NEW RADIATOR

[MIDNIGHT RIDER]

Truck is 85 F-350 w/6.9 4-speed w/A.C.

It has been 20 years and I think I should get a new radiator before I get stranded.

No leaks yet; but when I look under the cap, the cores look pretty rough; and, sometimes it runs hotter than it used to when outside temperatures are 90 or above.

What is available in a good heavy-towing use radiator that is a bolt-in fit for these trucks??

I would prefer an original, except new, but I have been told they are unavailable.

 

[Exekiel69]

Travis is the man to ask about rad's. Also you can get the modified fan clutch. Have you put a filter on your cooling lines? That is a good way to keep it allways clean (filter heads are allways at jyards).

 

[MIDNIGHT RIDER]

Who is Travis??

 

[sassyrel]

the gent that owns a goat!!! dont buy a taiwoooo rad--youll be lucky if it lasts a year--they are cheap!!!! have rad shop--i wont even repair them!!! and some of them sold by brand name co's are foriegn--so be careful--your old one cleaned and rebuilt would still be better---

 

[argve]

Ok I'm here...

Now I gather from your posts that you weren't have a problem before, meaning that your not having cooling issues because of HP mods so then I would recommend just getting yours recored - that is if your tanks are still in good shape. This way you keep the good OEM tanks and only replace the portion that is bad.

One thing I learned was if you only fill with distilled water/coolant instead of using tap water/coolant your rad will last a lot longer. When I started having cooling issues on The Enterprise (last truck) the inside looked like brand new but the outside was rotting away (no lime/mineral build up on the inside) the fins were rotting off though... What I did with that rad was I only used Distilled water when mixing my coolant instead of grabbing the garden hose - trust me that rad lasted longer than the previous by a long shot.

Now if you were having cooling issues because of recent mods I would recommend stepping up the fin count per inch (double the count) but since your not then there is no reason to increase your cost at this time. Then couple that with a fan clutch that locks up sooner - but again I get the feel this is not warrented at this point.

 

[argve]

Oh and before I forget using a coolant filter is two fold in that it keeps the DCA level up to ***** with little or no hassle and it also filters the coolant to help keep the mineral deposit level to zero. Still it's not a fix all on the mineral department you still need to only run distilled water but it helps...

 

[MIDNIGHT RIDER]

Thanks for all the information.

I almost always fill with the 50/50 premix because of the mineral issues.

Water in this neck of the woods is bad on anything, loads of calcium,etc.

How much should I expect to pay for a recore??

Truck is 85 F-350 6.9 4-sp.

Is this something any decent radiator shop can do??

 

[argve]

You'll probably have about 200 clams in getting it recored I would expect (trying to remember from the last time I got one done - memory sometimes not so good). Any good rad shop can do this.

 

[soulpatchfr]

yeah, about $200 for a re-core...
i put in a brand new Modine 3 row rad last year & i'm happy with it - i believe $300.
the coolant filter EZ mentioned is an easy add-on & it's great insuance... an old goat once said "a clean fluid is a happy fluid" - i'm pretty sure he was talking about automotive stuff at the time

 

[MIDNIGHT RIDER]

From the picture of the water filter, it is tee-ed into each heater hose instead of having only one hose routed straight through, thus forcing all the coolant through the filter.

Is there a reason for connecting in that way??

I figure maybe the filter might be too restrictive to carry all the water.

I would have assumed only one hose would have been cut and the filter plumbed in-line.

 

[The Warden]

From the picture of the water filter, it is tee-ed into each heater hose instead of having only one hose routed straight through, thus forcing all the coolant through the filter.

Is there a reason for connecting in that way??

I figure maybe the filter might be too restrictive to carry all the water.

I would have assumed only one hose would have been cut and the filter plumbed in-line.

Yes, there's a reason. The filters are VERY restrictive, and are meant to be installed as a bypass filter design. You could install the filter as a straight-through design if you wanted, but coolant flow past the filter would be so low that, if you used the heater hoses as a source (as most people do), the cab wouldn't get warm in the winter.

If you want to see any other pics, I took a bunch when I did my install...I keep meaning to do a write-up on it, but haven't had time as of yet (@$#& school keeps getting in the way )...

BTW, I got a Modine radiator last January, and no problems as of yet...BUT, I think there are less than 5K miles on it...

 

[highest_vision]

Is it pointless to recore and retank?
James

 

[Agnem]

I'd take that radiator to a competent radiator shop. I have a personal friend close by who runs such an establishment, and I've seen him work magic on many a radiator. He unsolders all the components, cleans them chemically, and mechanically, reassembles, and repaints it after presure testing. I'd say one of his reworks is near as good as new. Newer trucks have too many plastic parts in the radiator to make them reliable for rebuilding, so he sells new Modines and one other brand I can't think of to fix those.