Radiator update - RRC

[Serious One]

Hey,

I had the radiator rodded out yesterday on the LWB I'm selling. It has 115K on it, and the guy at the rad. shop said it was 50% clogged.

I'm going to pull out the rad. on LWB #2, I'm guessing it'll be a similar story. It has 145K on it.

Just a heads up! Do with the info. what you want!

[64rovr]

Did you run distilled water?

[FAL]

Mike,

If you decide to buy a new radiator, think about having one build.
The RRC radiators are 4 cores, and there is enough space left on the side tanks to have a five core installed.
That's what I did a few years ago, 5 cores instead of the factory 4 cores, and I paid only $460.00.
That even cheaper as a factory radiator, and I have better cooling.

fredd

PS : did you send that little package ?

[Serious One]

I talked to the rad. guy about doing a 5-core using the existing tanks and new header plates. Would cost me 340 dollars to have my old radiator upgraded to 5-core.

He said that he didn't think it needed it as the radiator was way overbuilt for the type of engine we run, but I still feel it would be a worthy upgrade and am considering doing it on the second radiator that I have.

I took your 'package' to the post office on Monday and was standing in line for about 30 minutes, then got to two people from the front and realized that I had all of your other 'goodies' and didn't have the switches!

Doh!

I was so pissed I swore at myself and huffed out, I swear everyone in line must have thought I was going to start shooting.

I am *trying* to sell my truck tomorrow, have a guy flying in from Edmonton. I'll see how much time I have and maybe I can swing by the post office on the way to the airport.

Sorry I've been such a slacker.



EDIT: Adam, I have not been religious about running distilled water in either of my RR's because I figure that the damage has already been done. Plus, with all of the thermostat changing, hose fixing, etc...I've been flushing the system too much to worry about using distilled water.

But, I am going to use it now that I've rodded out the radiators and am starting from scratch. I am using distilled water in the Ron Davis aluminum radiator in the CrewCab.

[thebird1080]

These are the kinds of thing that I learn here: I should run distilled water in my radiator. The more and more I learn about my truck, the less I want to deal with the thing. I think I'll probably way overshoot my budget on my swap. If I need to get my radiator fixed, I might as well go with a custom that will drink "tap water"!! Friggin' amazing!!

[PTSchram]

One does not wish to use other than distilled or deionized water in an utomotive radiator. Without going into the physics/chemistry, the heat transfer into distilled or deionized water is far more efficient.

That said, while this likely won't work in Vegas, nor Aridzona, I use the water from my dehumidifier as it is more than suitable for our purposes.

Mike- I have picked up some bits to further the shock mount project.


Peace,

PT

[wilsby]

Never before heard of people using distilled water in radiators. Do you mix it 50-50 with antifreeze like we do?

[DieLucas!]

Just use it in place of tap-water. 50-50 with antifreeze in colder climates.

[wilsby]

OK. I realize why it is better in theory. But does it really matter in real life?

[SeaRover]

yes - there are measurable benefits both in the longevity of the radiator and in the performance of the coolant in extreme climates.

next time you flush the radiator try it out.
not sure about over there, but distilled water at the grocery store is inexpensive.

[Serious One]

LWB #2's radiator was also clogged to 50%.

Funny thing is, all of the sediment was in the bottom of the radiator. The guy asked me if the truck had sat for a long time, I said no, but that I had used a bottle of that Prestone radiator cleaner recently.

He said that is what did it.

The cleaner loosened up the deposits and then re-deposited them at the bottom of the rad.

He said if you use that stuff yearly it does a great job, but if you do it in a last ditch attempt to clean out an already clogged radiator, it just makes things worse.

Rad is installed and heading out for a test drive.

Get your rads rodded out at 100K weather you are overheating or not.



Oh yeah, and used aluminum safe coolant and distilled water - it really helps.

[Serious One]

last update...

Hooked up the ChuckWagon to the LWB and headed up the mountain,

Climbed steadily up to 7600 feet and the temp guage didn't budge at all.

I think I have my cooling issue solved, finally.

What I did:

Replaced all hoses
Replaced expansion tank
Replaced expansion tank cap
Replaced thermostat
Cleaned out rad with off-the-shelf Prestone cleaner
Rodded out radiator

Rodding out the radiator is what finally solved the problem.

[pendy]

That is what I said to do two months ago. Glad things are working out, no overheating etc...

I may write a post about recoring radiators this week. Just to stir things up with PTS again. There are better ways to deal with this as well. Luckily your Radiators were not to far gone.

JP

[Serious One]

Pendy,

Yep, you were right.

I think the reason I put off pulling the radiator out quite honestly is because I was afraid of it.

I didn't know too many people who had actually yanked one out, and even though I sound stupid admitting it I don't care now.

The transmission cooler lines and engine oil cooler lines were what was freaking me out. I was afraid I could screw something up, make a big mess, and generally never get it back in again.

I know it sounds stupid, and now that I've done it twice in the past week, I feel like an idiot for not doing it sooner.

The second time I took the rad. out I did it in 10 minutes, so this is to encourage others that it's not bad at all, and you can do it quickly if you just decide you're going to fix your truck rather than wait to blow a head gasket.

So again, you were right, I was dumb for putting it off this long.

All you others pushing 110K on your truck, you'd better yank it out and get it rodded otherwise you're looking at at least 325 bucks for a re-core rather than less than 100 for a good rodding-out.

That's all for now.

[Agro1]

Originally Posted by Serious One

Funny thing is, all of the sediment was in the bottom of the radiator. The guy asked me if the truck had sat for a long time, I said no, but that I had used a bottle of that Prestone radiator cleaner recently.

He said that is what did it.

The cleaner loosened up the deposits and then re-deposited them at the bottom of the rad.

He said if you use that stuff yearly it does a great job, but if you do it in a last ditch attempt to clean out an already clogged radiator, it just makes things worse.

Reviving this thread in the hope that someone may chime in (again)...I have not had any problems with my rad, '98 Rangie...I was going to change the coolant while a fix a hose connection, and was thinking of using some of that Prestone flush shit. Seems others have siad it makes matters worse. But if my drain plug is at the bottoom of the rad, wouldn't anything that is loosened come out the bottom. The drain plug is obviously the lowest point of the rad. Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

[Bush65]

Gravity causes sediments to accumulate in the lower parts of the radiator. In Rover radiators, being cross flow type, it is the lower horizontal tubes.

[SonarRover]

Originally Posted by thebird1080

These are the kinds of thing that I learn here: I should run distilled water in my radiator. The more and more I learn about my truck, the less I want to deal with the thing. I think I'll probably way overshoot my budget on my swap. If I need to get my radiator fixed, I might as well go with a custom that will drink "tap water"!! Friggin' amazing!!

Just about every manufacturer I am familiar with recommends distilled water with 50/50 coolant (preferably low phosphate coolant). I know Audi and VW have done this since the 70's.

You can pick up distilled water for cheap at your local grocery store or my local wal-mart sells it for $.59/gal.

When offroading some people carry a gal or two of 50/50 premix. I carry a gal of coolant and just fill my 5 gal personal use water can with distilled-that way I've got 5 gals for use in my radiator in case of an emergency.

[sachilles]

Certainly, if your home shower head has ANY buildup on it, you ought to think twice about using tap water.

I just use the water from the dehumidifier...and I change the coolant twice a year.

[alia176]

You'll also find cast alum (sand) collecting on the bottom of some radiators as well. Can't remember who told me this but thought it might be worth passing on.

Later.

Ali