The topic is cracking of aluminum radiators that mount in the stock type configuration.
Certainly a good discussion topic. With a few radiators available that mount in the stock mounting configuration; is it a good idea to mount an aluminum radiator just like we mounted our old brass ones?
draker wrote:There have been a few people that had those champion radiator crack.. or fail. Even after getting a replacement, it would fail.
The koyo is a bit more. I got mine for about 250 shipped. It fit just fine with the stock alt, and an IR alt. No regrets. Wouldn't recommend the eBay radiator.
My new aluminum radiator is not a stock type replacement, but is a 2 core units that's nearly as big as I could get and build to fit the front of the car in the stock'ish location. However it sits in a cradle at the bottom on rubber blocks and is clipped in at the top utilizing a sheet metal plate. The rad can expand in all direction unimpeded.okayfine wrote:I wonder if the cracking issue is dependent on how you mount it. What are the failure modes?
Yes, you shouldn't have to monkey with the mounting, but with the Champion at least, you do. But, if you do, are there still failures? I mounted mine with rubber sway bar end link bushings, and only tightened three of the four mounting bolts to allow it to expand as necessary.
If it were mounted rigidly to the core support, I could see that being a problem, especially as you'd be flexing the mounting points on both sides since the bracket doesn't mount flush.
Now if you bolt the rad solidly to the rad support as the stock radiator is, can this be a problem over time with the expansion that the aluminum radiator sees, vs the expansion that our original brass radiators saw?
Byron