New radiator installation

[vangremlin]

My radiator had been leaking by the upper hose, so I decided to put in one of those CJ aluminum radiators that captspillane uses.  I probably could have gotten the old one fixed, but those aluminum ones just look so good!!!

Here is a peek inside the old radiator, you can see some gunk in there:



Old vs. new



New mounting holes drilled to make it work with the Eagle.  When measuring the locations of the holes, make sure to compare the holes on the old one in relation to the top of the neck, not just the top of the body of the radiator.  The neck sticks up a lot higher on these aluminum ones, and I had to switch to a regular radiator cap instead of the pressure relief one I had been using in order to get the hood to close:



Stock lower hose doesn't line up with new radiator, not only horizontally but vertically also as the new radiator outlet slopes up at a pretty good angle



Upper hose doesn't line up either, I ended up going with a flexible 15.5" hose, 1.5" diameter. Check out Continental 52415.



For new lower hose, I followed anrkii's suggestion and got 1.75" and 1.5" hoses with 90 degree bends, joined together with an adaptor from jagsthatrun.com.  It takes a lot of test fitting and cutting to make it all fit, but its doable.



Finished product.  Everything fits together and nothing leaks:     

[eaglebeek]

That radiator looks really good!

The new radiator appears thicker than the stock Eagle radiator. Does it have a 3- or 4-row core? Are you going to use the fan shroud?

[IowaEagle]

What did you use for trans cooler fittings?  Or do you have a manual trans?

[vangremlin]

That radiator looks really good!

The new radiator appears thicker than the stock Eagle radiator. Does it have a 3- or 4-row core? Are you going to use the fan shroud?

It is thicker than the stock radiator.  It's only a 2 row, but the additional thickness gives additional cooling capacity.  I'm not sure the fan shroud will fit.  If you look at the mounting bracket, you'll see that the new one doesn't go up as high as on the stock radiator, which is where the shroud mounts.  I'll probably run it without the shroud and try to install it if I have any problems.  I doubt that I will, as the needle barely made it into the operating range even with the old radiator.

What did you use for trans cooler fittings?  Or do you have a manual trans?

I just transferred the fittings from the old radiator over.  Everything lines up without a problem.

[Monkeyjoe]

Box up your old radiator and send it to Colonial Radiator in San Antonio Texas.  If I remember correct it is on Commerce Street.  They will pull your radiator apart, boil it, "Rod" it, (that is where they run a flat thin rod thru every single ribbon, then they reassemble and pressure test, and paint, all for about $60 or 70 bucks. they have a very fast turn-around of 2-3 days.  They also have a 1 year warranty on their work.  I have not been in Texas for about 7 years but they have been there forever.  They do great work. 

Then you will have a "like new" backup.

They turned my 1967 Scout 800 Radiator from a 2 row to a three row for $69.00  that gives me 50% more cooling when I am off-roading.

[IowaEagle]

We need to reinvigorate the member approved vendors board to save great stuff like this in one place.

[vangremlin]

Box up your old radiator and send it to Colonial Radiator in San Antonio Texas.  If I remember correct it is on Commerce Street.  They will pull your radiator apart, boil it, "Rod" it, (that is where they run a flat thin rod thru every single ribbon, then they reassemble and pressure test, and paint, all for about $60 or 70 bucks. they have a very fast turn-around of 2-3 days.  They also have a 1 year warranty on their work.  I have not been in Texas for about 7 years but they have been there forever.  They do great work. 

Then you will have a "like new" backup.

They turned my 1967 Scout 800 Radiator from a 2 row to a three row for $69.00  that gives me 50% more cooling when I am off-roading.

Thanks for the suggestion.  I have a local radiator shop that I use not only for radiators but for cleaning and repairing gas tanks.  I think I'll drop this one off with them so I'll have a backup.

[captspillane]

These aluminum radiators have such sex appeal. They"re downright sexy!

[rollguy]

Box up your old radiator and send it to Colonial Radiator in San Antonio Texas.  If I remember correct it is on Commerce Street.  They will pull your radiator apart, boil it, "Rod" it, (that is where they run a flat thin rod thru every single ribbon, then they reassemble and pressure test, and paint, all for about $60 or 70 bucks. they have a very fast turn-around of 2-3 days.  They also have a 1 year warranty on their work.  I have not been in Texas for about 7 years but they have been there forever.  They do great work. 

Although most radiator shops used to boil out and rod radiators often (they all used to be copper and brass), that service is not available in most shops nowadays.  Most radiators are plastic and aluminum, and the shops that use the chemicals and processes for dealing with brass and copper radiators are getting scarce because of environmental concerns and the cost for such chemicals.  If you have a shop in your city that has been around for decades, then chances are they can handle your pre-90's radiator.  Also, many shops do not have "boiler tanks" or "hot tanks" anymore because of the caustic nature and high cost of the chemicals that are needed to clean a copper and brass radiator.  My local shop can repair, re-core and rod any older radiator, but they can only pressure clean the inside with water (no chemicals). They don't have a boiler anymore.

[carnuck]

What about using Jeep CJ rad hoses? I stuck the '77 AMX rad I have in my Eagle and it's too tall to work (can't close the hood all the way)

[vangremlin]

What about using Jeep CJ rad hoses?

Thanks for the suggestion.  I just took a look online at the CJ hoses, I'm not sure the molded ones will work, too many angles to overcome and not enough space.  They also offer the flexible ones with the correct end sizes, but I think they would be too long.  I think I'll put some effort into finding a shorter flexible hose.  I'm just afraid my homemade setup may fall apart at the seams some day.

I ended up switching to a flexible hose made for a CJ. Part number is Continental 52414, inside diameter 1.5” on one end, 1.75” on the other, 13.25” long.

[eaglebeek]

Although most radiator shops used to boil out and rod radiators often (they all used to be copper and brass), that service is not available in most shops nowadays.  Most radiators are plastic and aluminum, and the shops that use the chemicals and processes for dealing with brass and copper radiators are getting scarce because of environmental concerns and the cost for such chemicals.  If you have a shop in your city that has been around for decades, then chances are they can handle your pre-90's radiator.  Also, many shops do not have "boiler tanks" or "hot tanks" anymore because of the caustic nature and high cost of the chemicals that are needed to clean a copper and brass radiator.  My local shop can repair, re-core and rod any older radiator, but they can only pressure clean the inside with water (no chemicals). They don't have a boiler anymore.

Radiators for heavy-duty vehicles...trucks and buses...are still made out of copper. Shops that repair such radiators should be able to handle original Eagle radiators.

[vangremlin]

I just wanted to add another note to this thread.  I finally "completed" the installation of the radiator - when I put it in a couple weeks ago I was missing a couple mounting bolts so it wasn't fully installed.  When I put in the two other bolts, it brought the radiator up to its final height, and I could not close the hood with the pressure releasing radiator cap I had on it.  I had to swap to just a flat one.  When I measured for the new mounting holes, I measured the old radiator from the top of the radiator to the mounting holes, and transferred that to the new radiator.  The spout on the new radiator is considerably higher than the old one, and I should have used that as a reference point.  If you're planning to do this swap, make sure you measure from the top of the spout!

[Prafeston]

If you're planning to do this swap, make sure you measure from the top of the spout!

Good addition Dave! Bummer  you messed up. Thanks for being the guinea pig! You can probably edit your OP and make sure to add in that stipulation!

[vangremlin]

It still fit, but barely 

I'll add that into the original post, thanks for the suggestion