Engine Rebuilding options for S/C

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Umm... the math isn't on the side of OEM or Koyo. 3 rows of 3/8 is a total of 1.125". Whereas the Ron Davis unit is 2 rows of 1" for a total of 2".
2" > 1.125". Also the Koyo is 14fpi where the Ron Davis is 18fpi.
 
Yes but you can't directly compare the total widths, the second and third rows cool less than the first row. For example a single row 1.25" does not have 60% less cooling capacity than two 1" rows just because it is 60% thinner. It is even more confusing when comparing aluminum to copper because copper has much thinner rows. I agree the Ron Davis will be better and have better construction than stock, but I don't think you will get performance that is 60% better and certainly not 250% better over the cost of the OEM rad. I would bet the performance is maybe 15-20% better, but with good care should last 20 years. lol
 
The tubes aren't 3/8" the spacing is.
AL weighs less and is less expensive than copper. CU has almost double the conductivity as AL. 12 to 14 fins/inch is very efficient. Adding more reduces airflow. Within the same physical size a well designed AL will provide about the same cooling (heat transfer) as a well designed CU.
 
i tossed in a cheap sheppard al last year and didnt break 200 on the hottest day with air on full in over 2 hours of stop and go on 495
 
kbahus said:
Just to clarify since the search function is on the fritz, the 3FE 91-92 fan blade assembly will work with the stock 96 aluminum radiator, shroud, and fan clutch? I need all the help I can get now that I am towing a trailer.
Click to expand...

the 3FE fans fit into both our '93 80 and the '97 LX without any modifications required
 
NLXTACY said:
Just got off the phone with Dennis from Ron Davis. They do not have the radiator in stock but with their current work load they are looking at 2-3 weeks. According to them, and the rest here on mud, the radiator is 100% bolt in with all the needed ports for the TB and the trans cooler lines. The stock radiator is a single row of 1.25" tubing. The Ron David radiator is two rows of 1" tubing. They did recommend having ONLY the outside of the radiator anodized to eliminate galvanization. He said most of their hot rodders do exactly that so I think I will be following suit. He also was interested in making up a replacement coolant overflow tank so I'm considering that now :grinpimp:

Total cost for the radiator is $950. I can get anodizing for free. The overflow tank will be a couple hundred I'm sure. We'll see.
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My SC 80 had the first Ron Davis radiator and yes it is 100% bolt in but the fan shroud needs to be modded for a good fit. Back in 2003 the cost was $550 and looking back in terms of performance I dont think it was worth the price back then. YMMV
Also never a problem with any galvanization.FWIW

One thing I did not like was no petcock only an allen plug. Made draining a full radiaator exciting. :rolleyes:
 
LandCruiserPhil said:
My SC 80 had the first Ron Davis radiator and yes it is 100% bolt in but the fan shroud needs to be modded for a good fit. Back in 2003 the cost was $550 and looking back in terms of performance I dont think it was worth the price back then. YMMV
Also never a problem with any galvanization.FWIW

One thing I did not like was no petcock only an allen plug. Made draining a full radiaator exciting. :rolleyes:
Click to expand...


Which fan were you running in that rig? John
 
I also needed a bit of trimming for the trans lines but nothing major, the top mounts needed some flat bar to keep the shroud tight, and I used a 1 1/4" 45degree copper elbow to tap the HG return hose since the early 80's didn't have one on the rad itself.

For $99 shipped it was well worth it. I will also add that I did the blue clutch, new water pump, all hoses, deleted rear heat, new thermo, flushed 3x, deleted PHH and used all silicone hoses in the 5/8" size. I was amazed how well it cools after reading the average temp on some of these rigs pushes 210. On torque I see the thermo open before I get to 190 and drop right back down to 185, nice to have a cooling system work like it should.
 
kbahus said:
Great info, after some searching it seems that only the supercharged folks have swapped to the 3fe fan, does it not yield any benefits for a standard 1FZ?
Click to expand...

Thats what I did. the reason is that the original fan is replaced with the TRD supplied "ringed-fan". The 3FE fan was tested by a couple guys in Copper State a few years back and found with the much thicker and wider blades, it pulled substantially more air than the ringed fan.

I dont know if anyone ever compared the 1ZFE fan with the 3FE?
 
I have to laugh at how much modding and updating I have to do on my least used vehicle! LOL

3FE fan next heat wave if my fan clutch doesn't cover it

Dangerous thread to read through! ;P

Oh, one great tip someone posted a long time ago:

fan shroud: ds lower tab has reinforcement uprights molded in.
snip the outer reinforcement off and you can easily slide the tab into place without
removing the battery tray or anything else... and save yourself a lot of grief.

it doesn't affect the strength of the tab either.
 
Just to keep everything up to date, I have embarked on this project:
https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/new-coolant-routing-delving-into-stupidity.802799/

Basically it means a coolant filter, permanent install of flush "t", a purge valve and heat exchanger.

The Ron Davis radiator I ordered has been moved up from five weeks to three weeks. Talked to them about my overflow tank, they estimate about $150 to make that for me so I just need to send in mine to get them to build it up with similar specs, just wider...and aluminumier :flipoff2:
 
NLXTACY said:
Just to keep everything up to date, I have embarked on this project:
https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/new-coolant-routing-delving-into-stupidity.802799/

Basically it means a coolant filter, permanent install of flush "t", a purge valve and heat exchanger.

The Ron Davis radiator I ordered has been moved up from five weeks to three weeks. Talked to them about my overflow tank, they estimate about $150 to make that for me so I just need to send in mine to get them to build it up with similar specs, just wider...and aluminumier :flipoff2:
Click to expand...

Make sure your new radiator comes with a real petcock drain, mine came with just a allen plug:eek:
 
Argh!

Well Ron Davis is boning me a bit on the time. Pushed out to 5/28 now. This sucks. It pushes my trip out now too. On the flip side they are doing the overflow tank gratis now to apologize. :D

So I feel good again. Of course I won't get that til Halloween I'm sure. :(
 
Hmmm someone said they tried to buy a Ron Davis and they pushed back the dates twice until it came down to just going OEM. ;) lol. Great product but when I have bought in the past usually shipped in a week, but I haven't heard of anyone recently that has gone an 80 rad without significant delay. I think Rockjock also tried to order one.
 
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