Cooling issues with CSF 2517 - what temp does your rig's A/C shut off? (2 Viewers)

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Just replaced a 3 year old Koyo 1918 with a TYC 1918. I anticipate pulling some heavy loads this summer and I had a chance to swap in the TYC for some comparisons. Koyo is clean and well maintained, so it should be performing well for what it is. The TYC has a slightly deeper core and the vertical tubes are noticeably longer, so there re obvious physical reasons that it MAY perform better that the Koyo. Thursday-Friday should be 110+ so good resting weather.

Ok, update time. Yes, we have had some 110+ degree weather, with more coming. Besides my normal daily runs on the freeway, I went wheeling Saturday in high desert around 6000 ft.

Overall, I feel that the TYC is giving me 6-8 degrees lower coolant temps than the Koyo, when ambient is over 100. Sometimes a little more, or less, but I like it. There are about 6 of us running the TYC now, some for a couple of years already. No problems, so far!! My Koyo will be placed in retirement as a button ready trail spare for anyone that needs it. I will try to update this more in the future.
 
Just noticed in the video that the owner still have the OEM bumper. My 80 has the ARB front bumper (no winch). Would removing the ARB a must prior to taking off the front grill to get to the radiator?
I usually work on my own. Removing/reinstalling the heavy bumper is something to avoid if its unnecessary.

The question is open to anybody that is able to answer. Thanks.

FYI - UPDATE. Many thanks to @brianh699 for getting that radiator to me. Not sure whats special about mine but the damage in his rad that he passed on to me just happens to have been damaged in the perfect way to allow it to fit without modification. I ordered a KOYO and an APDI that didn't fit because the 2 front holes were 1/4 inch to wide center to center. The bent one fit perfectly (30 inches 1/4 center to center). Weird. Anyway. here are some pictures and video of the results

cj1s8iim6uhedujy5b4p.jpg


As you can see there is something funky on the inlet side. All the paint had be heated away. Yes its behind the trans cooler but there is certainly something more than a little extra heat. Methinks my CSF had a block there, despite a flush. Factory damage? Who knows.

ev8njexif0uuaqxzx3ee.jpg

CSF exactly 30 and 1/4 center to center. Which fits perfectly in my 97

nxdzy8rlkm4bnzcbzhgj.jpg


damaged TYC...30 1/4 inches center to center. Interdasting.

Anyway, it worked. Hottest temps now are 194 full high hot (going up a canyon with AC on in 95 degree heat. I did the same run with my CSF and it got to well over 226 and climbing.



And for fun, here is me getting it done.
 
Update time for me too.

Having been subjected to internet bullying and online social media peer pressure :deadhorse: , I have caved and changed out my perfectly good underw radiator for a new TYC 1918.

To make a long story short - I am surprised, amazed even, no... DOWNRIGHT STUNNED :wideyed: at the difference.
193-195F now.
This is 2 good, clean working radiators. Direct A/B comparison. ZERO other changes. Days apart.

Radiator #1:
CSF 2517 metal tank, brass/copper 3 row. 2 years old and clean. Verified to flow water very well.
Beeline Hwy road trip to Shea Blvd, 5:30PM, 108F, 70mph steady.
Coolant temp generally 213-216F, peaking at 222 at Shea.
Coolant pressure 12-15.5psi, cycling up and down.
Overflow tank up 2 inches.

Radiator #2:
TYC 1918 plastic tank, aluminum 2 row. New.
Beeline Hwy road trip to Shea Blvd, 5:00PM, 111F, 70mph steady.
Coolant temp generally 193F, peaking at 195 at Shea.
Coolant pressure 11-12psi, steady.
Overflow tank - ZERO inches, because it hasn't exceeded the cap pressure limit.

That's 27 degrees cooler!
And there's more to it than just heat shedding ability.
The coolant system pressure behavior is very much different.

From a cold start (well cold for here), 1/2 mile from home:
The CSF would be at 155F and 15.5psi, already spilling into the overflow tank.
The TYC would also be at 155F, but only 6psi.
That part of it has nothing to do with heat exchanger performance - the thermostat isn't even open yet, and no water is being cooled.
BUT... that radiator is doing something.
The only thing I can think of is that the brass radiator is stiff and rigid, non-compliant, so that coolant expansion has to go out of the system.
Whereas, the wide flat aluminum tubes, plus the plastic tanks, can swell and increase volume some under pressure, so the pressure doesn't increase as fast.
It's a theory.

So anyways, emboldened by that casual defeat of the Shea Blvd "hill", I continued the attack on Mt. Ord.
No problems at all.
Pushed hard and held 65MPH on the hills in 2nd gear at 4400 RPM.
Temperature would climb slowly to 202F at the top of Sunflower and Mt. Ord hills.
Coolant pressure did go up and hit 15psi a couple of times due to the high pump RPMs.
Overflow tank up 1 inch at the top.

On the way back, there was a bad accident at Ft. McDowell Rd, so sitting in traffic for 30 minutes with A/C blasting - temp crept up to 209F, but quickly dropped to 193 when we got moving.
 
Update time for me too.

Having been subjected to internet bullying and online social media peer pressure :deadhorse: , I have caved and changed out my perfectly good underw radiator for a new TYC 1918.

To make a long story short - I am surprised, amazed even, no... DOWNRIGHT STUNNED :wideyed: at the difference.
193-195F now.
This is 2 good, clean working radiators. Direct A/B comparison. ZERO other changes. Days apart.

Radiator #1:
CSF 2517
metal tank, brass/copper 3 row. 2 years old and clean. Verified to flow water very well.
Beeline Hwy road trip to Shea Blvd, 5:30PM, 108F, 70mph steady.
Coolant temp generally 213-216F, peaking at 222 at Shea.
Coolant pressure 12-15.5psi, cycling up and down.
Overflow tank up 2 inches.

