Radiator Roulette

I am new here so please forgive my ignorance. Does the original radiator not work? I realize that sometimes change is good but is this change needed. My newly purchased X has 36000 miles and I have not started it yet. I plan on removing the rad and having it cleaned, replacing the hoses and vacuum filling the system. I have no need to just spend money but I don't need to waste money either

The original rads were a very high quality, strong unit. Steel shell, brass tanks, copper core tubes and very closely spaced steel fins. Very capable when new and during the car's early years.

While the arcane knowledge needed to keep an exotic mid-engined Italian cooling system in top operating condition could be found at places that pamper Prancing Horses and Raging Bulls at mega-rates, such expertise was in short supply at former FIAT dealers and nowhere to be found at Joe's neighborhood auto repair and the corner gas station, so neglect set in and many an X was relegated to the scrap heap after an overheating incident ended up in head warpage.
 
Since I haven't started it yet I will wait and start with a good flush. If I have a problem I will get it rodded and cleaned
I'm not sure where you are in Northern CA, but I got a new core installed by a place in Redwood City. They told me the cores come from a factory in Benicia, CA. Unlike the original core, the fins are also copper so it should cool a bit better and solve the intermetallics issue that the original core died of. The cost was maybe a little less than a good quality aluminum unit but some claim that there are potential electrolysis issues with aluminum radiators and iron blocks. Copper is also a better heat conductor.
 
The vacuum filler tool works like a charm. OEM tools part #24444 $69.00 on Amazon. It's Prime, so if you don't like it, it's returnable. It pulled about 22 inches of vacuum, all the hoses went flat. Then closed the valve and waited to see if it held, which it did. The other hose goes into a bucket of antifreeze and just sucked it in. Started it up and ran it a few times, haven't needed to top it up and have no air at the bleeder.used it on an Infinity, same thing, filled it right up. The big test will be my Ford Expedition with rear seat heat, lots of hoses and 2 heater cores.
Performance of the radiator, can't complain. Ran it at idle on a 95 degree day for 20 minutes and it won't break 190, fans haven't come on yet. I do have a leak at the fan switch, which I think is the sealing surface on the radiator, it didn't look perfectly flat, think it's designed for an O ring, but the switch doesn't have the proper recess to use one. The copper ring leaked, tried an aluminum ring with #2 permatex, that worked, passed 15psi pressure test, drove it about 20 miles, then started to leak a little. I'll try another ring and be sure it's flat.
Harbor Freight also sells these.
 
I will have mine done (if needed) in Reno. Do you have the business name in Redwood City
The shop is called OK Radiator, and the guy to talk to is Stephen Dellinger, the owner. He is one of the few guys left around here that does this kind of work. I had used him once back in the 70s and was surprised to find he was still actually working (Still open as of 6/2019). He had it back to me in two days (including time to order and install core) looking brand new. Not exactly close to Reno, however.
 
I would drain the liquid currently in the system, fill it with distilled water and run it for a few days. Then put radiator flush in it, run it, drain it and flush it with water. Then fill it with the proper coolant.

Before putting the new coolant in I would replace the hoses and if needed replace the fan switch in the radiator.

I would then run the car to see if it actually has a cooling problem.

My 1985 has its original radiator and cools the car just fine. I found out the fan switch had died at an autocross and the car overcooled when I left the fan running (I jumped the wiring) when driving around. The fan switch had probably died a few years ago but apparently the traffic and temps I drive in don’t require a fan very often.

It it ain’t broke don’t just replace it. Some things should be replaced due to age, hoses, hose clamps things which rust and degrade from use and age. A radiator can certainly be clogged and rust out but until you verify it don’t replace it.
 
When I rebuilt the engine in my X I found a lot of rusty red sludge in the water jackets. Some of it required the use of a hammer and chisel to remove. Afterward, I removed the rad and attached my garden hose to it and turned it on. A lot of red sludge came out. I then partially filled the rad with hot water from a kettle and shook it, drained it. and followed with the garden hose. I repeated this over and over (likely about 40-50 times) until the water came out clear. My X now runs without cooling problems.

Brian
 
There was a discussion on cooling system flushes here awhile back. Unfortunately the flush products found on the parts store shelves anymore have gone the way of most similar chemicals, they are not very effective (read as 'they do not work at all'). To the extent that I'm noticing recommendations to just flush the cooling system with plain water and refill. I've seen suggestions online to use everything from dishwashing soap to Coke, but no evidence that any of them actually work. I've experimented with many things and done considerable research on the subject.

