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Posted By Discussion Topic: new radiator what to put in -- page: 1 2     Drbrown 04-17-2019 @ 7:49 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 571 Joined: Nov 2013 RADIATOR'S - IMHO: This comment "Water over the Dam" regarding your situation but I stayed with brass after reading report in a well-known trucking mag that compared brass vs. aluminum radiators and said they found little difference in cooling effect/capacity, and at that time higher prices for alum. They also commented: (1) Coolants with special anti-corrosive additives for cooling systems having iron and aluminum components (radiators, pumps, heads, etc) and (2) repairing a brass radiators generally easier than alum. I prefer 50/50 Extended Life Prestone w/distilled water for my '47 and other family cars. I understand "extended" has slightly longer-lasting inhibitors. I use same in a 1980's vintage V8 GM car that has aluminum heads/cooled intake manifolds and radiator, AND with that car I change coolant at least every 2 to3 years. RADIATOR FANS - IMHO: my '47 has newer brass radiator, 6-blade belt-drive fan, coolant as above, and stock 4 lb cap. Also have nice old shroud for fan but never used it. All worked fine UNTIL I decided 6-blade fan too noisy at high RPM i.e. when shifting thru gears. So installed an electric 2800 cfm puller fan - came with a partial shroud. Nice and quiet BUT then vapor lock problems started. Not enough air moving thru engine compartment - changed back to the six-blade belt-drive fan - vapor lock stopped. (Prior: gas line insulated, pump & carb rebuilt for ethanol use) Yes, I use 87 oct gas with 10% ethanol - said to contribute to vapor lock. Non-ethanol gas is at least a half-hour away and 40 to 50 cents more per gallon, so I'm now happy with my noisy fan. This message was edited by Drbrown on 4-17-19 @ 8:25 AM MGG 04-16-2019 @ 4:39 PM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 85 Joined: Jul 2014 "Why buy the water when you can buy Prestone 50/50 which is anti freeze and water? Regards, Steve Lee" It is way less expensive to buy the concentrate antifreeze and mix it yourself. hemi354az 04-16-2019 @ 1:17 PM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 1 Joined: Apr 2019 Late but I hope useful information- 50/50 mix of glycol boils at 227ºF. The stuff is in there to lower the FREEZING POINT, but it also RAISES the boiling point 15ºF. The pressure cap is what saves modern engines. Each PSI raises the boiling point a little more than 3ºF. If you start with 50/50 mix (227º), then a 7 psi cap raises the BP to (7 X 3 = 21º) 248ºF. The original reason for pressurizing the coolant system was to get the vehicle over MOUNTAINS ! Increase BP so it would not be affected by LOWER BP at "altitude". Rule of thumb is 1/2 psi ambient pressure drop per 1,000 ft. increase in altitude. At 10,000 ft., Wolf Creek Pass, in Southern Colorado, ambient pressure has dropped 5 psi which lowers BP 15ºF which used up all the "cushion" the 50/50 glycol gave you and BP is back to 212º. BUT . . . a pressure cap (7 psi = +21º in BP) puts it back at 233ºF boiling point at 10,000 ft. Newer radiators (AND HEATER CORES !) use 15-16 psi caps that increase BP (15 X 3 = +45ºF) to 227º + 45º = 272º F !!! Race cars (sprinters/Nascar) use 25 psi, even 30 psi caps with straight water ! So a new radiator with 50/50 and 7 psi cap has a 227º + 21º = 248º F Boiling Point. Wonder if your new Ford radiator and heater core and all the hoses and fittings could take 10 psi ? Maybe NOT. A 10 psi recovery type radiator cap would raise BP to 257º F ! Hope you have a radiator Coolant BURP CAN, and a Recovery Type Radiator CAP, and the sheet metal that keeps the air from going OVER the radiator or around each side, and a shroud, and a SUCK fan (electric or engine driven) on the engine side of the radiator. Interesting to see how the "fan shroud" has been "new and improved" over the years. I am not a fan of "flex fans" . . . ever see one on a Production Car ? Also I have never seen a coolant "fluid" failure of any kind using ethylene glycol (the GREEN STUFF !). As long as the system is full . . . it WORKS ! The "new and Improved" Extended Life elixirs, like Dex-Cool ? Real name is Death-Cool ! Generous Motors bought a lot of new engines for cars that came from the Factory with that stuff. USE GREEN 50/50 ONLY ! Boil ON, Lou in Aridzona This message was edited by hemi354az on 4-16-19 @ 1:24 PM woodiewagon46 03-22-2019 @ 9:34 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 704 Joined: Nov 2012 Carcrazy brings up an excellent question. A "pusher" fan does just that, it pushes the air thru the radiator and is mounted in front of the radiator. If in fact you are using a "pusher" fan, mounted behind the radiator, you will fight the air trying to come thru the radiator at speed. I'm also not a fan of aluminum radiators, but as to the aluminum vs brass/copper, there have been several articles in various hot rod related magazines and the brass/copper seems to run slightly cooler. 37RAGTOPMAN 03-22-2019 @ 8:50 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 1962 Joined: Oct 2009 hi if your car is in a garage, and it does not freeze, I would use distilled water, I use the water that I get from a dehumidifier its FREE, and a water pump lube,for no rust, or water wetter, and this way if it does overheat, it does not make a MESS, stain the paint, and more,,,!!! for at least till you get the problem solved, I also found out that PEAK ANTIFREEZE, does not to foam out as much as other brands I have one car that is not in a heated garage, and I use PEAK not deluded ,50-50 way pay for water,? mix it your self, good luck with new radiator, let us know how you make out , with the over heating problem my 2 cents 1937 RAGTOPMAN carcrazy 03-22-2019 @ 7:44 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 1668 Joined: Oct 2009 This may be a dumb question. When you installed the electric fan on the back of your radiator, did you have it wired up to push or pull air through the radiator? If you are going to use an electric fan, it is best to use it as a "puller" on the side of the radiator that faces the engine. Placing the fan toward the top of the radiator (where the coolant is hottest) will help as will the use of a shroud around the fan. TomO 03-22-2019 @ 7:21 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 7256 Joined: Oct 2009 You will need to have some anti-freeze in the radiator to prevent corrosion. Having an aluminum radiator makes having corrosion inhibitors more important. Check with the radiator manufacturer for their recommendations. Tom ford38v8 03-22-2019 @ 12:21 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 2764 Joined: Oct 2009 gfstew, I'm not a fan of aluminum radiators, so I have no advice on coolant requirements on them, but I do have a pointer for you on your fan: You will notice that for all the cars over all the years of manufacture, they all have fans that pull air through the radiator, the best of those having a shroud. Pusher fans are not nearly as efficient and are never used in new cars for that reason. Also, please discount any confrontational replies you get, there are few of those kind on our Forum. Alan sarahcecelia 03-21-2019 @ 7:42 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 1193 Joined: Mar 2013 A brass radiator will run much cooler than an aluminum one; why do you think Henry used brass instead of aluminum, which is much cheaper than brass? Regards, Steve Lee sarahcecelia 03-21-2019 @ 7:39 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 1193 Joined: Mar 2013 Why buy the water when you can buy Prestone 50/50 which is anti freeze and water? Regards, Steve Lee

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