80 series All Aluminum radiator

[greentruck]

Good points all, Elbert.

I was in a pinch to get a new radiator in by this weekend so I can install. Didn't realize I could have worked a price war to my advantage for the genuine TRAD. I pulled the trigger without calling around on price, figuring aftermarket had to be significantly cheaper. I probably would've gone with TRAD had I known the pricing gap had closed as much as it did.

That said, I went with AutoCool, given they're halfway close by in TN. They are stocking the Koyo [EDIT: NOT all-metal] C1917 now, $315 freight paid to my front door (and also available way, way cheaper if you do want the slight cooling advantage of aluminum cores and don't mind the plastic tanks). So no plastic tanks here. [EDIT: Actually, yes, it has plastic tanks on closer inspection.] Just a sweet looking, darn close to OEM radiator with the brass cores. Made in Indonesia, it looks like it could've come off the assembly line next to genuine TRAD.

What was kind of funny is that it got delivered and I didn't realize it. Wife shows up and asks me if I was expecting a bike? Huh? Turn's out that AutoCool was recycling an appropriate size box for a 80 series radiator, as it was overpacked in a Giant bicycle box. Just over 48 hour free delivery from when the order was placed is pretty darn good.

EDIT: Yep, on closer inspection, the tanks are plastic. Still a nice radiator, but would likely have gone with the OEM radiator with its prices being so reasonable now if I'd done more shopping around. Always good to call your usual vendor first just to see how they can do ya. Lesson learned. I'm sure I'll be happy with this item, just would be happier with TRAD for a few dollars more. I kind of got stuck, 'cause I told my better half that was what it was going to cost, so need to keep my thinking hat on in such circumstances, too. YMMV

 

[timer00]

Good points all, Elbert.

I was in a pinch to get a new radiator in by this weekend so I can install. Didn't realize I could have worked a price war to my advantage for the genuine TRAD. I pulled the trigger without calling around on price, figuring aftermarket had to be significantly cheaper. I probably would've gone with TRAD had I known the pricing gap had closed as much as it did.

That said, I went with AutoCool, given they're halfway close by in TN. They are stocking the Koyo all-metal C1917 now, $315 freight paid to my front door (and also available way, way cheaper if you do want the slight cooling advantage of aluminum cores and don't mind the plastic tanks). So no plastic tanks here. Just a sweet looking, darn close to OEM radiator with the brass cores. Made in Indonesia, it looks like it could've come off the assembly line next to genuine TRAD.

What was kind of funny is that it got delivered and I didn't realize it. Wife shows up and asks me if I was expecting a bike? Huh? Turn's out that AutoCool was recycling an appropriate size box for a 80 series radiator, as it was overpacked in a Giant bicycle box. Just over 48 hour free delivery from when the order was placed is pretty darn good.

Looks pretty darn close to what my new Toyota TRAD looked like out of the box

 

[spartan]

Haven't posted much in a while. Beno or Cdan will give you what you need, if thats what you want. Those are both good people and work very hard to please customers.

On the other hand - I put in the KOYO C1917 from Auto Cool and never looked back. You want OEM buy from who you want.

The C1917 is a gem. Call Tom at AutoCool and just get yourself one.

http://www.autocoolradiators.com/

 

[cruiserdan]

That said, I went with AutoCool, given they're halfway close by in TN. They are stocking the Koyo all-metal C1917 now, $315 freight paid to my front door (and also available way, way cheaper if you do want the slight cooling advantage of aluminum cores and don't mind the plastic tanks). So no plastic tanks here. Just a sweet looking, darn close to OEM radiator with the brass cores. Made in Indonesia, it looks like it could've come off the assembly line next to genuine TRAD.

The radiator in the photos has plastic tanks.

 

[greentruck]

CDan,
You're absolutely right. I just came in from looking things over more closely and the tanks are indeed plastic and was going to correct my comment.

Still, a very nice radiator.

 

[spartan]

Why correct your reply? You already edited to say " not all metal ". Like a bunch of women fighting over how much sugar and butter to put in a decent fruit cobbler. Sheez.

And it is three row copper - the Koyo C1917. Are the plastic OEM Toyota tanks better for some reason than the Koyo for some reason?

 

[OGBeno]

Plastic tanks are for weight savings.

