Radiator Repair

[Mike Pass]

We have had experience of leaks on ally radiators. The problem was not electrolytic or overheating. The problem was due to the mounting of the radiator. If it is too rigidly mounted it can suffre from twisting as the car rides over bumps or takes a lot of vibrational input from road and engine. This process stresses the joints and will lead to failure either sooner or later. Mount the radiator on rubber mounts. The little rubber mounts with a thread at each end are ideal but choose one with a very soft rubber compound. Worked on my car after doing in two ally rads.
Cheers
Mike

 

[John P]

and once again the drops were forming at the core where the tubes enter the epoxy ends.

This can be a problem with epoxied radiators that are mounted solidly to the chassis. Most modern rads are mounted using some sort of rubber saddle at both the top and bottom to sort of isolate the rad from vibrations and twisting forces in the chassis, and let it float. I lost two epoxied radiators in a Mustang, they were mounted solidly, I later switched to a "Be Cool" fully welded rad and never had a problem. I'm using a Rod Davis welded radiator in my Cobra also without any issues. If you can't find a radiator that fits properly, Ron Davis will probably make a radiator to your specifications. I was also told by several radiator shops that the epoxied radiators are not repairable and were to be considered "throwaways" However, this could be because they just didn't want to deal with them. John

 

[Jim Dewar]

Re:RADIATOR FAILURE

Thanks Mike, I'm in soft rubber mounts, thats very interesting, I never knew there were so many issues using an aluminum radiator. Keep those ideas coming and my dim light bulb may come on!

 

[Jim Dewar]

Has anyone solved their unstable temperature gauge with this modification?