numbers for references
Napa NR2194 same as spectra CU1165 fits 1992 F350 diesel with AC
Spectra 1172 fits 1988 Ford E350 van diesel
Spectra CU1166 fits 1992 F350 (without AC) as its a shorter radiator.
The Napa NR2194 & spectra CU1165 are the same radiator that fits the 1992 F350 and will interchange with the 1988 E350 van radiator Spectra 1172 vice versa.
The shorter Spectra CU1166 that fits non AC F350 I did not have any hands on with this radiator so I can not comment on its fitting application
Also Mishimoto brand radiator model MMRAD-F2D-83 is a 4 core top quality radiator all aluminum sold at Summit Racing that fits the 1992 F350 diesel with AC so my guess is it will also fit the 1988 E350 diesel van
The radiator I bought and installed in my 1992 F350 was a Champion MC-1165 all aluminum 4 row. I am very happy with the quality however the Mishimoto is top of the line in my opinion
NAPA NR2194 plastic tanks
Spectra CU1165 plastic tanks
Spectra CU1172 metal tanks (van)
Spectra CU1166 plastic tanks
Champion MC-1165 all aluminum
Mishimoto MMRAD-F2D-83 all aluminum
These radiators plastic vs metal were as I personally seen them in person. I can not gaurentee if you buy one it will be plastic or metal as mfg's change or mis advertise as I found out in person
Example on Napa's web site states the NR2194 has metal tanks and I ordered one and it came with plastic tanks so I refused it. Then bought the Champion.
Again I hope this helps you people and I tried to be as accurate as possible in this artical as to save people time and money in choosing a radiator.
I am no expert . This is just my findings when I shopped for a new quality radiator. Good luck. And I truly enjoy this web site as it has been very helpful to me

 

[jayro88]

Hope this helps. I have an 88 E350 idi van. I just bought a 92 F350 idi that needed a waterpump and new radiator. The 92 had a 88 E350 rad in it from a junk yard. Top of rad tank was marked in yellow paint E350 van .
Here is what i found upon reserch and installing a new correct rad in the F350. Van had 1 more row and the collant capacity was 32 qrt for the van and 28 qrt for the F350 as I own both vehicles and I have both owners manuals with capacity info. They both layed on my garage floor at time of swapping and measuring both. They both bolt up the same but the van rad had the mounting holes egged out a little ovaled to fit. Also the van rad had 2 mounting holes on top and bottom . The F350 had 2 holes top and 2 slots in bottom for the bolts . But still both will interchange with maybe very little mods if any at all. All hose inlets and outlets and tranny lines were exactly the same. One more row meaning the copper van rad had 4 core and the F350 had 3 core. My van does not have rear heat. So I'm not sure if the 28 qrt vs 32 qrt is for the van because some club wagons have rear heater core.
Good luck.

Thanks for the info.

I thought I had updated this. I think it ended up being my washer fluid that caused my issue.......or maybe my radiator cap. I am running Global Final Charge which is orange. I was also using washer fluid that was orange. By the time I got back home it wan't leaking any more and hasn't since. With the amount it was leaking I expected the radiator to be low, but it wasn't. Gonna keep an eye on it.

The rear heater could cause the system volume to be different. I also wonder if they added capacity and another core to help cooling issues in the vans. I know the vans don't dissipate heat as well as the trucks due to packaging.

 

[woodstock]

Hope this helps. I have an 88 E350 idi van. I just bought a 92 F350 idi that needed a waterpump and new radiator. The 92 had a 88 E350 rad in it from a junk yard. Top of rad tank was marked in yellow paint E350 van .
Here is what i found upon reserch and installing a new correct rad in the F350. Van had 1 more row and the collant capacity was 32 qrt for the van and 28 qrt for the F350 as I own both vehicles and I have both owners manuals with capacity info. They both layed on my garage floor at time of swapping and measuring both. They both bolt up the same but the van rad had the mounting holes egged out a little ovaled to fit. Also the van rad had 2 mounting holes on top and bottom . The F350 had 2 holes top and 2 slots in bottom for the bolts . But still both will interchange with maybe very little mods if any at all. All hose inlets and outlets and tranny lines were exactly the same. One more row meaning the copper van rad had 4 core and the F350 had 3 core. My van does not have rear heat. So I'm not sure if the 28 qrt vs 32 qrt is for the van because some club wagons have rear heater core.
Good luck.

 

[woodstock]

UDATE. On 5/18 I blew the radiator in my 1988 E350 idi van.
I purchased a CU1165 radiator from summit racing that was for a 1992 F350 idi truck. And it fit in my van but I had to drill 4 new holes in my rad support as the radiator mounting bracket was shorter top to bottom on the truck rad vs the van radiator side brackets being longer. This is because the truck radiator has U shaped slots near the bottom of the radiator on each side to support the bottom of the truck radiator.
Otherwise everything else was a direct fit. At half the price . So apparently the original owner of my 92 F350 drilled 4 holes in my rad support.
Also note that the truck rad support has a pin sticking out on each side ' and the truck rad has a U shaped slot on each side so when you drop the truck radiator down in the rad support the U slots of the rad drop down onto the pins sticking out on the rad support to support the radiator. The van radiator does NOT have the U shaped slots on the sides of the radiator. Hope this helps. Cheers!