Radiator #2:
TYC 1918 plastic tank, aluminum 2 row. New.
Beeline Hwy road trip to Shea Blvd, 5:00PM, 111F, 70mph steady.
Coolant temp generally 193F, peaking at 195 at Shea.
Coolant pressure 11-12psi, steady.
Overflow tank - ZERO inches, because it hasn't exceeded the cap pressure limit.

That's 27 degrees cooler!
And there's more to it than just heat shedding ability.
The coolant system pressure behavior is very much different.

From a cold start (well cold for here), 1/2 mile from home:
The CSF would be at 155F and 15.5psi, already spilling into the overflow tank.
The TYC would also be at 155F, but only 6psi.
That part of it has nothing to do with heat exchanger performance - the thermostat isn't even open yet, and no water is being cooled.
BUT... that radiator is doing something.
The only thing I can think of is that the brass radiator is stiff and rigid, non-compliant, so that coolant expansion has to go out of the system.
Whereas, the wide flat aluminum tubes, plus the plastic tanks, can swell and increase volume some under pressure, so the pressure doesn't increase as fast.
It's a theory.

So anyways, emboldened by that casual defeat of the Shea Blvd "hill", I continued the attack on Mt. Ord.
No problems at all.
Pushed hard and held 65MPH on the hills in 2nd gear at 4400 RPM.
Temperature would climb slowly to 202F at the top of Sunflower and Mt. Ord hills.
Coolant pressure did go up and hit 15psi a couple of times due to the high pump RPMs.
Overflow tank up 1 inch at the top.

On the way back, there was a bad accident at Ft. McDowell Rd, so sitting in traffic for 30 minutes with A/C blasting - temp crept up to 209F, but quickly dropped to 193 when we got moving.

Glad you got good results.

But I maintain there is 'something' amiss with the 2517 that you have. Mine does not have any trouble cooling my 97 (albeit different conditions) and others don't report the 'wild' and rapid heating that you have experienced either.

I would expect an aluminum radiator to perform better (marginally) but not 27° F. better. Something is wrong with the 2517 you have.
 
Nice work, had faith that you could get her done!:clap:

...
To make a long story short - I am surprised, amazed even, no... DOWNRIGHT STUNNED :wideyed: at the difference.
...

Not surprised, been there done that.:hillbilly:
 
Would be interesting to compare some with thermal imaging...see if there are hot/cold spots
 
That's all we're saying: Some of us apparently received f*cked up CSF's.

^^^^^^

No doubt.

I'm just glad (and I am sure you are too) that you've been able to resolve the issue.

I wish we lived closer to one another, it would be interesting to take my 2517 and drop into your vehicle for testing. I'm confident it would do markedly better than the one you had the bad experience with.

In any case, I am very happy for you and it must be a relief to be able to have confidence in your rig again.

Good move on your part.
 
I don't recall that grill removal is necessary to replace the radiator which was the original question. Removal/installation of an ARB was not that difficult in my case even with a Warn 12K winch. Work smarter not harder. :worms: :flipoff2:
 
I don't recall that grill removal is necessary to replace the radiator which was the original question/assumption. That said, removal/installation of an ARB was not that difficult in my case even with a Warn 12K winch. Work smarter not harder.
:worms: :flipoff2:
 
8CE88AC9-9F04-45D4-BAE6-2219861CD2E0.jpeg
CE337CD6-1062-47F1-B42C-7945F76249A9.jpeg
I don't recall that grill removal is necessary to replace the radiator which was the original question/assumption. That said, removal/installation of an ARB was not that difficult in my case even with a Warn 12K winch. Work smarter not harder.
:worms: :flipoff2:

OIRC, the manual recommends removal of the grill and headlights to access upper mounting bolts. We pull the grill but we work around the headlights pretty easy. Have done a bunch of them that looked like this when I skinned them down for recycle:
 
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and Pull the battery box. May need to loosen the dryer mount on 93/94 so it is easier to access the upper bolt hardware on US drivers side.
 
thinking on it I think its just that the entire rad was hot and the extra heat from the trans cooler would have done that discoloration.

I wouldn't read anything into the paint. About 220F isn't going to do much, if anything. The paint isn't needed, works as insulation, but customers want them black, so they put as little as possible.
 
FYI - UPDATE. Many thanks to @brianh699 for getting that radiator to me. Not sure whats special about mine but the damage in his rad that he passed on to me just happens to have been damaged in the perfect way to allow it to fit without modification. I ordered a KOYO and an APDI that didn't fit because the 2 front holes were 1/4 inch to wide center to center. The bent one fit perfectly (30 inches 1/4 center to center). Weird. Anyway. here are some pictures and video of the results

cj1s8iim6uhedujy5b4p.jpg


As you can see there is something funky on the inlet side. All the paint had be heated away. Yes its behind the trans cooler but there is certainly something more than a little extra heat. Methinks my CSF had a block there, despite a flush. Factory damage? Who knows.

ev8njexif0uuaqxzx3ee.jpg

CSF exactly 30 and 1/4 center to center. Which fits perfectly in my 97

nxdzy8rlkm4bnzcbzhgj.jpg


damaged TYC...30 1/4 inches center to center. Interdasting.

Anyway, it worked. Hottest temps now are 194 full high hot (going up a canyon with AC on in 95 degree heat. I did the same run with my CSF and it got to well over 226 and climbing.



And for fun, here is me getting it done.

Glad that worked out for you. Pretty sure UPS paid for that one. :cheers:
 

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