Rad upgrade or standard?

[davidn]

Been looking for my leak (only slight for ages now) Noticed whisps of steam coming from a rusty dent on the back of the rad behind the o/s cooling fan. Can't think this has been caused by a stone but needs sorting anyhow.
Time for a new rad then but don't suppose this will be covered by the warranty. I've not had any issues with overheating so far and I assume I've still got the standard steel rad so is it worth the extra for an ally one?
Cheers
David

[bilton_d]

mine have always been covered by the warranty

[jesfirth]

you could try feltham rads for a rebuild if you are near london £115 plus vat. They did a cracking job on mine last month. I sent out a thread with their details.

[GreenV8S]

I would have thought the standard one would be Cu/brass or aluminium alloy, not steel. If it's copper then you might be able to improve cooling by going to ally but why bother if you have no problems? In any case it might already be ally. If I were you I would just replace it with another standard rad.

[SXS]

If your rad is shot, then rather than going oem stock/re-core etc etc...., its a perfect time to UPGRADE.... the craft boys use a special custom rad bulder, normally designated for much higher horsepower applications as in heat dissipation... I'd give them a shout and get a stonker fitted in... its roughly around the same cost as a stock one too...

[foxy4200]

Mine went just before CREAM.

I had it re-cored with an uprated core. The old one was corroded and furred up. It's made quite a difference to the running temp of the engine.

Arrow Radiators in Bristol did mine and I got it back the next day. You can also buy a 2nd hand rad from Bell Hill Garage (with the uprated re-core).

The odds are that if you can see the corrosion/rust on your rad, then it could be in the same state internally as mine was, so just a new standard one should make a difference..

[cerber450]

SXS said:

If your rad is shot, then rather than going oem stock/re-core etc etc...., its a perfect time to UPGRADE.... the craft boys use a special custom rad bulder, normally designated for much higher horsepower applications as in heat dissipation... I'd give them a shout and get a stonker fitted in... its roughly around the same cost as a stock one too...

You must be getting commision from these boys by now!
If not you should be