 

[greentruck]

I corrected because I wanted to be certain no one read part way through the thread at a later date, ordered a radiator based on my misstatement, and then been PO-ed at anyone, least of all AutoCool...

I'd rather the record be correct, to include both my original fault and obvious corrections. But maybe I'm being a bit anal about it. Guess I'll never be a politician, at least a successful one. I can't be wrong and just move on like far too many do in our society.

 

[VXLX450]

Hi, I am looking for all aluminum radiator preferably Made in USA, Does anybody know who sells it? I appreciate any recommendation. I found a discussion in google about the advantage of aluminum vs copper and also somebody talking about 3 rows vs 2 row and the size of the tubes 1” vs 0.62” it sounds interesting but I do not have an idea on this matter. I do not want to modify my truck.

thanks

 

[cruiserdan]

Hi, I am looking for all aluminum radiator preferably Made in USA, Does anybody know who sells it? I appreciate any recommendation. I found a discussion in google about the advantage of aluminum vs copper and also somebody talking about 3 rows vs 2 row and the size of the tubes 1” vs 0.62” it sounds interesting but I do not have an idea on this matter. I do not want to modify my truck.

thanks

Ron Davis Racing.

Get your wallet out.

 

[VXLX450]

Thanks Sir!

 

[Rifleman]

Ron Davis Racing.

Get your wallet out.

I live close to Ron Davis shop, i called them about 6 months ago and asked for a price on a radiator for my 94 Land Cruiser. Out the door price with tax was right around $1200.00 bucks. Not cheap, but then again quality never is. One last thing VXLX450, if you do buy one of Ron Davis's all Aluminum radiators just make sure your truck is WELL grounded, otherwise you could damage your new radiator. I copied and pasted some info on Galvanic corrosion below that you may find helpful.

Galvanic corrosion in car radiators. If you have 2 dissimilar metals and immerse them in an electrolytic solution you basically create a battery. The more noble metal will corrode the less noble metal by stripping electrons from it, this creates electrical charge. In the case of an Iron engine block with an Aluminum Radiator. Iron is more noble than aluminum, therefore the aluminum radiator will be corroded away. This can be a problem for any radiator, as just a tiny amount of corrosion can create a hole.

Electrolytic corrosion is the evil cousin of Galvanic corrosion and can cause damage much more quickly. Electrical current actively accelerates the corrosion. To protect a radiator we must prevent the formation of electrolytes. This is where certain measures kick in: A good engine ground, Anti-freeze, Disconnect the battery and drain the radiator when vehicle is in storage

When a component has a bad ground, electrolysis is accelerated, considerably. Therefore, engine ground straps should be given particular attention. If you have a bad ground, the current would try to find another path to ground using electrolytes in the water as a path for electrical current.


Even if you were to run distilled water it wouldn’t take too long for the water to pick up impurities and minerals from everything it touched. Pretty soon it would become an effective electrolyte. When dissimilar metals are present, you really need to do everything possible to keep the ‘ideal’ current path as short and direct as possible. Any stray current paths are going to be sources of electrolytic corrosion.


Anti-freeze doesn’t just change the boiling and freezing points of water it goes a long way to prevent the formation of these electrolytes with the addition of silicates and phosphates. Electrolysis doesn’t just happen internally, rain water and spray can act externally on a radiator. If current is finding it’s way to ground through the radiator, corrosion will corrode the radiator from outside in.

 

[VXLX450]

I live close to Ron Davis shop, i called them about 6 months ago and asked for a price on a radiator for my 94 Land Cruiser. Out the door price with tax was right around $1200.00 bucks. Not cheap, but then again quality never is. One last thing VXLX450, if you do buy one of Ron Davis's all Aluminum radiators just make sure your truck is WELL grounded, otherwise you could damage your new radiator. I copied and pasted some info on Galvanic corrosion below that you may find helpful.

Galvanic corrosion in car radiators. If you have 2 dissimilar metals and immerse them in an electrolytic solution you basically create a battery. The more noble metal will corrode the less noble metal by stripping electrons from it, this creates electrical charge. In the case of an Iron engine block with an Aluminum Radiator. Iron is more noble than aluminum, therefore the aluminum radiator will be corroded away. This can be a problem for any radiator, as just a tiny amount of corrosion can create a hole.

