Aluminum Radiators

alchevy · September 26, 2004, 09:49:32 PM

What's your experience with aluminum radiators?
Here's mine: After seeing that two of my friends bought that kind for their projects, I decided to check on them myself. I ended up buying the same brand as they did. This was an AFCO radiator and for the price, it was very good for my '40 Chevy. My car got on the road in July of 2003 and I have been enjoying it. The other day my car ran around 250 degrees and so I stopped and (just happened to have some antifreeze in the trunk) put about a gallon in. It was a 50/50 mix with distilled water. Before I cranked it up, I noticed a leak around the top of the radiator. I didn't know if it was on a corner seam or with one of the core tubes at the top. I could tell that my electric fan (on the back side of the rad) was pulling antifreeze through the rad and spraying it onto the passenger side of the motor. I cranked up the car and it ran around 150 degrees without needing the fan. On Saturday, I pulled the rad out of the car and will take it to the rad shop this week. Trying to find someone that works on aluminum ones, have one place in town and have a place in the Jackson, MS area (about an hours drive away) that I can use if I need to. Now I have to figure out what all I want to do while the rad is out of the car.
I bought an a/c unit at Louisville this year and a Stewart water pump. I will go ahead and swap out the water pump now, for sure. On the a/c unit, it's a domino effect because I need to fix the leaky windshield before I put the a/c unit under the dash. Don't want to ruin my investment in parts with water damage. To get a new windshield, I need to paint my finish color around the windows. See what I'm talking about with the dominos starting to fall. Oh, yeah October is almost here and I was going to go to a car show each weekend in the month. Looks like a busy week this week to get the car back together. I can always drain the rad later on when I put the a/c unit in. I've got experience with that by now.
Getting jealous of some of you retired folks right about now.

Charlie Chops 1940 · September 27, 2004, 01:06:32 PM

I've had a Griffin (Griffith?) in the convert for about a year. Seems to do an OK job but I think I need to put a shroud on it - have one - just need to get to it. The domino effect is not yours personally. The old recored brass radiator lasted 24 years but as I put a succession of stronger heat pumps in it gradually became limited. No complaints.

Charlie

Ed ke6bnl · September 27, 2004, 05:02:47 PM

Quote from: "Charlie Chops 1940"I've had a Griffin (Griffith?) in the convert for about a year. Seems to do an OK job but I think I need to put a shroud on it - have one - just need to get to it. The domino effect is not yours personally. The old recored brass radiator lasted 24 years but as I put a succession of stronger heat pumps in it gradually became limited. No complaints.

Charlie

I installed the Griffin in my 50 f1 with dual 11" spallfans with the fan housing and small rubber relief ports that blow open to relieve excess pressure when too much air passes throught the radiator. I can not get the systems fans run more then 1 min. even over 100 degrees. The only time they did was going up the the mountain pass at about 100 degress. in the high desert in So. Calif. The only complaint I have is that the tubes are epoxied to the side tanks rather then being welded. Will be hard to impossible to reweld near the epoxy. But so far so good Ed ke6bnl

model a vette · September 28, 2004, 02:01:10 PM

One caution that a friend learned the hard way: Don't store a previously used aluminum radiator DRY. Once exposed to a water/antifreeze mixture they will corode if left exposed to the air afterward. If you remove one for a car rebuild: Refill it with your favorite coolant mixture and close off the inlet & outlet, before storage. Make sure to get ALL the air out!

alchevy · September 29, 2004, 01:53:47 PM

Here's an update:
I tried taking the radiator to a local shop, but they don't fix that kind, so I went into work early Tuesday and got off in time to drive (about an hours drive) to another radiator shop that closes at 5pm. They are currently looking at it to see where the leak is at. I borrowed a Walker radiator from a friend last night that I can use if mine is going to be long at the shop. I'm going in the '40 to Cruisin' the Coast next week. The borrowed one is for a '39 Chevy, but it's very close if not exactly like the one I have, just weighs more. The upper hose connection is not in the center like mine is, so I'll have to do some clever running of the upper hose to make it work. Then I'll have to work out a way to mount my electric fan (puller) to his radiator without putting holes in his mounting bracket. That plus the transmission cooler will have to be mounted the same way. This is only a temp solution, so I don't want to go to too much trouble just to get the car on the road. The electric fan I use is a Spal and those work very good. I don't have a mechanical fan and the electric fan is on a toggle switch right now. I just watch the temp and turn it on when sitting in traffic or in town driving when I'm stopping a lot. I've had adventures with those thermostats that turn the fan on at a certain temp. The first one (just a $20 unit) that plugs into the bottom of the radiator and you set it to come on at a certain time when it gets hot enough. When installing it, the coiling wire that sends the signal up to the box broke off just behind the sensor. That's why I have the toggle switch, so that's what I use. So I bought a new one and was carefull with the coiled wire this time, so much that I pushed the sleave too far on the sensor and could not get it to go back. So I just use the toggle switch. There are several companies out there that make different types of thermostats to turn electric fans on and off automatically. I would be interested in hearing from folks that have tried them.
AL