Fortunately there is one possible option to get a flush product that works pretty well, like in the old days. It is the same chemical that one of the most popular 'old school' cooling system flushes used, a two part product from DuPont. The two components consisted of a weak acid followed by a neutralizer. That acid was Oxalic acid, which can be purchased easily, and a good neutralizer is baking soda. Oxalic acid is sold as a white power (just as it was in the DuPont flush kit) either online under its own name, or at some local stores as "wood bleach" or cleaning product. It is very mild as safe to use (some coffee pot cleaners and kitchen surface cleaners use a diluted solution of it). In fact if your cooling system is badly corroded you may need to use it in a stronger concentration or repeat the process a second time. Further details can be found online.

That being said, it is still only a flush and will not replace a proper radiator service (as in take it to a real radiator shop to be rodded out). In another thread I've experimented with several processes to remove the heavy scale that will build up in the cooling jackets of a engine (i.e. the block and head). To be honest nothing really performs any miracles. If you have a really bad accumulation of crud there are not any good options to remove it; the old days of having a cast iron block 'hot tanked' no longer exists and all of the current options are simply not effective (some actually cause more damage than good). And aluminum heads are even more limited to what can be done. As Brian said, if the engine is torn down you can scrape the accessible areas by hand, but that is only a small portion of the jackets. So a good flush - or several of them - may be as good as it gets. At least until someone comes up with something new that actually works.
 
About a month ago @toddr124 helped me swap out one alloy radiator for the MWB / CSF one. The difference in quality is night and day. I also gave up on the twin fan setup and went back to the stock cooling fan. So far the new radiator works so well that in this cool weather the fan has yet to come on. Or maybe the fan just doesn't work? Who knows, its fun to drive!
 
This seems to be as good a spot as any to ask this. I have a replacement radiator and all new rubber hoses ready to go. I'm wondering if there's any benefit to flushing to system with all the old components still in place before taking on the repair to perhaps dislodge anything that might be present in the parts that are not being replaced? Curious to know your thoughts.
 
This seems to be as good a spot as any to ask this. I have a replacement radiator and all new rubber hoses ready to go. I'm wondering if there's any benefit to flushing to system with all the old components still in place before taking on the repair to perhaps dislodge anything that might be present in the parts that are not being replaced? Curious to know your thoughts.
I would flush with old parts in place and avoid putting harsh chemicals in to your new parts ,once the chemical or rad flush does it,s job reflush with water once or twice to get everything out,
 
This seems to be as good a spot as any to ask this. I have a replacement radiator and all new rubber hoses ready to go. I'm wondering if there's any benefit to flushing to system with all the old components still in place before taking on the repair to perhaps dislodge anything that might be present in the parts that are not being replaced? Curious to know your thoughts.
I completely get what you are thinking, I had similar ideas when I was replacing my rad. It's kind of a two sided issue. If the engine and pipes are much worse condition (contaminated) than the old rad then I'd flush with the old rad in place. However if the old rad is much worse condition than the engine and pipes then I'd flush with the new one in place. In other words you don't want to introduce more crud from the old rad into the rest of the system, assuming the old rad is full of crud. And vice versa. Also I agree with @tony x19 that some flush agents might be a little harsh on the new rad. But most flush products available today are so mild (and ineffective) that it probibly won't matter.

As an option I attempted to bypass the rad by looping the two long pipes together and flushing the system. The hope was to clean everything out without contaminating the new rad. But honestly it did not work very well. Too difficult to get a effective loop in there.
 
This seems to be as good a spot as any to ask this. I have a replacement radiator and all new rubber hoses ready to go. I'm wondering if there's any benefit to flushing to system with all the old components still in place before taking on the repair to perhaps dislodge anything that might be present in the parts that are not being replaced? Curious to know your thoughts.
If you were planning to do a "cold" flush as in just rinsing it out, then you could do it at the point where the old components are gone but the new ones are not yet installed. For example, if all five major external cooling hoses are removed and you're doing this with a garden hose....

1. Rinse out driver's side undercar pipe by flowing water in either or both directions
2. Rinse out pass side undercar pipe by flowing water in either or both directions
3. Rinse out heater circuit: open heater control valve (full hot), disconnect heater feed hose from pass side rear corner of head and either small undercar pipe to hose connection, or heater return hose from crossover pipe (to water pump), and flow in either or both directions
4. Rinse out block by opening drain petcock (low on rear middle low of engine block) and flowing water back thru the heater feed elbow on pass side rear corner of the head, then reverse the flow by switching to (IIRC) the upper front nipple of the stat housing or by flowing thru the crossover pipe into the water pump.

Basically it's just a case of sticking the hose in every hole and let the rinse water flow where it goes.
 
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