adamdinat

It's always something. Now that I have my transmission squared away and have been driving the car more the radiator has sprung a leak again. The bottom neck this time. It is a stock brass radiator and I have patched it twice (upper neck and one of the fins). This brings up several questions and alternatives.

First does anyone have any tips for getting the radiator hoses of without cutting them? They are only a year old and look nice.

Should I screw around and patch this again or bite the bullet and get a new aluminum one. I am not even sure this is a corvette radiator. The fit seems sketchy. Are they the same an any others with different pipes or is there a defining characteristic to look for?

Radiator support. There is some rot in the bottom but it is still structural enough to hold the radiator. How difficult is this to replace?

My other thought is to patch it and wait for the Dewitts sale this winter.

Any suggestions?

The13Bats

Well...If you want some piece of mind grab a aluminum import unit...many members here love them....and it wont break your bank...

Tom69

I recently had a Dewitt installed on my 350/300 w/AC. No additional fans. My running temps dropped from 210 to 160-170.

adamdinat

Can you still run the old green anti freeze in the aluminum?

The13Bats

I believe you can still run coolant,
just about anyone who replaces an old radiator with any new one will see lower temps....

diehrd

Bite the bullet and Go Champion ,, A dozen drag racers walked by as I assembled the fan shroud to my new champion and everyone stopped and said ,, Holy #@!$ look at those welds and that shine where did you get that killer radiator .. Made in the USA ... 369.00 with dual fans and shroud that covers the whole finned area and it is a 3 row .

I am beyond amazed at fit and finish ,, ,even the stock rubbers fit correctly .. I am kicking myself for NOT snapping photos . . .

DUB

The type of coolant (green, Dex-cool or Evans) in a car with an aluminum radiator or a copper/brass radiator does not matter. The KEY thing is if you do not buy the pre-mixed GREEN or DEX-COOL stuff in a gallon jug...and choose to use the concentrate that forces you to add your own water to get the ratio correct. BE SURE YOU USE DISTILLED WATER!!!!! OBVIOUSLY...if you look up EVANS coolant...it uses does not need or use water.

And whenever the GREEN and DEX-COOL coolants are used ( OBVIOUSLY NEVER COMBINE the green with the Dex-Cool)...they DO need to be changed....and if my opinion matters. I prefer to remove the block drains and the radiator drain so ALL of the coolant can be flushed out and refilled CORRECTLY. And this also included in blowing out the heater core.

DUB

Tom69

Here are the recommended antifreeze coolants for the aluminum Dewitt:

Prestone Extended Life

Zerex G-05

Peak

Buy the pre-mix, if not, only mix with distilled water

The13Bats

Weird dewitt told me to use the pre mix...but on this Evans does it cool as well as home mixed?

68/70Vette

My 68, which came stock with an aluminum radiator, has ran 100% ethylene glycol since about 1973. No water at all. It still has the factory copper passenger cabin heater radiator. Ethylene glycol is a dielectric..there is no corrosion with this stuff in your cooling system. It boils at about 350 degrees F, so with ethylene your cooling system will never pressurize. My 1995 Cadillac Seville and 1997 Thunderbird, daily drivers, have 100% ethylene glycol coolant..no water. The 1995 and 1997 cars have been driven everyday for at least 18 years with no water in their radiators.

To this day, the fastest liquid cooled internal combustion engine powered, ever made, is the P-51 Mustang or Griffith powered English Spitfire. These airplanes had coolant systems that were 100% ethylene glycol. Just a fact.

Easy Mike

Why not take it to a radiator shop and let the pros make the repairs?

Why not? You ought to be able to identify what you have.

DUB

Probably because most people do not understand the IMPORTANCE of using distilled water....and use tap or well water.

YES...EVANS coolant works great. And NEVER needs to be replaced due to not having water in it so the chemicals in it due to fall out of suspension.

IF you have any doubts. Go to my 'friends' in my profile and PM '1974CorvetteJimCr' and ask him. He is using it and no problems at all.....EXCEPT for the fact that the DeWitts radiator and twin SPAL fans were so efficient in the winter.....some easy modifications had to be done so the engine would get hot enough to allow the heater to work.


VERY INTERESTING because many of the Corvettes I have had come in that were 100% coolant...they ran hot...really hot. And the system was sealed and a good radiator cap.

I am not about to doubt you ...but what you are commenting on seems to go against all of the 'smoke and mirrors' and 'brainwashing' that many of us have been told for so long.

