Stock Radiator's Shot- Need Help What To Buy?

fawcett

Member
Sep 10, 2003
380
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16
Cohasset, Ma
Though my car seems as if it has had no problems staying cool, I guess my Radiator is shot. I was having a coolant leak problem when the engine was cold but when it got warm/hot the hole would seal (heat made the metal expand) and I wouldnt have any problems (as far as my stock gauges let me know).

So I will be buying a new Radiator but I need some Tech Help. What is the difference between a 2 core and a 3 core radiator? At what power level do you need to upgrade from a 2 to a 3 core? How much more space does a 3 core need? Is it worth it for me to get one?
I plan to dragrace/autocross/streetrace and rip it up pretty much everytime I drive my car so proper cooling is an issue I dont want to deal with again. I'd like to do this once and since its getting time to take the thing off the road here in Ma, im going to have a bit of extra money lying around. So I would also like to upgrade my fan and coolant overflow reservoir and get those components out of the way at the same time. I will probably continue using my stock water pump until I upgrade to a new crate motor (dart block baby) but what water pump (besides stock) would work well. I have heard good things about CSI. I guess I am not sure if I want to have to switch my water pump on/off everytime I go out for a drive, but I guess thats kind of cool at the same time.

As always thanks for everyone who chimes in to help this Mustangless Kid out
-Fawcett

1995 Gts frpp 340bhp 302, gt40x heads, ecam, track heat intake w/ spacer, 65mm frpp tb, prom80, full mallory ignition system, 24lbs, aeromotive fpr, full o/r exhaust, d&d viper spec t56, brembos all around, cobra r's, alum d/s
 
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i love my fluidyne. perfect fit. i still have the stock fan, but i do want to get a black magic then. as far as the overflow tank, i know canton has a nice one out now for our cars. yeahlo5.0's car was the test car for it, turned out real nice.

as far as the core differences and at what power lvl is what, i think that it really doesn't matter so much if you have an aluminum rad over a copper one. the core # would be an issue in a copper stock rad, but no so much in an alum.
 
Just got a fluidyne 2 core. kind of wish i knew the difference between 2 and 3 core radiators but i didnt find any 3 cores for our cars. im gonna hold off on the fan, i want to see how much of a difference the radiator makes before i go any further. it was $337 w/ shipping from some site i found while doing a search on this site. I cant wait to get my car back on the road again!
-Fawcett
 
A 2 row has 2 rows of tubes between the tanks.
A 3 row has 3 rows of tubes between the tanks.
The "core" is the part with the fins and tubes.
I had a 4 row in my old '86 that I had custom built. (Back when aluminum was only for race cars...)
Stock on our cars is 1 row.
The idea is to increase the surface area by increasing the rows.
Now, we get 1" tubes in aluminum, and since the tanks are only so big, they come in 2 rows. The larger tube has more surface area than 2 of the smaller copper tubes. Copper tubes can't be made this wide (as I understand it), which is why they have to have more rows.
Aluiminum also rejects heat better, so it cools better than the same size copper.
The 1" tube, 2-row, Aluminum radiator is the best for our cars. (that will reasonably fit, and readily available.)
 
fawcett said:
i ordered from absolute radiator and just double checked with the guy, all set!

I got mine from there and love it. You will not be disappointed.

Now, I feel that it is important to properly ground the radiator to help prevent corrosion. I got a HELP! brand ground strap from autozone and ran it from the little fan support bracket (drill a hole) on the rad to the ground point on the block near the oil pressure switch (where the battery connects to).

I also got another same ground strap and ran it to the heater core, BTW.

I also suggest getting de-ionized water. This is what AFR suggests to use with the aluminum heads. De-ionized is not simply distilled. I went to Culligan and got a 5 gal "water cooler" style jug for about $6.00 (plus bottle deposit). Make sure you get de-ionized and not just distilled, as I had to return because I didn't get the right stuff the first time. My local Culligan writes "DI" on the cap...

You can then use the jug to mix the coolant/water. Get 6 gal antifreeze. Remove 3 of the 5 gals (into a clean container(s)), and pour in 3 gal antifreeze, and you got 5 gals of 60%/40%. Empty the mix into 1 gal jugs, pour 2 gals of DI in, another 3 gal antifreeze, you got another 5 gal coolant. Plenty for a few fills...

Rick
 

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