So after about 100,000 miles, the RDR that came in my white 80 is trash.
I first noticed a leak at the top weld seam near the battery box that was caused by the battery box rubbing on the seam and wearing through it. When I pulled it though I found a couple other leaks points down at the bottom corners.
Took it two radiator shops and got the following commentary:
Shop 1: these radiators use a cheap grade of aluminum that is hard to weld. Easy to burn through. Due to the way it failed it’s unrepairable and trash at this point. Also copper/brass is a better conductor of heat so would be a better choice esp for off-road use. Aluminum used by OEMs for cost/weight savings. For the price of the RDR this shop could build a nice custom copper/brass radiator for me.
Shop 2: failure in lower corners due to flexing of vehicle frame over time. Very hard/impossible to flow aluminum weld puddle to fix. Could be repaired if copper/aluminum. Hot rod guys like the aluminum radiators because they are shiny, but they are not as durable. Unfortunately this one is trash.
One other thing I will add is that I don’t think the RDR is the end all be all to solve cooling problems. For a while now I’ve been testing on hot summer days and while it cools ok at speed the temp will still creep up on sustained climbs and while idling with AC on. Have gotten >220F, not much different than my green 80 with OEM radiator.
I just put the used OEM radiator that was pulled at 140,000 miles from the white 80 back into the white 80 to keep me going for now. I broke open the fan clutch. It appears to have been indexed in the past to open around 90-95 degrees. But it only had 20 mL of fluid in it. I put 50 mL of 30k in it and we are testing it out to see how it works. So far I haven’t broken 90 deg C and it was 95 deg F outside yesterday. Previously it would ride at 90 deg C constantly and go up from there. Measured with a Greddy in the upper radiator hose.
YMMV, but just in case you were considering a RDR. I almost bought one for the green 80 but glad I didn’t. I can buy 2 OEMs for the price of 1 RDR and get much longer life and (I expect) sufficient cooling assuming a properly working fan clutch.
I first noticed a leak at the top weld seam near the battery box that was caused by the battery box rubbing on the seam and wearing through it. When I pulled it though I found a couple other leaks points down at the bottom corners.
Took it two radiator shops and got the following commentary:
Shop 1: these radiators use a cheap grade of aluminum that is hard to weld. Easy to burn through. Due to the way it failed it’s unrepairable and trash at this point. Also copper/brass is a better conductor of heat so would be a better choice esp for off-road use. Aluminum used by OEMs for cost/weight savings. For the price of the RDR this shop could build a nice custom copper/brass radiator for me.
Shop 2: failure in lower corners due to flexing of vehicle frame over time. Very hard/impossible to flow aluminum weld puddle to fix. Could be repaired if copper/aluminum. Hot rod guys like the aluminum radiators because they are shiny, but they are not as durable. Unfortunately this one is trash.
One other thing I will add is that I don’t think the RDR is the end all be all to solve cooling problems. For a while now I’ve been testing on hot summer days and while it cools ok at speed the temp will still creep up on sustained climbs and while idling with AC on. Have gotten >220F, not much different than my green 80 with OEM radiator.
I just put the used OEM radiator that was pulled at 140,000 miles from the white 80 back into the white 80 to keep me going for now. I broke open the fan clutch. It appears to have been indexed in the past to open around 90-95 degrees. But it only had 20 mL of fluid in it. I put 50 mL of 30k in it and we are testing it out to see how it works. So far I haven’t broken 90 deg C and it was 95 deg F outside yesterday. Previously it would ride at 90 deg C constantly and go up from there. Measured with a Greddy in the upper radiator hose.
YMMV, but just in case you were considering a RDR. I almost bought one for the green 80 but glad I didn’t. I can buy 2 OEMs for the price of 1 RDR and get much longer life and (I expect) sufficient cooling assuming a properly working fan clutch.