Repair or replace radiator?

[shiftpro]

Aluminum is not a durable as brass/copper. If you're using your truck off road, bashing through bush or if you drive on a lot of gravel roads the alum rad will eventually give your drama.
I would price out completely replacing the core... or basically using your tanks on a new core. It will certainly cost more, but a $230 alum rad is obviously imported so...

 

[shiftpro]

your front plate looks good. I've got a few old rail spikes from the Sacramento railroad.

Poor guy doesn't have bumper thingys so he runs rail spikes..

 

[idahovette]

Repair seems high to me. It would depend on how good these guys are at radiator repairs. To shoot you a price on a repair without looking is kinda spooky??

 

[Frankenchevy]

these are the fans. it's tough to find a dual e-fan setup that's big enough to cover the radiator. I'm going to cut the factory shroud to mount the e-fans onto. 4000cfm should be adequate.

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[Frankenchevy]

Repair seems high to me. It would depend on how good these guys are at radiator repairs. To shoot you a price on a repair without looking is kinda spooky??

I just asked them to ball park it based on me having a few leaks, though, I don't have any that I know of. again shop rate is over $110 an hour, so if it takes 90 minutes...go figure.

ill be tickled pink if its around $50 like stated previously. I'm not holding my breath though. the Napa machine shop around the corner from this radiator repair shop wanted $30/per bushing pressed out of my rear leaf and shackle. would have been $180 just to press out 6 bushings. I went to a spring place recommended by Craig and they did them for free. wouldn't take money from me. maybe I'll find a radiator shop like that.

 

[idahovette]

Used to have a guy down the alley from me that did radiators and glass. Did a good job but all things change unfortunately . Was really inexpensive, not cheap Good luck!

 

[Rusty Nail]

The parts at the ends of the radiator are called side tanks. Yours is leaking. There is a simple gasket between the tank and the core. There is of course a tool FOR that removal but it can be done with a butter knife if you are patient.
The gaskets are cheap. To "rod out" the core, "tank" it to remove build up, straighten the fins, paint it, reassemble AND THEN flow and pressure test it?
PLUS the trans cooler?
For a big radiator like that that's good enough for the frvcking ARMY? Not a terrible deal after some shop puts their name on it and assumes the liability LOCALLY?

If you think you can find a better deal - knock yourself out.

You could fix it yourself .. but odds are that you are not equipped to do it any justice.

 

[Frankenchevy]

The parts at the ends of the radiator are called side tanks. Yours is leaking. There is a simple gasket between the tank and the core. There is of course a tool FOR that removal but it can be done with a butter knife if you are patient.
The gaskets are cheap. To "rod out" the core, "tank" it to remove build up, straighten the fins, paint it, reassemble AND THEN flow and pressure test it?
PLUS the trans cooler?
For a big radiator like that that's good enough for the frvcking ARMY? Not a terrible deal after some shop puts their name on it and assumes the liability LOCALLY?

If you think you can find a better deal - knock yourself out.

You could fix it yourself .. but odds are that you are not equipped to do it any justice.

I don't know that it is actually leaking. I think the staining was from a previous hose leak of some sort. I've never noticed the radiator fluid drop in level ever. is there a way that you can tell it's leaking from a tank gasket just from looking at those two pictures?

I didn't think it was a bad deal to begin with, that was other members.

while just about every project I've been into this deep has been air-cooled, I can braze and sweat brass and copper like it's going out of style. maybe it is a project I can tackle. maybe I just need to clean it. other than the residue that's dried on the fins next to the top inlet, there hasn't been a sign of a coolant leak in the 6+ years I've owned it.

edit: I'm in no way bashing anything the truck came equipped with; but trust me, just because something is government issued or purchased, does not make it great.

 

[Dougnsalem]

The parts at the ends of the radiator are called side tanks. Yours is leaking. There is a simple gasket between the tank and the core. There is of course a tool FOR that removal but it can be done with a butter knife if you are patient.
The gaskets are cheap. To "rod out" the core, "tank" it to remove build up, straighten the fins, paint it, reassemble AND THEN flow and pressure test it?
PLUS the trans cooler?
For a big radiator like that that's good enough for the frvcking ARMY? Not a terrible deal after some shop puts their name on it and assumes the liability LOCALLY?

If you think you can find a better deal - knock yourself out.

You could fix it yourself .. but odds are that you are not equipped to do it any justice.

Umm, on that one, it's a copper core with soldered on metal end tanks.

Sure, it could "possibly" be rodded out and have the leaks fixed. They could even use your tanks, and solder in a new core. Thats a diesel radiator, right? That core is probably gonna be some big bucks. I'd be asking when you drop it off.

I've used aftermarket aluminum in the past, and I have never had one problem. All aluminum. Not that plastic tank crap. Hell, paint away on it....

 

[Frankenchevy]

Umm, on that one, it's a copper core with soldered on metal end tanks.

Sure, it could "possibly" be rodded out and have the leaks fixed. They could even use your tanks, and solder in a new core. Thats a diesel radiator, right? That core is probably gonna be some big bucks. I'd be asking when you drop it off.

I've used aftermarket aluminum in the past, and I have never had one problem. All aluminum. Not that plastic tank crap. Hell, paint away on it....

I didn't see the fold over fin on the end caps I see on some other radiators. I'll ask when I drop it off.

 

[Honky Kong jr]

that's not bad, it doesn't look super shiny. the ones I saw on summit looked like a mirror. you think you could paint that black if you wanted without hurting the cooling?

your front plate looks good. I've got a few old rail spikes from the Sacramento railroad.

Most times the shinier the more craptacular

 

[Frankenchevy]

Most times the shinier the more craptacular

makes sense, polished turds

 

[Honky Kong jr]

that's not bad, it doesn't look super shiny. the ones I saw on summit looked like a mirror. you think you could paint that black if you wanted without hurting the cooling?

your front plate looks good. I've got a few old rail spikes from the Sacramento railroad.

That’s a Griffin I had left over. It has 2 rows of 1.25” tubes. No trans cooler and large side tanks.

 

[Frankenchevy]

That’s a Griffin I had left over. It has 2 rows of 1.25” tubes. No trans cooler and large side tanks.

look how cheap this one is. 32"x19" is a little smaller than my current one. but it's made in America and only $170

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[1987 GMC Jimmy]

I'd fix it without a shadow of a doubt. $160 is a bit high. $45 is a great price, and mine was $85 to rod, fix a leaky tube, and paint it. That's in the Jimmy. I wish my car still had the factory radiator, but it has a craptacular parts store plastic tank/aluminum tube and fin one. It lasted almost ten years before two tubes started to leak where they go into the tank. I had it fixed a couple miles down the road for around $50, which I thought was a bit pricey for the service, but it doesn't leak anymore for the time being. I'd love to imagine it lasting until 2027, but I'm sure other tubes will start leaking in the same region well before then.