Radiator...Lost the battle...Help !

[chibravo]

1970 Dodge d200, 318...
Had the radiator "fixed" several years back....Failed !
Had the radiator "re-cored" and again....It leaks !

What is the best option here....Change to an aluminum radiator ? Suggestions on the best unit to purchase ?

As always....Thanks folks !

[Wildergarten]

1970 Dodge d200, 318...
Had the radiator "fixed" several years back....Failed !
Had the radiator "re-cored" and again....It leaks !

I wouldn't do anything until I had a better idea of how and why it leaks. Where does the new core leak? How much?

The problem could be mechanical, chemical or even electrical. Hood River isn't a particularly hot or cold place, so if the antifreeze was reasonably fresh, I wouldn't think it would be fatigued from freezing or high temperatures. How is the radiator mounted and supported? Is it all stock? What kind of roads do you drive? Do you use distilled water? How are your engine and body grounded?

[chibravo]

Wildergarten...Stock truck, stock, original radiator and radiator mounting etc...Small leak at the bottom i believe...
I am just over it....Looking for a larger, aluminum unit that will hopefully be somewhat of a direct bolt in with the correct size fittings etc...

I also found a small leak in the original heater core, so I will be replacing that also now....

[712edf]

It leaks because it (most of it) is 51 years old. The failure of the heater core further supports this.

Bucky

[PwrWgnDrvr]

You'll probably leak in old age too.

[Wildergarten]

Wildergarten...Stock truck, stock, original radiator and radiator mounting etc...Small leak at the bottom i believe...
I am just over it....Looking for a larger, aluminum unit that will hopefully be somewhat of a direct bolt in with the correct size fittings etc...

I also found a small leak in the original heater core, so I will be replacing that also now....

"Small Leak at the bottom" where? Somewhere among the tubes in the core itself? At the connection between the core tubes and the bottom flange? At the seam between the core flange and the bottom cap? A pinhole through the cap metal itself? Between the bottom cap and the hose connector? WHERE??? Similarly, you didn't answer my questions about coolant, distilled water, or electrical grounding yet. A photo of the leak at its source would help. I might be able to tell you about what caused this problem if you can provide those details. That a heater core failed at the same time indicates a common cause.

If you think aluminum is immune to electrolytic corrosion due to salts in tap water from the hose, or electrolysis from bad grounding (not to mention dissimilar metals in a common electrolyte), I have bad news for you. So if you do want help, please humor me. You might be able to avoid a subsequent failure.

[Hobcobble]

Had the radiator "fixed" several years back....Failed !
Had the radiator "re-cored" and again....It leaks !

How long ago did you have it re-cored? Did you have
it done by a reputable radiator shop? I've had four V8
Sweptline radiators done over the past many years... they
all still work great. Sometimes, the bottom and top tanks
need to be "coaxed" a bit to fit over the core section and
it can weaken that area. There are probably plenty of
choices of aftermarket radiators.... you can likely find
one that is close enough in dimensions to use. You
can also start over with an original radiator and try a
different radiator shop....

John

[Wildergarten]

You can also start over with an original radiator and try a different radiator shop....

Yup. Brass is better. It may not conduct as well as an aluminum/epoxy radiator, but brass doesn't work harden and crack as easily, nor is it as subject to corrosion in an electrolyte with iron. One could end up with a tragic experience of electronegativity.

[martincom]

try a different radiator shop....

I'm thinking that may have more to do with it than anything. We had a very good local radiator repair shop most of my younger years. It changed ownership three times. The last guy's workmanship was pretty poor and it was about guaranteed his repairs would fail in short order. He would just "glop" solder and attempt to fill/patch with solder. Solder has very poor to almost non-existent mechanical strength by itself. It should only be utilized to bond other materials, such as brass or copper together.

I've also found the aftermarket replacement radiators are about paper thin. I haven't tired aluminum, but it seems to be the radiator of choice amongst the street rod folks.

[chibravo]

Thanks again folks...The radiator was "repaired" in 2/2016....and then Re-cored in 9/16.
I am going to go today the the shop and have them take a look...

John....Can I get an original OEM replacement radiator somewhere ? All my searches simply come up with the new style aluminum ones......I would really like to keep the engine bay stock as the truck is near 100% original...

[Hobcobble]

John....Can I get an original OEM replacement radiator somewhere ? All my searches simply come up with the new style aluminum ones......I would really like to keep the engine bay stock as the truck is near 100% original...

Not that I'm aware of.
Maybe someone else knows a source?
There should be someone that has a nice serviceable
radiator that you could get re-cored. There's
a guy in Garnett, KS by the name of Robert "Butch" Romig
who does re-core radiators. He used to own a Sweptline
and was a member of this forum for a long time. He
did a couple of mine a long time ago and they're still
going strong. Maybe Butch has a source for
a re-core candidate?

John

[chibravo]

Brought it back to the radiator shop....He will and fix it and re-paint it....The top tank was leaking...$95.00 repair and I am glad as I really wanted to keep the truck stock in appearance...

[67step100]

When you go to pick it up ask them if they pressure tested the rad. That is SOP when repairing a rad.