2buck · September 29, 2004, 09:10:13 PM

A fiend and his car club just returned from a tour of the Griffin Factory. From what he was telling me it sounds as though their radiators are now furnance brazed. He said the radiators went into a furnance for several hours.
Bucky

WZ JUNK · September 29, 2004, 09:48:56 PM

I use a Chrysler fan temperature sensor(looks like a water temperature sender) installed in the block, head or intake, water jacket. I wire it so that it completes the ground leg of a relay circuit. When the water in the engine hits about 185 degrees the sensor closes and triggers the relay to turn on the fan. If you want to use this same relay and a switch to make the fan come on, just wire in the switch to the same wire from the sensor to the relay and ground the other side of the switch. You can then use either device to turn your fan on.

I see lots of people use a switch to turn their electric cooling fans on. Rarely do I see someone who is using a switch that is rated for the load that a fan requires. I do not recomend using a switch to supply the power leg of the circuit to a fan. If you must have a switch, use it to trigger a relay to supply the power to the fan.

It is difficult to describe an electrical circuit in words and I do not have the capabilities to draw you a circuit. If you are not clear as to what I am trying to explain PM or email me and we will sort it out.

Ed ke6bnl · September 30, 2004, 07:31:56 AM

I have installed the inexpensive adjustable thermostat in my 63 econoline for the past 3 years. I have used it strapped to the upper radiator hose with foam insulated tape and later installed it in the upper fin area near the upper hose. with adjustment I can set it to go on at what ever temp I prefer. I did run the stat through the low amp side of a relay to trigger the fans higher amps to help save the switch contacts. the fan sw. was perchased at AutoZone. Ed ke6bnl

Quote from: "40chevy"Here's an update:
I tried taking the radiator to a local shop, but they don't fix that kind, so I went into work early Tuesday and got off in time to drive (about an hours drive) to another radiator shop that closes at 5pm. They are currently looking at it to see where the leak is at. I borrowed a Walker radiator from a friend last night that I can use if mine is going to be long at the shop. I'm going in the '40 to Cruisin' the Coast next week. The borrowed one is for a '39 Chevy, but it's very close if not exactly like the one I have, just weighs more. The upper hose connection is not in the center like mine is, so I'll have to do some clever running of the upper hose to make it work. Then I'll have to work out a way to mount my electric fan (puller) to his radiator without putting holes in his mounting bracket. That plus the transmission cooler will have to be mounted the same way. This is only a temp solution, so I don't want to go to too much trouble just to get the car on the road. The electric fan I use is a Spal and those work very good. I don't have a mechanical fan and the electric fan is on a toggle switch right now. I just watch the temp and turn it on when sitting in traffic or in town driving when I'm stopping a lot. I've had adventures with those thermostats that turn the fan on at a certain temp. The first one (just a $20 unit) that plugs into the bottom of the radiator and you set it to come on at a certain time when it gets hot enough. When installing it, the coiling wire that sends the signal up to the box broke off just behind the sensor. That's why I have the toggle switch, so that's what I use. So I bought a new one and was carefull with the coiled wire this time, so much that I pushed the sleave too far on the sensor and could not get it to go back. So I just use the toggle switch. There are several companies out there that make different types of thermostats to turn electric fans on and off automatically. I would be interested in hearing from folks that have tried them.
AL

alchevy · October 01, 2004, 01:29:15 AM

Another update:
12am Friday Central Time
Just got the radiator back in the car and so far so good. So now maybe I can make all of those car shows I wanted to go to in October (each weekend) plus the first weekend in November.

wz junk: That's the way mine is wired up too.

alchevy · October 02, 2004, 07:58:26 AM

I drove the car to work on Friday and I had to tighten up the upper rad hose because it was leaking. I'll see how it does today when I drive it to a car show about an hour's drive away.

alchevy · October 04, 2004, 01:57:06 PM

The car did fine this weekend after driving it Friday, Saturday, & Sunday.