Radiator suggestions

metrojd

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Picked up a 89 f superduty dump 7.3
Needs a Radiator.
Were is everyone getting them from?
Thanks
Johm
 

Rusgo

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Pretty sure I bought mine from autozone. All aluminum. Nice welds. Have had it for 3 years with no issues.

Some have plastic tanks on them stay away.

If you have the old copper one in there still, bring it to the scrapper. It's worth a bit.

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79jasper

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Personally, I would get a all aluminum fully welded one from Ebay. Get the largest core size.
Part store ones are thinner. Could cause overheating. Pop in a new motorcraft thermo and check the fan clutch.
Flush cooling system, including pulling both block drains, refill with fleet charge.

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MtnHaul

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FWIW I have about 4 years on a plastic tank/aluminum rad from NAPA with zero issues or overheating. Of course I do live in a mild climate so I have no idea how the plastic tanks fare in freezing temps.
 

mexicanjoe

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I bought mine from Oreilly and its a 2 row, however ; that 2 row is thicker than my factory 3 row. I flushed the coolant, dropped a motorcraft thermostat in it and new hoses. So far so good, although I did get a 195* thermostat it doesnt seem to get quite that hot...... this winter will tell the tale.
 

Kizer

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Is a re-core out of the question? What's the problem with the radiator?
 

metrojd

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Thanks for all the replies.
Just bought the truck drove it a little over an hour to get it home and it overheated.
When I looked at the rad it looks like it might have a small leak or 2 in the core.
The biggest problem is the top talk looks like it split at the seam.
There isn’t a lot of rad. shops near me anymore.
I’m guessing because of so many cheap replacement rads.
 
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IDIBRONCO

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That's too bad. I guess we (Americans) did it to ourselves. It seems like a lot of us would rather "save $" on an imported P.O.S. than pay a craftsman to repair what we already own.
I guess that's the mentality of thinking that everything is disposable.
 

chris142

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I work at a Radiator shop and we still recore them. Stupid expensive though. Last one we did was about $1300.
 

smithman

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I have 4 years on my 3 row champion one. I even had it pressure tested at a rad shop last year while I had the system apart for a new water pump... no issues whatsoever, but I know that not everybody's experience is the same.
 

dgr

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My champion is three years and a week old. Came with a smashed bottom outlet. It's still working but I don't put as many miles on it as many others.
 

Shadetreemechanic

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I just had a 1994 factory radiator rodded and hot tanked. It cost me $150 bucks and was worth every dollar. I hate that coring has gotten so expensive. It really is the way to go to get a great radiator that will last another lifetime.
 
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