V8S Radiator - Out With Old.....
Discussion
It was leaking. Same as the last one but from a different place. Both Radtech so very disappointing. To be fair to Radtech (and thanks to ACT), they did offer to replace the rad for £220 but I'd no reason to suppose a new one would have been any better than the previous two, and if it did go again then it would have been another £220 or £400 depending on how generous they were feeling. I have a 12 month grantee on the re-core so I shouldn't be out of pocket if it does give me any problems. I've run it up to operating temperature (ie when the fan comes on) and let it cool three times so far and it seems to be OK. There's lots of newspaper under the car so tomorrow morning will tell.
DJR 7 said:
Not what I wanted to hear, my old one was leaking so I've replaced it with a Radtech one .... fingers crossed.
Hang on to your old one just in case.I've got a note of the weight of the copper one and will weigh the old alloy one tomorrow for comparison. I didn't think to compare the capacities so if you do still have your old copper one can you make a note of how much water it holds please? I'll check the Radtech capacity tomorrow and we can compare notes. I've got a sneaky suspicion the old copper one holds more water.
This is a picture of the original rad when I bought the car in 2006.
If you're able to zoom in on the top mounting brackets you'll see the rad is bolted directly to the brackets on the mounting frame. Seperate rubber "bobbins" would be nice but there's no room at the top. The little locating pegs at the bottom are located in rubber grommets so hopefully that will allow some give.
If you're able to zoom in on the top mounting brackets you'll see the rad is bolted directly to the brackets on the mounting frame. Seperate rubber "bobbins" would be nice but there's no room at the top. The little locating pegs at the bottom are located in rubber grommets so hopefully that will allow some give.
As it was explained to me, Radtech regard the engine bay of a TVR as "extreme operating conditions" and cite the vibration and heat as reasons why its rads fail. So why sell them for TVR's? My first one failed on a welded seam, the second one on a join between the side tank and a cooling fin. My guess is the alloy, or more accurately the joints, cannot handle the continual expansion and contraction in the same way that solder and copper can. My 'S' overheated in Holland last year when stuck in traffic in that awful torrential rain and the fans failed. I suspect that may have had something to do with it.
Other 'S' owners have fitted second hand OE alloy rads from the likes of Subaru; have these failed?
If the old copper rad was hard mounted and lasted 20 odd years then what does that tell us?
Yer pays yer money and takes yer choice
Other 'S' owners have fitted second hand OE alloy rads from the likes of Subaru; have these failed?
If the old copper rad was hard mounted and lasted 20 odd years then what does that tell us?
Yer pays yer money and takes yer choice
Ceejay73 said:
v8s4me said:
Get the old one re-cored. It's probably going to cost a little bit more than a second-hand Subaru rad but it will drop straight back in.
Sorry Joe but who mentioned fitting "second hand Subaru rads"?I don't know of anyone who has done this and the one I fitted in the post linked above was certainly not second hand. I can see where some confusion may arise due to the massive cost difference between the Radtec and the Subaru after market alloy rad but that is the whole point of the exercise.
Cheers,Carl.
v8s4me said:
Get the old one re-cored. It's probably going to cost a little bit more than an second-hand after-market Subaru rad but it will drop straight back in.
The point still stands, re-fitting a re-cored original will be a lot easier.G16GAM said:
Thanks all for your replies! Quote £250 + VAT for re-core from local company (Sussex). Any cheaper places ? If not, Subaru it is.
I paid £220. Someone who lives north of Luton will be on shortly saying they can get it done locally for a lot less + a six-pack of Newcastle Brown Ale 
We live in the South East so everything is more expensive.Don't forget to factor in the additional cost of any one-off brackets and hoses you may need. Also, if you buy a rad sold for a Subaru and you fit it to a TVR will the warranty hold good?
Just one final observation; mine runs cooler with the re-cored old-skool rad than it did with the stupid money alloy ones. No idea why, it just does.
Edited by v8s4me on Tuesday 25th June 23:19
ChimpOnGas said:
v8s4me said:
Just one final observation; mine runs cooler with the re-cored old-skool rad than it did with the stupid money alloy ones. No idea why, it just does.
A copper core and brass tanked radiator will always be far more efficient than an aluminium one, because copper and brass conducts heat way better than aluminium, this is why copper and brass have been used to construct radiators since time in memorial. It's worth remembering - A wise man learns from his mistakes; a clever man learns from other peoples'.
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