Replace Radiator, which one?

[BILT4ME]

Replace Radiator, which one?


I would do the one in the front, that has the antifreeze in it. The one for the engine.....
But that's just me.

 

[baldilocks]

Your right 1100 bucks is a lot of money to pay for a radiator, but superior materials, along with high quality workmanship always costs you more.

Ron Davis radiators are cool and all but built for extremely rough service and unecessary for anything a marginally sane person will do in an 80.

When I decided to break up with my 2 year old CSF that couldn’t stand the heat when the going got tough, I vacillated over RD and and oem units. I just couldn’t justify 1100 for a radiator when the oem units last long and do the job.

@Marco Lau got the R.D. at about the same time I got the oem radiator and after swapping notes, the results were very similar, as were our comparisons with the CSF radiators we both ran previously.


We need to remember that the radiator is just one part of a tuned cooling system.

 

[Bambusiero]

I, too, have to say something in defense of the OEM choice.

Truth be told, when mine died of plastic tank failure, it died an honorable death after many long years of faithful service.
It died with it's boots on, you might say.

I over-reacted and went the old-school all metal way, as I think many here have, but that was a mistake.

I don't recall reading of overheating issues with the OEM radiator? Mostly just normal old age failures.

The plastic tank radiator is well proven, even in the budget aftermarket.
No need to fear the plastic.
Pay more for the OEM version - get a very low install failure rate and proven long life.
Pay less for budget aftermarket - accept a reasonable risk of infant mortality.
Pay the big bucks - get TIG welded all aluminum. Very nice! But cooling performance is matched by budget aftermarket.

 

[jaymar]

Ron Davis radiators are cool and all but built for extremely rough service and unecessary for anything a marginally sane person will do in an 80.

But isn’t that the point? ‘A sledgehammer approach in a thumbtack world,’ is someone’s sig on here. Yeah, that.

Also, it could save you in extreme conditions—even if that means severe overheating on pavement. My impression is @NLXTACY ‘s engine would have been toast with any other rad. On the plus side of that, though, he wouldn’t have had to spend all that time tracking down the problem...

 

[baldilocks]

But isn’t that the point? ‘A sledgehammer approach in a thumbtack world,’ is someone’s sig on here. Yeah, that.

Also, it could save you in extreme conditions—even if that means severe overheating on pavement. My impression is @NLXTACY ‘s engine would have been toast with any other rad. On the plus side of that, though, he wouldn’t have had to spend all that time tracking down the problem...

“Impressions” are like opinions but flow in the opposite direction.

 

[ChaseTruck]

... My impression is @NLXTACY ‘s engine would have been toast with any other rad...

Maybe... IIRC the fan-to-radiator and fan-to-shroud spacing played a bigger role than the rad itself.

Anyways: after we put a TYC in the SC'ed '93 to replace a 3-4 year old Koyo, the AZ heat wasn't that big of an issue any longer.
Turned out the 2-row core on the TYC is wider than the 2-row core on the Koyo.

 

[jaymar]

“Impressions” are like opinions but flow in the opposite direction.

I, too, have to say something in defense of the OEM choice.

Truth be told, when mine died of plastic tank failure, it died an honorable death after many long years of faithful service.
It died with it's boots on, you might say.

I over-reacted and went the old-school all metal way, as I think many here have, but that was a mistake.

I don't recall reading of overheating issues with the OEM radiator? Mostly just normal old age failures.

The plastic tank radiator is well proven, even in the budget aftermarket.
No need to fear the plastic.
Pay more for the OEM version - get a very low install failure rate and proven long life.
Pay less for budget aftermarket - accept a reasonable risk of infant mortality.
Pay the big bucks - get TIG welded all aluminum. Very nice! But cooling performance is matched by budget aftermarket.

Still, I’d buy a ticket to a Death Valley shootout in August...

 

[Bambusiero]

Still, I’d buy a ticket to a Death Valley shootout in August...

Sure, I get it. You're still trying to recover financially, and those are the cheapest tickets.

 

[jaymar]

Sure, I get it. You're still trying to recover financially...

Aren’t we all.

 

[shocktower]

I believe @NLXTACY credits that rad with saving the engine during his Time Of Darkness.

Which time of darkness, he has had a few, involving insert-able objects

 

[Marco Lau]

Ron Davis radiators are cool and all but built for extremely rough service and unecessary for anything a marginally sane person will do in an 80.

When I decided to break up with my 2 year old CSF that couldn’t stand the heat when the going got tough, I vacillated over RD and and oem units. I just couldn’t justify 1100 for a radiator when the oem units last long and do the job.

@Marco Lau got the R.D. at about the same time I got the oem radiator and after swapping notes, the results were very similar, as were our comparisons with the CSF radiators we both ran previously.


We need to remember that the radiator is just one part of a tuned cooling system.

I would have definitely gone the TYC or KOYO route if they make one for the 4.0 L. In hindsight, the RD is a work of art, and a beast of a unit that i will have no worries many years down the road.

 

[GSTMike]

Is there any major difference between the 93-94 and 95-97 units, I'm seeing conflicting information?

 

[Marco Lau]

Is there any major difference between the 93-94 and 95-97 units, I'm seeing conflicting information?

i think radiators are engine design specific. 93 - 97 - 1fz-fe , 91-92, 3fe

 

[GSTMike]

i think radiators are engine design specific. 93 - 97 - 1fz-fe , 91-92, 3fe

That would be my thoughts and make total sense to me!

 

[Bambusiero]

Is there any major difference between the 93-94 and 95-97 units, I'm seeing conflicting information?

i think radiators are engine design specific. 93 - 97 - 1fz-fe , 91-92, 3fe

From what I gather (others are expert):
It's what you might call minor differences, not major - nozzle / hose configuration, just enough to be inconvenient.
Overall dimensions and cooling capacity is almost identical.