Do the CCOT 4 Core Radiators Suck? (1 Viewer)

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Joined
Jan 23, 2003
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Location
San Jose, CA
Hi,
I recently put one of these in my rig. It has a 350 and an old radiator that leaked a little. With my old radiator (stock size with a 4 core) the temp would bounce off the 180 degree thermostat and always stay under 190. It was 85 degrees yesterday and the temp never got down to 180 it just stayed between 190 and 200. I know this isn't hot by any means but it seems to me that this radiator has less cooling capacity. I liked never having to look at the temp gauge before but now I can't stop looking at it!!!

Now what should I do? Live with it or maybe get one of those 5 core jobs put into it?

Thanks, Scott
 
BeCool makes a pretty bling aluminum radiator for cruisers. Summit sells them. Pretty spendy though, I think like 500 bucks.
 
EVERYTHING from cool cruisers of texas is crap, i will never buy a part from them again, unless it is oem. they're all nice guys but don't buy any body pieces from them, i made the mistake and ended up with fenders that didn't come close to fitting anywhere except in the garbage. just my .02.
 
well, all the items i have got from CCOT have been nice pieces. dont know about the rads, but summit sells the be cool unit, for like 600 bucks
 
I've been running one of their radiators for about three years without problems. It's in a stock FJ40 and sees about 3,000 miles a year.
 
texas77fj40 said:
EVERYTHING from cool cruisers of texas is crap, i will never buy a part from them again, unless it is oem. they're all nice guys but don't buy any body pieces from them, i made the mistake and ended up with fenders that didn't come close to fitting anywhere except in the garbage. just my .02.

X2! CCOT = cool cruisers of Taiwan..............
 
Trevor said:
I've been running one of their radiators for about three years without problems. It's in a stock FJ40 and sees about 3,000 miles a year.
I'm guessing the CCOT radiator has enough cooling power for the stock I6.

Mine isn't overheating but it just seems to have less reserve than the old beatup radiator it replaced.

What should I do now? Have a brand new radiator re-cored?

Thanks, Scott
 
are you running a tight fitting shroud?
 
rapovt said:
are you running a tight fitting shroud?

No but I would like to. The point is that putting in a same size radiator in the same spot changing nothing else in the cooling system, I'm getting worse cooling than before. It's got to be the radiator....

Scott
 
I am very happy with the four core that I purchased from CCOT the end of June. I has worked just as well at keeping my 82-2F engine cool in my Red truck, as the OEM did before the top tank let go...
I run a shroud.


Did you replace your cap?



Good luck!


-Steve
 
Poser said:
Did you replace your cap?

Yeah, I replced the cap. Thanks. The two people that are happy with the COOT radiator are people who have I6 engines.... hmmm.... :)
 
i have the CCOT 4 core radiator and a SBC 350 in my 76 40 and its going on 3 years and it never over heats or gets past the first mark on the guage even in traffic on hot days, even on my trip to canada (121 miles each way) at 85mph and never got hot. but i have a good shroud and flex fan works great. i took the factory shroud and turned it upside down and cut a notch so it fit around the lower hose and bolted it on. something to try? good luck.
 
I replaced the OEM with a CCOT three years ago, still working great. I've got a 2F though.
 
I need to do a follow up to my FAQ page on this, because this has come up at the shop 3 times in the last 2 days! I had a chance to install a standard 4 row rad like CCOT and SOR sell and compare it side by side with a high efficiency 4 core radiator that I get built locally with new core and old tanks. I've been selling the high efficiency rads for years, but decided to give one of the standard issue ones a try based on things I'd read about them dollar-wise both here and on Pirate 4x4.

Both were tested on I6s. One the street with ambient temps below 80 degrees, and on the highway with ambient temps under 80, the radiators worked about the same. After coming off the highway, the truck with the standard rad heated up faster than the high efficency one, and took a little longer to cool down.

With ambient temps above 80 degrees, the standard radiator ran almost 20 degrees warmer than the high efficiency one [180 vs 160].

My conclusion: I am going to add the standard 4 row radiator to inventory to sell to stock six customers who want a bargain. I will only recommend the high efficiency radiator for V-8 customers and sixers who spend a fair amount of time in the desert, like myself. ;)
 
65swb45 said:
My conclusion: I am going to add the standard 4 row radiator to inventory to sell to stock six customers who want a bargain. I will only recommend the high efficiency radiator for V-8 customers and sixers who spend a fair amount of time in the desert, like myself. ;)

I think your conclusions are correct. I had a worn out (but not clogged) re-cored radiator with the stock tanks. I believe (it was a long time ago) I had them put in the best 4 core that was available.

Well I guess I'll live with this for a while and see how it goes. It doesn't run as hot as other people's rigs I've seen here but it is concerning that there is no "reserve" cooling now.

Words of advice don't use a CCOT radiator in a warm climate area with a V8!

Scott
 
All I know is that my old OE sized radiator which was re-cored with a hi-eff 4 core worked better than the CCOT radiator. This proves that you can get more cooling out of a stock dimension'd radiator than a CCOT. Next spring I guess I'll have to get my new radiator re-cored.

Scott
 
sfrolich said:
All I know is that my old OE sized radiator which was re-cored with a hi-eff 4 core worked better than the CCOT radiator. This proves that you can get more cooling out of a stock dimension'd radiator than a CCOT. Next spring I guess I'll have to get my new radiator re-cored.

Scott

Please explain to me what makes it a "hi-eff"? More tubes, higher FPI (fins per inch), etc. Thanks
 
dgangle said:
Please explain to me what makes it a "hi-eff"? More tubes, higher FPI (fins per inch), etc. Thanks

I don't really know but there is a difference. anyone know?

Thanks, Scott
 
Four things are going to affect cooling efficiency; three are internal, one external. The first is the number of usable tubes in the core; the more tubes, the more coolant you can expose to the cooling process. The standard core radiator comes with 30 tubes per row; the ones I have made for me have 42 tubes per row.

The second is going to be the size and thickness of the tubes. Larger tubes will hold more coolant, but will let some coolant pass thru without getting near the metal surface where heat transfer occurs. So I prefer more, smaller tubes, rather than less but larger tubes. The thickness of the metal is also going to be an issue, because it is a tradeoff: thicker metal is going to be more durable in the long run, but not as efficient in the short term, while thinner metal will transfer heat faster but may not last as long.

The third is going to be the type of metal used. I have not investigated any of the aluminum products, so I do not feel competent to comment on them. I have been more than satisfied with the copper cores.

Lastly, when I have my radiators built, I make SURE to tell my guy NOT TO PAINT the radiator. All the new aftermarket radiators come painted in a shiny gloss paint that I am sure adds 5 degrees or more to the coolant temp all by itself. :mad: Obviously bare metal will transfer metal better, and it lets me see just what a sweet job my guy does! ;)
 

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