Whaddya Use To Cool Your CVs?

[1987cp]

hehe - my experience is that a replacement aluminum/plastic unit is easy to find at your local AutoZone. Got one from them in about '01 for about $140 - I can only assume it's still available.

Aren't copper/brass designs considered to be outdated because of being somewhat leakage-prone?

[85MercPark]

I have a three core in mine, all stock otherwise.
I was idleing around a campgound for half an hour or so and it started getting hot, the idle picked up on it, that was my first clue, was about 200. I think I have the idle set too low since I got the EGR fixed, it idles so smooth I kept just slowing it down. Need to bump it back up to a reasonable level.

[gadget73]

Aren't copper/brass designs considered to be outdated because of being somewhat leakage-prone?

they're somewhat less efficient than an equivalent aluminum radiator. Thats why the 85 models with brass had a 2 core, in 86 it was an aluminum single core. Basically the same cooling capacity. The aluminum radiator is lighter as well, probably cheaper to make too. Too bad they didn't make a 2 or 3 core aluminum radiator, those would do an extremely good job of cooling the car. I have seen 4 core brass Panther radiators, and that thing was a monster. The car cools so well on the highway that the thermostat closes. You can watch the temperature gauge bob up and down from it.

Not sure if the copper is so much leak prone as its sensitive to poor cooling system care. The solder will erode away as the coolant becomes acidic. Handily they're usually more fixable at home, often just need a torch and some solder to re-seal them.

[torquelover]

My car is equipped with a stock replacement 2-core radiator, stock pump, 180 t-stat, and stock mech. fan with original (tired) clutch. Hot summer days with A/C on you see elevated temps immediately in stop and go. No A/C on hot summer days you see elevated temps at high rpms under load, or city stop-and-go. Temps drop as soon as you start to roll, however. Next step for me is to ditch the mech fan for an elec one. Possibly Mark VIII or Mercedes E/C class in a JY as source.

[mrltd]

Stock aluminum rad, 195 Tstat, and a HD waterpump with some mild cleanup/porting. Stock mechanical fan with thermo-clutch

[DuceAnAHalf]

single core Griffin 31x19 aluminum radiator
cast iron water pump
electric fan off a 95 CV
a small ~10" electric pusher fan off a toyota
i have the radiator boxed in with a big ass air dam underneath
i also run two tranny coolers one 8-pass, one 6-pass
car stays at 180, except at wide open, it will climb to around 210 till i let out. tranny stays under 180 unless im standing against the convertor


here is how i boxed the radiator in

[Mercmarquis]

Single core stock aluminum rad, cast iron wp, dual electric fans off a taurus, run off a toggle switch

[phayzer5]

3-core copper w/ metal tanks from radiators.com (do not ever buy from them), regular stock clutch fan, stock waterpump with a balancer-clearancing mod, 180º t-stat. Scott used one of his tools on it to pull out all the air and it never topped 185 in the few hundred miles ive had it out on the road so far