Radiator

[wild70stang]

I want to keep my mustang looking mostly stock and I am conisdering upgrading my current radaitor to a 4 core. My current radiator I think is a 3 core because my car has factory A/C, but the compressor was destroyed by the previous owner. I dont know how many cores a factory A/C engine has and I am not sure if having the A/C condenser infront of my radaitor will make my engine run hotter than without it. The reason I want to upgrade my radiator is because when I travel 6 times a year between Madera, CA and Los Angeles, CA( 260 miles because of college) my car loses radiator fluid. Any feedback will be appreciated

 

[latamud]

Do you have an overflow tank? If not I would recommend it. As engine temp rises so does cooland pressure(expanding). When pressure reaches the 13-16lbs as indicated on the radiator cap it is released out the overflow spout. If you have an overflow tank, it catches the overflow. When you turn off the car engine temps drop, pressure drops and the coolant shrinks causing a vacuum. If there is coolant in a hose waiting for the vacuum, it gets sucked back into the radiator. If not, it sucks air back into the radiator. Hope that helps.

Bart

 

[wild70stang]

Thanks, but I already know about the overflow tanks, but I would rather upgrade to a 4 core so it looks stock and I wouldnt have to worry about overflow.

 

[LUCAFU1]

that doesnt make sense. you rather lose coolant and get air in the system so it it looks stock then get a overflow tank? if you dont know how many cores you have next time your filling up the radiator with coolant look inside and count them.

 

[wild70stang]

When I look in my radiator I just see one steel plate that goes straight across. Arnt the cores stacked for the 70 stangs? or could have the previous owner switched the radiator to a single core?

 

[5.0ina66]

Thanks, but I already know about the overflow tanks, but I would rather upgrade to a 4 core so it looks stock and I wouldnt have to worry about overflow.

That makes absoultly no sense and will not work.

They are more or less designed to spit coolant as it circulates thru the radiator and the level rises and falls. That's what the tube running down the side is for.

The purpose of an overflow tank is to catch the coolant and suck it back in when needed, or when it cools. Without an overflow tank, you'll ALWAYS have to worry about overflow, unless you underfill the **** out of it, and that's bad. You can however reduce "overflow" by not filling the rad to the top, because you weren't supposed to do that in the 60s, that came with the advent of overflow tanks.

That said, LUCAFU1 obviously has no clue how the non-overflow systems work.

 

[LUCAFU1]

yeah or you can just let it keep over flowing till it finally reaches a level where it will expand and not overflow anymore.

 

[wild70stang]

Well I have no clue as to how a radiator core worked, thought that the more cores, the cooler the fluid. I bought a windshield wiper fluid container($5) from a friend and it can hold about 1 liter of fluid and I am currently using that to catch any fluid(yes it works and sucks the fluid back into the radiator). yes it sounds dump but I just became broke again because I had to pay a mechanic $600 for an electrical job because the previous owner broke the voltage regulator and I didnt know that it wasnt working until I had a power serge blow out my alternator, printed ciruit board and ignition terminal.

When I get the chance I will buy a overflow reservior, but it has to fit on the drivers side because I installed a very large interstate battery( it completely fills up the space between the core support and the fender).

 

[Rusty67]

Actually, its not dumb. I've seen a lot of people use the plastic winshield wiper tanks as overflow tanks lately. Some people even put them right next to each other. It doesn't stand out and it kind of looks stock. The most important thing is that it works and doesn't cause other problems. Functionality first.

Now, if you want to get another radiator and you want to keep the stock look you could get a custom made aluminum radiator (300 bux) and have it painted black so it looks the same as a copper radiator that was painted black. An aluminum 2 core is the same size (roughly) as a copper 4 core but it cools better. If you are stuck on having a stock style radiator then have a copper one made.

 

[fasttback]

I thought I've heard somewhere that painting an aluminum radiator would cause it to be less efficient?...if it matters?

 

[Rusty67]

I suppose painting any radiator would cause a loss of heat transfer. The paint, I suppose, would act as an insulator for the metal reducing its effectiveness in terms of heat transfer. I don't think it would be that bad if you used the right type of paint. Mainly its the tanks I would paint which really isn't where the cooling happens. The cooling happens in the core of the radiator so I don't think its a real issue.

 

[wild70stang]

Thanks guys, but summit has aluminum radiators that fit for about $150, if I was to paint it black(which I wont). The winshield wiper reservior seems to be doing its job.

 

[5.0ina66]

The winshield wiper reservior seems to be doing its job.

Hey, junkyard tech, the best kind of mods As for painting radiators, every car I've ever owned/seen with a factory aluminum rad has had the radiator painted black at the factory with a THIN coat of black paint. I don't see a reason why not to paint it, or a reason why not to use regular paint. It should have almost no impact on heat transfer. But hey, aluminum radiators, don't need paint

 

[mustangdave]

There is a special paint for radiators that is thinner so it does not reduce heat transfer as much. A 4 core is not always better than a 3 core either. Many times, a company will make the tubes inside a 4 core smaller to keep the overall thickness of the radiator down. so a 3 core with larger tubes can actually cool better in that situation.