Radiator Replacement

[Simp5782]

My current radiator has a small leak on the very top and another leak in the core area. I was looking for replacements at Oreillys and such and they are round $310 for a 3 row. After searching around online I found a 4 row copper/brass with the demensions 23-1/2 x 30-1/2 x 2-1/4. My current radiator is a little under 31". I also found a All Aluminum on the same site but is only a 2 row radiator for cheaper than the 4 row. Its demensions are 23-5/8 x 30-3/4 x 2-3/8. What would be the better buy and/or better cooling effects? I live in north central Montana, so I dont see alot of really hot days but I do run my A/C on the drive to the city. I am also planning on installing a coolant filter kit from napa, and running Cat ELC on the refill. Also What would be the best temp. t-stat?
94 F250 IDI

 

[icanfixall]

Only one thermostat to use and thats the factory ford or international one. Its a 192 degree stat. No other stat will allow enough coolant to pass. Some emebers have been sucessful running "other" stats but... They are the lucky rare ones... Hopefully they will chime in and post what they are using. Now remember this... Very few owners will risk using anything but the factory thermostat. You are taking a known risk doing so. The 2 row aluminum radiator will cool much better than a 5 row custom brass radiator. I had a 5 row made but it could not keep up with my motor. I now have the aluminum Rodney Red thanks to Robert. He was the first to test these out. They work great is what I can tell you. Its a 2 row but the tubes are 1 or 1/4 inch in size. They really work... Most here wont spend the $650.00 for them and thats too bad because they are the best. Owning an aluminum radiator has some drawbacks. Who can open them up and clean them out... They are completely welded together.... Run a fliter and they will outlast anything...

 

[Rot Box]

I'm running a 3 row brass radiator (a newer one from the Ford dealer) and I don't feel like they cool the 7.3 nearly enough. They are probably fine in with the 6.9 but not the 7.3. Mine is okay for around town an such but once I load up the camper (small pop up) and hook up to the dirtbike trailer (also small) it can be quite irritating and I would NOT want to pull a decent sized trailer with one EVER. Its no fun being in the slow lane screaming RPM's debating on whether or not to turn on the heater in the middle of summer Maybe its just me and the terrain/elevation/climate--which isn't all that extreme--I live in but I think the big 2 row aluminum radiators (like the RR) are mandatory on a turbo'ed 7.3 hands down. They are close to $700 without shipping now from Rodney's, but after dealing with this i'm starting to think they are cheap insurance.

 

[93f250idi]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/FORD...ptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories heres a used one on ebay dont know if your interested

 

[Simp5782]

I found a shop about 80 miles to the south that can make me a 2 row all aluminum one with 1" tubes. So i think I am going to go that route. Install CAT coolant, Filter kit, new hoses, thermostat from ford, and 2 electric fans with thermostat wiring kit for $570 total. Not a bad price I dont think.

 

[Simp5782]

Here it is. New radiator, fans, and coolant kit.

 

[LCAM-01XA]

I think your filter is plumbed incorrectly, those are supposed to be bypass filters and so should go between the heater core supply and return lines, and not inline with one or the other - don't know exactly why tho... What are those fans you're using, and how does the whole setup perform overall?

 

[Simp5782]

I've seen em run a few different ways. I Only had a limited number of fittings and what not, and its 37miles to town. Wasnt in the mood to drive in for the rest of em. The fans are off a 95 Taurus 3.8. I have one wired with a adjustable thermostat to kick on at 185 on low. and 210 on high. The other is wired to come on with low with the a/c on normal and on high with it on max a/c. Both are on 5min timers for when the engine is shut off.i drove it for a little bit today not much though. It stays between the left hand mark and the N on the Normal and never climbs above that.

 

[Black dawg]

what did they charge for the radiator? They built it?

 

[Simp5782]

I got it built for $250. I found a place online that has the same thing pretty much for $290 shipped. At Radiator Express. Not sure of their quality tho. They claim they are there "heavy duty diesel line radiators"

 

[Black dawg]

curious to see how it works. I bought an aluminum one from northern in billings it cost me 300. they told me it was the best you could get and nobody had any complaints. It turned out to be a 1 row core. It does cool better than the 4 row copper/brass, but I need more cooling.

 

[Black dawg]

Oh forgot to add, south of Missoula

 

[Diesel JD]

I have an aftermarket standard radiator and have only ever seen the temp climb when I had an air bubble in the system after the oil cooler r&r, and once when towing our boat in town traffic, running the AC full blast and it was hot outside ~95*F, got moving again, moved some air over it, cut off the AC, turned on the heater and it cooled right back down.

 

[RLDSL]

THose stamped aluminum jobs are pretty flimsy ( get what you pay for)one of my friends has one. we were messing with something and noticed it had sprung a huge leak in the tank after I think about a year or so

I just dragged my 5er from Arkansas to California, in August, in +100 deg temps every day grossing around 18k with my Rodney Red rad and I pushed that puppy hard and temps stayed under control I would not have wanted to make that run with a stock rad and fan clutch, that would be a nighttime only run with that kind of weight through there this time of year

 

[Simp5782]

Here are the temps from running it. The dash backlight is highway driving on a 70degree night.. The first daylight is idle at operating temp with one fan on. the 2nd temp is highway at 70 with one fan.