DUB

The13Bats

He didn't say what temps he runs at his cars might run at what I consider hotter than I like......100% coolant is something I have too many people to count Many were expert in the field of cooling tell me will run hotter than a "mix", just because it isn't "overheating" doesn't mean it's not running hot and I didn't say 100% coolant will overheat I said it will run hotter.
we know "antifreeze" provides corrosion protection and lubrication but their are products made to do that which have no real effects on freezing or boiling points,

My dad who happened to work on all the planes for the Navy lived by his "Special" mix of some distilled water, some water wetter and a little anti freeze, this was what he ran in cars never asked him about water cooled airplanes but that would have been the Navy specs, cars of course are running in very different conditions to fighter planes...

I have been busy but need to read up on that evans product and see if it raises the temp like 100% antifreeze type coolant is known to do....

DUB

The thermostat...and the fan controls were fine. It had to do with the efficiency of the EVANS coolant during the winter. During the summer ...it was perfect!

Any doubts..or do not want to read what I am writing about it. Take it from someone who has it in his Corvette

YES...the EVANS coolant cools very well....but still will allow the engine to get to temperature as needed.

PM Jim and he can tell you.

DUB

mikem350

My experience with old radiators...don't bother trying to fix it again. Not worth the effort and most shops will not do a quality repair job anyway!

Buy new

adamdinat

My dad advised me not to keep messing around with a 20+ year old radiator. I come full circle and will be going with a Dewitts. Was not in the financial plan this year but it will save headaches later.

The13Bats

The purpose of the thermostat is to get a vehicle to and keep it at correct operating temp, if the engine was running too cool then the stat wasn't working as designed....and yes I have read many write ups about this...but we can agree to disagree and move on to the evans stuff.

I just grabbed this off their web site so I need to call them...

"Q. Will Evans coolant lower the operating temperature of my engine?

The effect of EWC on cooling system temperatures will depend on the engine and cooling system configuration, as well as driving conditions. Vehicles running under normal operating conditions, should show no change or a slight increase in temperature. In high horsepower applications, the temperature effect of running EWC will depend on the engine and cooling system components."

It supports what I was thinking and contradicts what we are seeing in your buddies car, allow me to reword that, your buddies car would run too cool in winter with normal "antifreeze" or water antifreeze mix....

So in my case to get 100% of the cooling I desire I am still sold on the mix my dad used....

Here is one herb and spice from dads mix,
http://www.no-rosion.com/norosioncoolant.htm

DUB

Once again...I am sure NO PM was sent to who I had mentioned. I completely know what the thermostat does....but unless you call EWC and talk to them.....you may find that what is commonly known about a thermostat ...may not apply due to the properties of the EWC.

The same holds true...due to NO PM being sent...then the characteristics of the EWC. When EWC was contacted by my customer with this issue of not getting hot enough....they were amazed. MANY changes were made to get it to run hotter....until it was finally figured out.

I am not trying to 'force feed' people into using 'stuff'. I NEVER wrote that because the EWC was used that it was the 'key ingredient' that caused for the car to run colder. It just happened that way.....and there is no way on switching back to the other types of coolant...because that would be taking a step backwards....in regards to all the steps that were taken to make sure the system is as how EWC intended.

DUB

mike48750

I find myself in the same boat as the OP, $585 for a new black one from Dewitts, ouch. I currently have a 4 core that looks new inside and REAL old outside (leaking). I guess the 3 core is the standard replacement? Anyone using one with an operational A/C? Mike

The13Bats

Dub,

I had a great day more on that in my build thread.....and thanks,

As far as this thread goes I was in no way debating or "calling you out" about what you said about your friends car running too cool in cold weather so there was no reason for me to PM him and have him repeat it to me since like I said I do believe you.
When/if I call EWC I will ask if their product has some eerie physics halting effects on the function of a thermostat that only takes place with their product.

Again no reason for me to PM a hobbyist on here to have him repeat what I do already believe about his car running too cool in cold weather on EWC.
I do believe it would be beneficial at least to people living in cold places that run EWC to outline how you did get his car up to normal operating conditions in the cold weather.

I didn't get the idea that you were "pitching" EWC but rather sharing a product with us, but in my case living in Orlando Fl, too cool is not a problem, and I would just bet a Coke and hotdog that "IF" all other things stayed the same the fellow who was running too cool on EWC in cold weather would also run too cool on a mix of good old antifreeze and distilled water, but like you point out it would not be of any benefit to flush out the EWC just to do "for fun" testing.

I would more like to know what temps he sees with his ac blowing cold stuck in traffic on a 100% day...that is a test of a cooling system.

I was excited when you mentioned EWC but after reading their website it's nothing I need and goes along with What have been told all my life that running all antifreeze or EWC do in many/some/any cases raise the temp, so "IF" lets say a car was running at xxx I want to get it lower not higher it would never be worth all the prep cost and trouble for me to convert to EWC when they even say it very well could raise the running temps of my car.


As for the other guys on here if you are on a budget like I am and still want a aluminum radiator take a crawl around the net, check vette parts houses some venders here offer great prices and even ebay, tons of guys here swear by the budget units....