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Aluminum Radiator

OK.........installed my Aluminum radiator from Ron Davis Racing Products
last weekend..........Guess I put just a little too much faith into "It will
just bolt in". Not complaining - nothing major - everything that was not
just "R&R", using 20/20 hindsight, should have been expected.
Allow me to give the observations of a mechanic @ the level of advanced
rookie (I repeat - not complaints - It Looks Good just sitting in my TJ - it
may be awhile before I get over how good it looks & be able to leave the
hood down while it is parked in my drive way).
1) sealing - my old foam that sat between the radiator & the AC condenser
needed to be replaced. I haven't been able to find any locally (especially
on a Sunday before Labor Day), but the original one would not have worked if
it was good - the fins sit a little higher & therefore are still above where
the foam would end (very minor point - just needs more research & attention
on my part).
2) sealing - there is now a space between my fan shroud & the radiator. The
old shroud sat against the old radiator..............more foam or maybe a
piece of rubber.
3) fitting - ran into a couple of minor problems in this area. I pulled out
the old radiator & then placed the new one in to the space, and @ that time
realized that the new radiator is a little over a half inch thicker than the
old one (not really a bad thing - probably a pretty good thing). I looked
down & the spacer between my fan & the water pump is shorter than I
expected - (another area for research) - my main concern, though, is that
there is approximately a little over an inch between the shaft of the fan
clutch & the fins. This would only be of a major concern, I believe, if
there was a problem with the motor mounts, or possibly during extreme flex
(don't know how much I need to worry about that). I panicked & called Bill -
& after talking to him, I believe that the fan blades are a reasonable
distance from the fins, while also in a good position in the shroud. Another
problem came about when tightening down the bolts that hold the radiator
in - the rails were not flush with the bracket of the Jeep, and the rail of
the radiator was drawn in a small amount. It didn't bother me until about
3:30AM (in my sleep). I called Tim @ Ron Davis & he said that I should place
some rubber washers, or something between the radiator & the JP? The last
difficulty came about when I started to attach the shroud to the radiator. I
lined up the holes in the shroud with the holes in the radiator, & realized
that I forgot to take the nut plates off of the old radiator...........not
so........the holes in the old radiator were tapped - so I went to the local
OSH & got some nuts, bolts, & washers - & found that my short fat hands did
not fit very well between the rails of the radiator frame to hold the nut
(had to call my wife & neighbor for assistance).
I think that is about it - my major concerns are distance between the fan
clutch shaft & the fins, and the attachment of the radiator to the JP. So
far, it seems to be running fine. When it was brand new it would get up to
210F & stay there. Lately it would go about 2 needle widths above 210F with
the AC on & did overheat one time (80mph - AC set to max - then cooled down
when I shut off the AC & slowed down for a couple of miles)..........now it
has been staying right @ 210F.

--
Carlo F. Serusa, Jr. RPh
carlo.jr@comcast.net
'98 Sahara TJ - '89 YJ - '79 Scout II
O|||||||O
'92 Explorer '65 Mustang

Re: Aluminum Radiator

Also.........wanted to say "thanks" to Bill.......

--
Carlo F. Serusa, Jr. RPh
carlo.jr@comcast.net
'98 Sahara TJ - '89 YJ - '79 Scout II
O|||||||O
'92 Explorer '65 Mustang

