DONT use the trans cooler as an engine oil cooler.
Trans coolers run at about 15psi, same as the cooling system (more or less).
Oil can peak at over 60psi, about 4 times the working pressure of the trans cooler.

Ron

 

I believe B&M coolers are tested to 200 psi.

 

Very wide individual tubes (1" or more wide) are more efficient at dissipating heat than narrow tubes....all of the modern factory rads are 1 or 2 row with wide tubes. The 3 row rad is only about 1/2" thicker than stock, not 3X as thick (far from it). Efficiency my be somewhat better but not 3X better. We're talking about highway speed so gobs of air flowing, not no/slow speed rock crawling with virtually no air flow (except for fans).

 

@ grsmnky1... That 12" flex fan you're using, you have it set up w/ a clutch or direct drive?

 

That's all well and good. But in automotive applications, I can tell you from personal verifiable experience that I solved several vehicle's overheating problems by replacing a copper and brass radiator with an aluminum one.

And yes, everything else had been tried previously.

 

Copper/brass OEM rads have been around way longer than aluminum rads....but all the mfgs have switched to aluminum/plastic rads, with less but wider individual tubes, over the past 20+ years (weight savings/more efficient)......must not be too bad.

Regardless of which material a rad is made of, one with clean, open, scale free tubes will always out perform one with scale build-up.

 

Yes, and it was way more common in the past when using those copper/brass rads for cars to overheat--even when everything else was OK.

 

It's electic and I have not been able to find another like it it's only 2.5 inches thick and I only had to take the clutch fan and shroud out and it fit right in. The brand name is barely readable anymore. I've had that old electric fan for years. I used it to keep my 1986 Laredo cool with a auxilary fan, alone it's not enough pull. I put a chevy 4.3 vortec in that beast with the 231c transfer case and a d44 rear. That thing would scream. I have not found a standalone aftermarket fan to keep my current 1993 cool enough in this Florida heat. Also if I have my lights on my stereo going and my a/c running I get a low voltage code so I will probrably have my alternator rewound to handle the extra load of the additional fan. Until then i just turn something off and deal with it.

I don't know the temperature it was when I towed my buddies jeep back from Venice but it was July of last year if that helps the OP.

 

well then im sure it was very hot. i know here in pa, its usually the humidity that makes it uncomfortable, last July we had a stretch of 1 or 2 weeks where the only time the temp droped below 98 or 100 was at night, and the humidity was still high. i can deal with heat, but add in humidity, and stickyness, thats when i start hating everything

also, grsmnky, what is that rad made out of? copper or aluminum? they tell you its all metal, but they dont tell you what metal it is haha.

i found this cool website that explains why even though copper is technically a better heat conductor, its not as efficient in the real world because the rows and tubes and stuff were soldered together, apparently solder is a terrible heat conductor.





taken from :

http://www.caparadiator.com/aluminumvscopper.html



Aluminum radiators are welded or “aluminum brazed” and the finished piece is 100% aluminum. This eliminates the dissimilar metals and solder bloom problems that affect copper radiators. Aluminum radiators can also use wider tubes that create more surface contact area from the tubes to the fins and helps dissipate the heat quicker. Most aluminum radiators use 1” wide tubes and some manufacturers like Griffin offer 1.25” and 1.5” tubes as well. Traditional copper radiators usually use ½” tubes so a 4 row copper radiator has slightly less fin contact area than a 2 row aluminum core with 1” tubes when you take into account the loss of contact area at the curved ends of the tubes. Most OEM copper radiators were built with the tubes on 9/16” centers from each other. All aluminum cores are built with the tubes on 7/16” or 3/8” centers creating a denser and more efficient core than a standard copper core. I generally tell customers that a high efficiency (tubes on 7/16” or closer centers) copper four row will cool the same as an aluminum core with two rows of 1” tubes. If more cooling is required from the radiator than either of these designs will provide, than an aluminum core with two rows of 1.25” is the thickest recommended for a street application. Any thicker than that and you may have trouble pulling air through the core at low speeds or when at a light.

 

dually noted, thanks!

 

My 3 core is made of copper/ brass. I got an extra core because i was aware aluminum cools slightly better than copper/brass. I did not choose this combination lightly. For one, i know how to braze, so i can make quick easy repairs to the radiator when, not if, i damage it on the trail. Also our jeeps are unibodied, when we are all flexed up the stress on all core supports is tremendous, copper is flexible compared to aluminum, a lot less brittle, i have less chance of cracking it open like a egg until i get some frame stiffeners on. Aside from that, if she was a road queen only, i would have went all aluminum just for the fact i could have found one cheaper where I'm located.

Humidity in Florida, unheard of, haha, yes it keeps it cool even in 98 percent humidity which is what i basically live in during the summer.
i will be honest with you though, i'm considering putting my original fan back on because my A/C does not work as well with the electric fan as it did with the old clutch fan.

 

Never seen a new car/clean rad overheat.....just old cars with neglected/dirty cooling systems, copper/brass/aluminum/plastic, whatever. I believe the rad shops are just as busy repairing crudded-up aluminum rads as they are repairing copper/brass rads.

The shape of the tubes (very wide, very thin) is key to thermal efficiency (modern rads). A wide thin tube made from aluminum is a little more ridged than wide/thin copper/brass tube.....heat rejection wise, they are very similar.

 

i honestly believe that for sheer air movement, nothing can really compare with a locked up mechanical fan. it might take more power, and lessen your gas mileage, but its way more reliable and a lot more simple, there fore...its easier to still use it in a pinch if it breaks. id rather run with a broken mechanical fan thats been ghetto locked up, then a broken electric fan that is un fixible without a soldering iron and lots of patients... a mechanical fan wont leave you stranded if it breaks...where as full electrical system....might.

either way....clean is better then dirty, new is better then old.


for now im going to put the radiator on the back burner, the electrical system on the bike i was going to tow down has taken a giant steaming crap on me....so im gonna set that up and upgrade it to a 12 volt system... i bought a flush kit, and im gonna flush the radiator again....and again, and again. and that should help. ill check the flow of the radiator out...maybe its just got some cholesterol build up...lol

 

While u r working on the bike, take the rad to a shop and get them to pull the tanks and "rod out" the core. It'll be clean as new.

 

i need something to get around haha. im not sure if its still the stock rad. i have to check it out.