Author Topic: Radiator Repair - damaged fins  (Read 15916 times)

Steven Hoffman

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Re: Radiator Repair - damaged fins
« Reply #15 on: January 29, 2015, 06:19:21 PM »
Lee

I don't see any "FRESH" damage.  The dirty copper color of the fins is typical of fin corrosion/deterioration.   I have seen this many times in Michigan where we get a lot of salt.  As the fins deteriorate or loosen from the tubes the radiators cooling capacity (heat transfer surface area) is reduced.  If the cooling system has excess capacity you can do as Gerald is doing and just keep using it.  If the cooling system is marginal you will notice the temperature gauge rising on a hard pull or hot day.

The radiator on my 97 Patriot looked just like Richards when I took a rock hit damaging a couple of tubes.  I had it re-cored and it runs much cooler on long pulls.  After all the work and expense to remove and reinstall why put something that is degrading back in.

$1500.00 sounds like a really good price to me.  I think mine was about $1200.00 to have a new core put in 4 or 5 years ago.

Lee Welbanks

  • Guest
Re: Radiator Repair - damaged fins
« Reply #16 on: January 29, 2015, 09:33:40 PM »
Sure looks like fresh copped to me like they raked something across the fins, but I'm not there looking at it, I would probably re-core it because you already have it out of the coach. I have seen radiator shops do this to fool some poor trucker into thinking is rad is shot.
We don't know what the history is: was he running warm or hot what does the inside looks like is it clean, what do the end tanks look like??