So today while working on a knock noticed that my rad is leaking from somewhere on the drivers side so I'm going to replace it here shortly. I have some rod and main bearings that I have to RMA back to summit racing (see knock thread here) https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f2/kno...126347/index3/

Well they have a nice copper/brass rad but it's a little more than $200 more then the alum ones they carry. Think they're worth the extra cheese?

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/PLI-436020/

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/PLI-432335/

 

Aluminum is far more efficient at getting rid of heat. Might be slightly less impact resistant though

 

your call on that i guess.

this isnt jeep.
But on my 77 chevy full size van my orginal copper brass 4row leaked.
i replaced it with the plastic tank alum 2row one. the alum cooled down better.

but people love the copper and brass... its all on what you want to do.

 

I don't care either way honestly but if the copper/brass one performs better than I don't mind spending the extra $ IF it's worth it. If the difference is minimal then I'm not gonna spend an additional $200, I'll put that money towards something else.

 

It is my understanding that they perform worse and are more prone to leaking

 

Guess that answers my question then!

The price of the rod and main bearings I didn't use was a shade over $100 so looks like I'm just gonna get a new alum rad from them.

 

Well the stock ones are copper/brass and look how many overheating threads there are. I have a $40 double row aluminum one off ebay that never has a problem and I've been in some pretty bad traffic jams

 

Notice that the 2 row core is 1.5" thick and the OE style 1 row core is 1.25" thick. I'd almost bet if u subtract the space between the 2 rows, u end up with 1.25". Auto mfgs. have gone with aluminum/plastic rads with very wide row(s) for the past 20 yrs with great success. All I'm saying is, don't be fooled into thinking a 2-3 row rad is 2-3 times as thick as a 1 row OE style rad....they are not.

Stock OE rads are not copper/brass, they are aluminum/plastic.

 

Man save yourself some money and order one from radiatorbarn, all metal 2 row option shipped for around 130 I think will have to double check their site


Just checked their site and prices went up $200 shipped with lifetime warranty

 

A friend actually just pointed me to them. I'm getting the 3 row for $235 shipped with lifetime warranty

 

All metal as in no plastic tanks?

 

Yes ALL metal, no plastic tanks

 

I'm in need of one myself and after some searching, I found a few all-aluminum rads for well under $200. They're out there. Just spend a little time. I'm thinking about this one, though.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2-Row-1-Tube...ht_4443wt_1396

 

Spend the extra $ and get one from these guys
http://radiatorbarn.com/search.php?product=radiator

 

Aluminum is gaining in popularity - because it's lighter, and because it's marginally better at heat rejection.

Which would I pick?

Aluminum - if it's a city-only or city-highway vehicle, and I'm not overly concerned about reliability (read: I'm never far off the beaten path. My wife's 2005 Verona would get an aluminum replacement, if I needed to replace it.)

Copper/brass - if it's something I'm going to have out in the Outback for even one trip. Copper/brass itself is a bit less susceptible to corrosion, and the Galvanic potential difference between copper and iron is lower than for aluminum and iron (which reduces electrical activity, which reduces corrosion.)

Electrical activity? Yeah. One standard test for coolant is to put one lead of a voltmeter on the radiator shell (or other metal part contacting coolant,) and dip the probe of the other into the coolant - typically, the positive probe goes into the coolant. Read more than 1VDC, flush and change your coolant. Read more than 0.75VDC, plan on flushing & changing your coolant soon. (reading voltage at the coolant is an indicator that it's wandered off of pH 7.0 - neutral. Most water will be a bit on the acid side due to entrained gasses and ions, only "chemically pure & deionized" water is really 7.0, and it's expensive!) Typically, the coolant mix will gradually become acidic as the neutralisers wear down, which turns your cooling system into a large, low-voltage battery.

The greater the voltage the battery can generate, the faster the corrosion inside will take place. Aluminum goes first, then copper, then iron. Ergo, an aluminum radiator will Galvanically corrode before an iron one will, which is why I don't generally suggest an aluminum radiator for a trail rig.

Side Note - the same conditions apply for whether to get a radiator with the tanks crimped onto the core, vice one with the tanks brazed or TIG-welded onto the core. If a brazed/welded seam starts to fail, you can solder it to keep going - trying to "field-seal" a crimped tank seam is more a recipe for frustration and failure than anything else, and should be avoided in the field...