ebay aluminum radiators

[Black dawg]

Any body have any experience with these or an aluminum radator in a idi?

 

[gatorman21218]

I dont know. I have a 4 row brass radiatior that was all clogged up and leaking so I ordered an exact replica from LMC Truck. it was expensive not gonna lie around 500 bucks but i think its a better one than a plastic/aluminum 3 row

 

[Black dawg]

well after my intercooler install my truck has serious heating issues, and I dont think a stocker is going to cut it. I assumed it was an airflow issue, but after some research and some time with my temp gun, I discovered it was a coolant flow issue. In the first quarter mile up the pass, temp light would come on, and I would pull over and check the temp of the motor and temps across the rad. With motor and top tank at 260 bottom tank was 140. Figured the t stat wasnt opening all the way and changed it but no difference. Ended up leaving t stat out and the hottest I could get it was 235 at the top of the pass, which is atleast 5 miles, running wide open. Top tank temp was 235 and bottom was 200. From the research I did with custom rad people was that any more than 10 deg difference across the radiator meant the coolant was spending too much time in the radiator. The higher you can get the average temp across the radiator the better it will cool. So Im looking for a radiator with more flow, and the alum ones Ive looked at have 2 really wide tubes like the stock stroker rad.

 

[gatorman21218]

hmm all i know is that brass is a better conductor of heat than aluminum. Is yours leaking or just gummed up? try flushing it out with this stuff you get at a Cummins dealership. i cant remember what its called but it comes in a gallon and is around 30 bucks. its supposed to clear out gunk and solder bloom too. this stuff is like moonshine compared the the prestone mint schnapps you get at napa. also how is your fan clutch?

 

[Black dawg]

everything is in good shape, just lots of power and a heavy load.

 

[RLDSL]

I had a custom oversize aluminum rad made by Rodney Red and that thing cools like nobodies business. They don't cost much more than a new rad from the dealer and the quality is unbelievable. The tanks are made of heavy aluminum plate so they are a lot sturdier than those things you see on ebay with the stamped tanks. They are only 2 row, but they are 2 huge tubes, the cross section of coolant to surface area is way more than a factory rad. A bunch of other guys here have got rads from him since and he should now have the templates in his cnc machine for all the years so they should come out a lot quicker.
Those things on ebay are basically a stock rad made in Al.

 

[gatorman21218]

huh well anybody else can chime in its time for some relief pitching

 

[Diesel Max]

Any body have any experience with these or an aluminum radator in a idi?

I bought one of these for my 93 F250 7.3. It's a very good radiator with a life time warranty. Perfect fit, direct bolt in, no modifications. My truck runs a good 5 degrees cooler with this radiator as opposed to the factory radiator that came in the truck. I tow a car hauler trailer loaded and never see the temp needle go above 200 degrees. The guy who sells these things is very knowledgable, ships it quick and will tell you that if you install it, run it and don't like it or your truck runs hot, he will completely refund your money, just send the radiator back. He has no poor feedback on this particlar radiator. I had mine in for about 5,000 miles so far and all works great.

See link below.........................

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/FORD...ptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories


As a side note our trucks come stock with a 4 row radiator and this is a 3 row radiator but the tubes are bigger, thus it only needs three rows.

 

[icanfixall]

I have the Rodney Red... I never see temps above 215... Most all the time I'm at 185... I know... The thermostat open at 192 and fully open at 212. Just a note about running without a FACTROY thermostat... Don't do it. These factory stats close off a bypass in the block when they open. Running without a stat you can't close off the bypass. The truck will overheat. Only install the oem stats. Others will fit but they can't pass enough coolant to keep these motors cool. What stat did you remove. There is plenty of info on what the correct stat is... Only Ford or international sells it and it opens at 192.. Thats all we can use. I think you have a radiator thats fouled up or the wrong stat.. Please post back as to what stat you have... The Red rad have two rows that are 1 1/4 inch wide and as posted... They are built right... BTW... Aluminum sheds heat much faster than brass. Some mornings when I lift the hood to check things before I run the motor the aluminum radiator top tank is sweating... Thats from the air circulateing thru it just sitting there in the drive way... Thats working fine....

 

[gatorman21218]

http://www.copper.org/applications/automotive/radiators/no_flux.html

this is an interesting read

 

[Optikalillushun]

subscribed! im thinking about replacing my rad since the fins are all banged up.

 

[Diesel Max]

One other thing that is important when replacing your radiator with an aftermarket radiator, whether it be copper/brass or aluminum is to make sure you have the same, if not more FPSI (Fins per square inch) as the stock radiator. I believe the Ford Stock radiator has around 16 FPSI if I remember right but you can always go out to your truck and measure and count. The FSPI is just as important as the tube size and how many rows of tubes the radiator has.

Many aftermarket radiators cut corners and the FSPI is one place they do it. Don't go less FPSI then the stock radiator........ More FPSI is better for cooling along with rows and tube size !!

 

[zrexryder]

try autozone

Bought an aluminum one from them for $305 out the door.But they had to order it and what I got was a 6 core rad part#CU1165, There part discription was for a 4 rows, 23 1/2" x 30 1/2" x 2 1/4" core size with AC,

 

[comotionman]

six rows? very interesting. is the core width as advertised, or wider?

 

[Black dawg]

Icanfixall when I removed the stat I blocked the bypass. I was using ford stats, and my radiator is very clean. forgot to add that running straight diesel truck runs about 20 deg cooler. wmo and a good load makes more heat. So Im not trying to fix my cooling system, it just needs to be better.