Blew my radiator
- Thread starter meangreen98
- Start date
There are some Crown parts I would use (such as replacement factory control arms), but anything to do with the cooling system wouldn’t be one of them.
We used to do some crazy stuff when we were kids. One time my buddy shoved a half a tube of blue silicone into the fins to stop a leak. He drove that Electra 225 for a couple years like that.
If you tighten it and it blows it out again, you would loose more water and likely overheat.
I would try it loose and see what happens.
We were bopping around on the back roads a fair bit away from well travelled roads in the NM Hondo Valley in a 60's Dodge Pickup. We did not know that the owner was a rigger with limited skills who had tied down the battery with what was apparently an old set of shoelaces. A sharp bump finally sent it out of the tray and into the backside of the radiator fan blades which shoved them forward into the radiator. We peeled out the fins on the broken tubes, folded and crimped them over several times and tossed in several packets of ground pepper we found in the glove box. Borrowed some water from a stock tank, filled it up and made it back to town with no further issues.
Blaine, I did a week long course on thermal imaging, part of the class was to calculate heat loss, they used a copper/brass and aluminum radiators, the CB still had a higher output than aluminum per square inch.
Also the US radiators are in the $6-800 range, so they do last and are built like they were 40 years ago...but with a little newer technology in fin design and tube placement. Tim
For those that care about such things, here is a fairly accurate discussion of the merits of both.
It is 5 parts if you care to read all the way through.
https://www.cgj.com/2013/06/27/aluminum-vs-copper-brass-radiator-the-great-debate/
Another showing that the copper industry is working very hard to get the costs down to eliminate solder which is the Achille's Heel of that type radiator.
https://www.copper.org/applications/automotive/radiators/design_innovations.html
If you dig around with an open mind, the facts about both are out there and pretty well documented. It is only in recent years that the elimination of solder in copper brass construction has been able to be brought down to an economical level.
Another thing that is missed by the vast majority is material strength in that copper and brass are not strong enough in traditional construction to handle the higher pressures seen in modern cooling systems. Or not stronger enough without making them much thicker, which makes them heavier, which also drives the costs up.
The "plastic" tanks are much stronger, much stiffer, cost far less, and can handle the pressures with ease. The word plastic is in quotes because while they are a polymer, they are a high strength fiber reinforced polymer. Think similarities to carbon fiber which by typical definitions is referred to as FRP or fiber reinforced plastic, same as fiberglass, the stuff the TJ hard top is constructed from, a few Glocks here and there, and manhole covers.
If we start a "How to McGyver your vehicle " thread, Mr. Blaine leads. That's awesome .
On the 30 year warranty - don't purchase products based on warranties- if someone builds it cheap enough ,and sells it high enough , they generate the profit to warranty the inevitable failure.
Go with experience and part history when you can - aluminum looks cool but the factory radiators have a very low failure rate given the age and what these vehicles see.
My friend did one of my work truck transmissions at his transmission shop and gave me a special Lifetime warranty . He said "Andy, if you bring this back, I will kill you ."
I like what Jerry said once ...a warranty won't get you back home. Many of his posts are required reading in trade schools.
Let us know about the power loss , and how everything turns out .
Back in the day when they gave you salt and pepper with your carry out.....and you would save it! "You never know"
My question for the polymer radiators would be how well they do with thermal cycling. Also this stuff is just designed so the failure curve is out from the OEM warranty.
I would consider most OEM stuff to last around 15 years as long as it's stressed the way the OEM engineers expected it to be. I would guess with radiators that impurities and lack of coolant changes would lead to a bit of diminished life.
When I got my engine kit it came with a CBR radiator. I couldn't find the exact price of the TJ model but a JK custom model was $2k so I'm guessing I may have the most outrageously priced radiator and I'm hoping it lasts more than 15 years but in any case I'll be going with something cheaper and I'm saving the one I had with my 4.0.
I would consider most OEM stuff to last around 15 years as long as it's stressed the way the OEM engineers expected it to be. I would guess with radiators that impurities and lack of coolant changes would lead to a bit of diminished life.
When I got my engine kit it came with a CBR radiator. I couldn't find the exact price of the TJ model but a JK custom model was $2k so I'm guessing I may have the most outrageously priced radiator and I'm hoping it lasts more than 15 years but in any case I'll be going with something cheaper and I'm saving the one I had with my 4.0.
When mine cracked and I JB Welded it to make it to Moab, I replaced it with a O'Reilly's unit. It lasted 15K miles. Started leaking where the bottom tank is crimped to the core. It had a lifetime warranty. I replaced it with a Mopar unit, warrantied the POS parts store unit, and now have a brand new POS parts store radiator collecting dust in storage. I figure I'll hang on to it, cause Mopar units will be extinct by the time I'm ready to replace it again.
Apparently they do well enough to last about 10-12 years and 100,000 miles give or take. I wouldn't expect different based on our experiences swapping out quite a few.
I live 10 miles from Clint. I've ordered one of his new fangled core radiators for the TJ at least 3 times and to call me when it is done. Still haven't seen one.
Is Clint the one making the CBR stuff? I think my intercooler and radiator were from CBR. Seems to be good stuff. When I ordered my kit, the radiator/intercooler took about 2 months to get in I think. Those are typically a bit too rich for my blood, but with project creep and not wanting to be in a nasty spot in 4Lo with a trailer or something wishing I had a different cooling package, I went ahead and picked up the whole kit.
I'm not sure how good of cooling it will do since, due to the price I want to cover it with a frame and maybe some AR500 plate so it won't get the slightest damage.
BendJeepin'
New Member
Well, I guess it was too good to be true...
"Your order has been updated as follows:
Hello I am sorry at this time this part is not available and I show no release date. I will cancel and refund your account as to not hold up your funds."
I guess I won't have a radiator to report on.
"Your order has been updated as follows:
Hello I am sorry at this time this part is not available and I show no release date. I will cancel and refund your account as to not hold up your funds."
I guess I won't have a radiator to report on.
Same here I got the same email.
I needed to replace mine ASAP and didn't want to shell out the big bucks for the OEM so I went with an oreillys OEM style. I hope I don't regret it soon.
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