Thread: Ali radiator opinions

Originally Posted by DoubleChevron

Your issue is the clutch fan... They just don't move enough air at idle in heat traffic.... and over-cool it in winter. With the falcon fans fitted to mine... It quickly heats upto 75->80'ish degrees (so you have a working heater). The fans almost never switch on in winter unless I spend an extended period of time sitting stationary. In summer, sitting with the A/C on in extreme heat I've never seen it get higher than 90degrees (at which point you hear the radiator fans spool onto high speed and the temperature plummets back down to mid 80's and the fans switch back to low speed).

Why don't you guys just ask for a price on getting the most efficient radiator core you local radiator guy can find fitted to the existing tanks.

The radiator the local guys here made on for one of the old cars here is a work of art. The core is amazing ... very fine and would have a huge cooling capacity for it's size ( shame we hit the bloody fan into the first time we started the car ... ).

Oh, the A/C fans... the temperature switch on the thermostat housing is what controls these ( as well as the A/C ). The switch was dead in my car... no doubt another reason it would get warm in traffic.

seeya,
Shane L.

Hee hee - that's assuming you have a competent local guy and that he can actually get something. I must be onto about my third new rad because of bad quality. I bought a Fenix because it was cheap and it looked likely to do the job, which it does well. I still don't trust it for long-term corrugations and the like, but I've got some Devcon putty on board and I might just buy a second radiator for a spare. The price of two of these is about what I paid for one so-called "tropical core" copper piece of junk from an Oz eBay seller a few years ago.

Hello all. I followed the excellent advice here and bought a Fenix radiator for my 88 Classic after a fan blade went through the old one.

However, what I have discovered is that the fittings for the oil cooler pipes are different. Had a chat to Davis Performance and they told me that the Fenix is based on a post '91 radiator which switched from flared to o-ring fittings. I am going to try and find some adaptors but failing that, Davis said to just pull the oil cooler adaptor off and run without it since it is an around town/highway car and won't be towing or off roading. Will update if I find the right fittings!

That's probably good advice, but you could also put in a separate cooler if you needed one. One thing with that model is apparently the cooler hoses can leak and spray oil everywhere and set your car on fire, so you should do some research on that.

Originally Posted by 350RRC

The last radiator I put in my pos came from LRA, $460 ish from memory, came in a Britpart (don't laugh) box, copper and brass. Like 'original'.

One tank seam split a bit, got it fixed for $60 by a Geelong radiator legend on Christmas eve.

Been perfect ever since, 3 years on, keeping an old 350 cool. I spray my cores when new with Lanotec and get a loooong time out of them.

DL

Is the "Lanotec" application to prevent corrosion from salt air given that you reside near the coast?

Cheers, Mick.

That's right Mick.

I bought a new tractor last year that has an alloy radiator and at the hand over the rep said if I ever needed a new battery get a sealed one like OE because the fumes from a normal one will rot the core out in no time.

I suppose the same could happen to copper cores, anyway the lanotec seems to work well.

cheers, DL

So the Lanotec doesn't insulate the core at all? I'm in a coastal area as well, and the rust all over my Rangie has really grown since we moved here, but I haven't had any radiator trouble. That's a good tip on the battery. I've got two sealed batteries and knowing this, will stick to that type.

Originally Posted by Davo

So the Lanotec doesn't insulate the core at all? I'm in a coastal area as well, and the rust all over my Rangie has really grown since we moved here, but I haven't had any radiator trouble. That's a good tip on the battery. I've got two sealed batteries and knowing this, will stick to that type.

Hi Davo,

No discernable insulating effect. I have only used the squirt (not aerosol) lanotec pack doing this and surprisingly it takes about half a litre to get right through.

I never buy any battery with the 'magic eye' of an early death. Most of those are sealed.

The last cranking battery in my POS lasted 10 years +, and two new ones the same now sit up front holding the 350 closer to the ground. They are the old fashioned type............. you can add water. I like batteries that don't have their own inbuilt insight of mortality, that oblige early because they can't deal with the concept, haha.

cheers, DL

My batteries are Odysseys, so if I remember correctly, they're about as sealed as you can get.