Electrolytic corrosion is the evil cousin of Galvanic corrosion and can cause damage much more quickly. Electrical current actively accelerates the corrosion. To protect a radiator we must prevent the formation of electrolytes. This is where certain measures kick in: A good engine ground, Anti-freeze, Disconnect the battery and drain the radiator when vehicle is in storage

When a component has a bad ground, electrolysis is accelerated, considerably. Therefore, engine ground straps should be given particular attention. If you have a bad ground, the current would try to find another path to ground using electrolytes in the water as a path for electrical current.


Even if you were to run distilled water it wouldn’t take too long for the water to pick up impurities and minerals from everything it touched. Pretty soon it would become an effective electrolyte. When dissimilar metals are present, you really need to do everything possible to keep the ‘ideal’ current path as short and direct as possible. Any stray current paths are going to be sources of electrolytic corrosion.


Anti-freeze doesn’t just change the boiling and freezing points of water it goes a long way to prevent the formation of these electrolytes with the addition of silicates and phosphates. Electrolysis doesn’t just happen internally, rain water and spray can act externally on a radiator. If current is finding it’s way to ground through the radiator, corrosion will corrode the radiator from outside in.

Oh, very interesting contribution, it is definitely not to change an old original factory radiator in preparation for next summer in Texas, and look for an improved one more efficient. a) The original has the plastic tanks and they fail.
b) The dilemma between one with two 1 ” tubes or another with three smaller tubes and also the material due to the ability to dissipate heat and the point of material compatibility.

Thank you very much to both for the contribution

 

[shocktower]

What people don't know, is that a copper/brass radiator, is a better for heat dissipation, than an aluminum one but the aluminum one is cheaper to manufacture

 

[-Spike-]

What people don't know, is that a copper/brass radiator, is a better for heat dissipation, than an aluminum one but the aluminum one is cheaper to manufacture

Not necessarily. If you're just comparing metals, copper may indeed be better than aluminum at heat dissipation, but in a radiator the core design plays a major part in performance. I have run both copper and aluminum rads, and every aluminum rad I have used outperformed the two copper rads I had. Also, some aluminum rads perform better than others, around here many people swear by TYC over any other brand, OEM or Koyo included. The TYC core design is significantly different than other brands, and that pays off in the ability to shed more heat than others.

Just a guess on my part, but it's possible that aluminum is easier to form, thus making it cheaper to manufacture. That ease may translate into more options for design, making it potentially perform better. Cheaper isn't automatically a bad thing.

 

[Atomic City]

Also, aluminum is stronger than brass and copper. And it's pretty:

 

[Marco Lau]

Yep....ditched my brass/copper into the trash after 2 months of nothing but headache...RD for the win.

 

[GSTMike]

Ron Davis stuff is first rate, over the years he and his guys have made us some pretty cool custom cooling solution parts for our race programs and we've never had a single issue with any of them!

 

[shocktower]

Not necessarily. If you're just comparing metals, copper may indeed be better than aluminum at heat dissipation, but in a radiator the core design plays a major part in performance. I have run both copper and aluminum rads, and every aluminum rad I have used outperformed the two copper rads I had. Also, some aluminum rads perform better than others, around here many people swear by TYC over any other brand, OEM or Koyo included. The TYC core design is significantly different than other brands, and that pays off in the ability to shed more heat than others.

Just a guess on my part, but it's possible that aluminum is easier to form, thus making it cheaper to manufacture. That ease may translate into more options for design, making it potentially perform better. Cheaper isn't automatically a bad thing.

If made exactly the same the, copper/brass will dissipate the heat and the manufacturing of aluminum is so much broader than what copper and brass was 56-60 years ago and it is cheaper to do aluminum because it is everywhere in nearly everything . Oh BTW I got this information from my scientist son

 

[VXLX450]

Thank you all for the information, really very good and I appreciate it.

In preparation to improve the cooling system, I decided to install a scanner to get the exact temperature and the highest reading is 192 degrees, which seems to be within parameters, Anyway, I changed the fan clutch for the blue (OEM), and I'm thinking of draining and changing the coolant, the original radiator is not leaking yet. Does anyone know what temperature range the thermostat is operating at and what is the normal temperature range with the aluminum radiator installed? If the operating range is less with the aluminum radiator, then it is worth the investment, taking into account that the price is considerably high. Once again thank you very much for the information.