"Carlo Jr." <carlo.jr@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:Vkp7b.408063$uu5.74063@sccrnsc04...
> OK.........installed my Aluminum radiator from Ron Davis Racing Products
> last weekend..........Guess I put just a little too much faith into "It
will
> just bolt in". Not complaining - nothing major - everything that was not
> just "R&R", using 20/20 hindsight, should have been expected.
> Allow me to give the observations of a mechanic @ the level of advanced
> rookie (I repeat - not complaints - It Looks Good just sitting in my TJ -
it
> may be awhile before I get over how good it looks & be able to leave the
> hood down while it is parked in my drive way).
> 1) sealing - my old foam that sat between the radiator & the AC condenser
> needed to be replaced. I haven't been able to find any locally (especially
> on a Sunday before Labor Day), but the original one would not have worked
if
> it was good - the fins sit a little higher & therefore are still above
where
> the foam would end (very minor point - just needs more research &
attention
> on my part).
> 2) sealing - there is now a space between my fan shroud & the radiator.
The
> old shroud sat against the old radiator..............more foam or maybe a
> piece of rubber.
> 3) fitting - ran into a couple of minor problems in this area. I pulled
out
> the old radiator & then placed the new one in to the space, and @ that
time
> realized that the new radiator is a little over a half inch thicker than
the
> old one (not really a bad thing - probably a pretty good thing). I looked
> down & the spacer between my fan & the water pump is shorter than I
> expected - (another area for research) - my main concern, though, is that
> there is approximately a little over an inch between the shaft of the fan
> clutch & the fins. This would only be of a major concern, I believe, if
> there was a problem with the motor mounts, or possibly during extreme flex
> (don't know how much I need to worry about that). I panicked & called
Bill -
> & after talking to him, I believe that the fan blades are a reasonable
> distance from the fins, while also in a good position in the shroud.
Another
> problem came about when tightening down the bolts that hold the radiator
> in - the rails were not flush with the bracket of the Jeep, and the rail
of
> the radiator was drawn in a small amount. It didn't bother me until about
> 3:30AM (in my sleep). I called Tim @ Ron Davis & he said that I should
place
> some rubber washers, or something between the radiator & the JP? The last
> difficulty came about when I started to attach the shroud to the radiator.
I
> lined up the holes in the shroud with the holes in the radiator, &
realized
> that I forgot to take the nut plates off of the old radiator...........not
> so........the holes in the old radiator were tapped - so I went to the
local
> OSH & got some nuts, bolts, & washers - & found that my short fat hands
did
> not fit very well between the rails of the radiator frame to hold the nut
> (had to call my wife & neighbor for assistance).
> I think that is about it - my major concerns are distance between the fan
> clutch shaft & the fins, and the attachment of the radiator to the JP. So
> far, it seems to be running fine. When it was brand new it would get up to
> 210F & stay there. Lately it would go about 2 needle widths above 210F
with
> the AC on & did overheat one time (80mph - AC set to max - then cooled
down
> when I shut off the AC & slowed down for a couple of miles)..........now
it
> has been staying right @ 210F.
>
> --
> Carlo F. Serusa, Jr. RPh
> carlo.jr@comcast.net
> '98 Sahara TJ - '89 YJ - '79 Scout II
> O|||||||O
> '92 Explorer '65 Mustang
>
>
>

Re: Aluminum Radiator

Hi Carlo,
I didn't do anything.
I'm glad to hear it doesn't ever run hotter than the thermostat.
God Bless America, ßill O|||||||O
mailto:-------------------- http://www.----------.com/

"Carlo Jr." wrote:
>
> Also.........wanted to say "thanks" to Bill.......
>
> --
> Carlo F. Serusa, Jr. RPh
> carlo.jr@comcast.net
> '98 Sahara TJ - '89 YJ - '79 Scout II
> O|||||||O
> '92 Explorer '65 Mustang

Re: Aluminum Radiator

You were there to comfort me in a time of stress.......
BTW - what do you think about 210F. It was there when it was new, & the
local dealer thought it was normal, so I accepted that - but, lately, so
many other people freak out when they hear 210F??

--
Carlo F. Serusa, Jr. RPh
carlo.jr@comcast.net
'98 Sahara TJ - '89 YJ - '79 Scout II
O|||||||O
'92 Explorer '65 Mustang

"L.W. (ßill) ------ III" <----------@cox.net> wrote in message
news:3F5E2EC6.607A43D0@cox.net...
> Hi Carlo,
> I didn't do anything.
> I'm glad to hear it doesn't ever run hotter than the thermostat.
> God Bless America, ßill O|||||||O
> mailto:-------------------- http://www.----------.com/
>
> "Carlo Jr." wrote:
> >
> > Also.........wanted to say "thanks" to Bill.......
> >
> > --
> > Carlo F. Serusa, Jr. RPh
> > carlo.jr@comcast.net
> > '98 Sahara TJ - '89 YJ - '79 Scout II
> > O|||||||O
> > '92 Explorer '65 Mustang

Re: Aluminum Radiator

I would say it's normal, and a requirement for Kalifornia SMOG
program, and probably every other state by now.
God Bless America, ßill O|||||||O
mailto:-------------------- http://www.----------.com/

"Carlo Jr." wrote:
>
> You were there to comfort me in a time of stress.......
> BTW - what do you think about 210F. It was there when it was new, & the
> local dealer thought it was normal, so I accepted that - but, lately, so
> many other people freak out when they hear 210F??
>
> --
> Carlo F. Serusa, Jr. RPh
> carlo.jr@comcast.net
> '98 Sahara TJ - '89 YJ - '79 Scout II
> O|||||||O
> '92 Explorer '65 Mustang

Re: Aluminum Radiator

"Carlo Jr." <carlo.jr@comcast.net> wrote in message news:<sUw7b.404737$YN5.270253@sccrnsc01>...
> You were there to comfort me in a time of stress.......
> BTW - what do you think about 210F. It was there when it was new, & the
> local dealer thought it was normal, so I accepted that - but, lately, so
> many other people freak out when they hear 210F??
>

If you've got the stock 195 t/stat in it, then 210 would be in the normal range.

--
Old Crow
'95 YJ Rio Grande
ASE Certified Master Auto Tech