Champion Radiators for the IDI

[tbrumm]

Hey, Guys; I know some of you have purchased and installed aluminum Champion Radiators in your IDI's. Now that you have has a chance to run them, what do you think of them? Do they install directly without modification? Does the stock shroud bolt right up? Does the Champion have the "extra" port for the heater hose to run into it to "pre-heat" the auto trans cooler, or did you simply eliminate that connection? How do they cool compared to stock? Where is best place to order one? The reason I am picking your brains on this is my stock brass/copper radiator (otherwise in good shape) has a slight seam leak, which I know will only get worse. By the time I pull it out, have it repaired and pressure tested and re-install it, maybe I should just bite the bullet and put in a Champion. I appreciate any and all input/suggestions and Merry Christmas! Todd

 

[whiteboyslo]

More or less a direct drop-in. The build quality is so-so. Mines actually a bit crooked relative to the mounting tabs, which is causing my shroud to not sit quite right and be a bit closer to my lower radiator hose than I'd like, but other than that it basically bolted right in. I chucked the radiator cap it came with and am using an OEM 13psi unit.

I cannot comment on temps because I don't have an aftermarket gauge, yet. It seems like it runs one letter higher on the gauge than it used to and that it fluctuates a lot more, but then again the fan clutch doesn't lock up nearly as much as it used to.

Buy from any eBay source. They're all drop-shipping from the same place. I bought mine from a seller called Radiator Galaxy. No complaints.

Everything I've read regarding the heater hose thing says to bypass it. Mine didn't have it on there (stick), so the only difference for me was the drain plug on the right-hand side and the tranny line hookups which I don't use.

Mike

 

[riotwarrior]

love it...

Love It....

LOVE IT......

One of best investments for my truck...easy install and works fantastic....

 

[jaluhn83]

No personal experience, but I will say that you get what you pay for. For a radiator this size and that low of price they're for sure cutting corners somewhere. Beyond the obvious quality control problems with made in china junk there's also the hidden cutting - things like tank wall thickness, etc. I would not be at all surprised to find these things starting to leak in a few years.

Personally I would just take the old one to a reputable radiator shop and have him rebuilt it. Should cost about $100 and you'll basically get a new radiator, plus supporting local businesses and having much closer tech support if something doesn't work.

 

[chris142]

Personally I would just take the old one to a reputable radiator shop and have him rebuilt it. Should cost about $100 and you'll basically get a new radiator, plus supporting local businesses and having much closer tech support if something doesn't work.

The problem we are finding with many of these older Radiators is that the fins lose there bond to the tubes. Once that happens you wont have any heat transfer. We can't fix that unless we recore the Radiator at a cost of about $600.

Another problem with the Ford IDI Radiators is a split header. That dooms the Radiator core too as that can't be properly repaired. If someone brings in a rebuildable IDI radiator we wont touch it for less than $150 per end! So if you want a 2 tank rodout it's going to cost $300. This includes a complete tear down and cleaning of the header plate, resoldering the tubes to the header plate and roding the tubes out. Something like this is going to take a good 6 hrs labor.

So the Aluminum Champion or American Eagle Radiator is a great deal. I've got the 2R AE in mine as they did not have the 3R available when I needed one. Works fine.... So far.

 

[jaluhn83]

What do you mean split header?

When I had mine done it was something like $100.... didn't sound like it was any different than any other brass/copper radiator. But then I'm personally not experienced in radiator work.

I'm still going to submit that cheap Chinese radiators are going to bite you in the rear in the long run. You're not going to make something that large and complex for that cheap without seriously cutting corners. But that's just my $0.02.....

 

[chris142]

The top and bottom tanks sit in a groove in the header plate. Often this groove gets a crack or split in it. Once this happens the integrity of the tank to header seal is compromised. No amount of solder will fix it. Very common problem with our IDI Radiators for some reason.

When did you have yours rebuilt for $100? In the last 3 years the price of a 25lb spool of Solder has gone from $25 to $215 due to govt regs regarding lead and it's disposal. Also. We used to sell our old solder drippings, now we must pay to have them hauled off + all the govt red tap we have to jump through just to stay in business.

Don't even get me started on the cost of permits for torches, Oxygen tanks etc. The FD charges $1200 a yr just to walk around and inspect the fire extinguishers every year.

 

[jaluhn83]

Ah, I see. Did not know that.

I was about 5 years ago now that you mention it....

Don't you just love the gov.... where would we all be without them making it "safe" for us?

 

[Jake_IN]

The top and bottom tanks sit in a groove in the header plate.

Pictures always help. So here you can see that groove that the tank sets in (I love macro setting). This was on my radiator that we were trying to save but were unable too.

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So I bought this guy

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My only complaint is that the radiator has a slight twist to it. But I found others that had the same problem and i dont forsee it being an issue. So overall i recommend the champion radiators.

BTW im installing that radiator tomorrow.

 

[riotwarrior]

No personal experience, but I will say that you get what you pay for. For a radiator this size and that low of price they're for sure cutting corners somewhere. Beyond the obvious quality control problems with made in china junk there's also the hidden cutting - things like tank wall thickness, etc. I would not be at all surprised to find these things starting to leak in a few years.

Personally I would just take the old one to a reputable radiator shop and have him rebuilt it. Should cost about $100 and you'll basically get a new radiator, plus supporting local businesses and having much closer tech support if something doesn't work.

Oh I had concerns about the aluminum Champion too, I had an opportunity to see a custom 5 core AL rad at my local rad shop...that was blown up and not repairable.

The Champion kicks the ***** out of it!

As for $100, for a recore of your old one....OMG..maybe back in 1950.....

I showed my Rad guy the tall narrow and the short wide. we checked and both came in around 1000.00 ya one thousand to recore!....

Just sayin....

But this...welll Only in Canada.....

 

[Slade]

I'm running a Champion in my old CJ5 with a 360 and it runs 10 to 15 degrees cooler than with the stock one. I had to adjust the mounting a little but it seems to work fine.

 

[Jake_IN]

I just got in from installing my champion radiator. Overall it is exactly what it is...a $230 radiator. The radiator was a tad narrow and doesn't really sit on the pins down in the cradle as well as i would like it too. It also had a twist in it so mounting it up was kind of a pain too. The fan shroud seemed too narrow to bolt to the radiator mounts. I was still able to bolt it up to the radiator but it required a little bit of force to get everything lined up. Hose connections were all good and i am pleased with them. I swapped out the champion rad cap for a regular 13PSI cap and i noticed the cap doesn't seem to fit real nice. It fits but it just takes some jiggling to get it to fit.

All and all im still happy with it. Would i buy another one? I'm still up in the air about that part.

 

[dsltech83]

Another member on here Sledgehammer83, a good friend of mine, has a champion in a diesel Scout II. So far no problems, excellent construction, runs 190* all day long. I will probably get a champion when it comes time for my radiator to be replaced.

 

[TWeatherford]

I would highly recommend getting the 3 core Champion rather than the 2 core. I put a 2 core in last summer. Unloaded, its fine. When I hooked up to a 5k trailer, I was watching that temp gauge awful ******* the small hills and it wasn't even that warm out (like 70 F). I'm sure in the middle of the summer with a real load it would have overheated. If I'd had a long grade, I would have overheated. I'm not sure if the 3 core is enough, but 2 is not in my opinion. Before the Champion (stock radiator), cooling was just a little bit better. I'd have to watch it on big hills towing, but it did better than with the Champion.

 

[evilplan]

Other than the banks kit this is the best upgrade on the rig! Quality was good and cools way better than my stock rebuilt unit. I no longer worry about towing across the desert, gauge never moves over 195.