LT5 Cooling and Radiators

[XfireZ51]

U may find that the fins bend even using a soft bristle brush. It doesn't take much.

[RussMcB]

My opinion only, maybe not the post you're hoping to hear...

I didn't weigh them when I swapped. but my opinion is the difference in weight is nothing any of us would ever notice. I mean, you could toss them both in the air pretty easily. A tiny fraction of the weight of the car.

However, I suppose it's possible a 4 core radiator might hold more coolant, and therefore might add a little weight, but again, negligible.

I was wishy-washy about changing mine, weighing the pros and cons, and eventually decided if people like Marc Haibeck recommends the Dewitt, might as well do it and (hopefully) solve all cooling issues and never worry about it again.

I will say, though, that even though the Dewitt is considered a "drop in", it still required some extra work to get it in. I'll elaborate if you want to hear.

[5ABI VT]

Originally Posted by RussMcB

My opinion only, maybe not the post you're hoping to hear...

I didn't weigh them when I swapped. but my opinion is the difference in weight is nothing any of us would ever notice. I mean, you could toss them both in the air pretty easily. A tiny fraction of the weight of the car.

However, I suppose it's possible a 4 core radiator might hold more coolant, and therefore might add a little weight, but again, negligible.

I was wishy-washy about changing mine, weighing the pros and cons, and eventually decided if people like Marc Haibeck recommends the Dewitt, might as well do it and (hopefully) solve all cooling issues and never worry about it again.

I will say, though, that even though the Dewitt is considered a "drop in", it still required some extra work to get it in. I'll elaborate if you want to hear.

From what I've read there needs to be some trimming done to make it fit.. That's really not much of a concern for me. our dollar up here tanked even further over the last 6 months so that puts a $500 radiator at around 750-800 all said and done. 6 months ago I could have shipped it to buffalo fudged a receipt and paid near $500 all in by picking it up. In a nutshell I don't have an issue spending the money IF the replacement was much better, lighter etc but seems the oem rad can easily handle what I have in our temps .. Even at 75k miles and uncleaned. Which makes it hard to spend the money to gain.. More capacity in higher temps which we don't have up here.

I have ideas of running coolant under the car and putting a rad where the spare tire is and directing air to cool it from there ! Would take a good 20+ lbs of a rad and coolant at the nose end and put it over the rear wheels or close !

[mike100]

You can successfully clean the radiator- especially if removed ( I did 4 years ago). Even the inside was free of corrosion and no reason it couldn't transfer heat as well as a new unit, but eventually the side tank seal will let go.

[secondchance]

Originally Posted by mike100

You can successfully clean the radiator- especially if removed ( I did 4 years ago). Even the inside was free of corrosion and no reason it couldn't transfer heat as well as a new unit, but eventually the side tank seal will let go.

I went through two OEM radiators. In my case both failures were stress crack on the driver side, about 4-5 inches from the top, resulting from heat, expansion and contraction cycling. Sort of similar to aircraft developing stress fracture on the skin due to pressurization/depressurization cycle.

[Livin' in the 80's]

Has anyone tried using a powerful back pack blower to blow out the fins of the radiator and the oil cooler and ac condenser?

[XfireZ51]

Originally Posted by Livin' in the 80's

Has anyone tried using a powerful back pack blower to blow out the fins of the radiator and the oil cooler and ac condenser?

Yes. It'll bend the fins

[QB93Z]

In my experience, the radiator fins become clogged with very fine sand. I had a radiator that was showing signs of insufficient cooling due to reduced air flow. I removed all the shrouds and the fans and fan assembly. Then I blew compressed air though the fins from the back using a stiff tubing with a right angle tip.

Then I removed the radiator and held it up to the sun and there were two circles (where the fans are) that let through less light than the edges.

I placed the radiator front down on the cement, lifted it about 6 inches and slammed it down on the concrete. On the cement, there were two circles of grit. I did this several times, then blew air through (backwards) and repeated.

I eventually got most of the fins cleared somewhat and reinstalled the radiator. I ended up replacing the radiator a few months later because I still felt that the air flow was reduced.

One good thing about removing the radiator was that I could straighten out all the fins that I bent using the pressurizer air wand.

Jim

[5ABI VT]

Are the base c4 and ZR-1 rads exactly the same ? I can't recall if we covered that here I googled it and got mixed replies. Have a friend with a Dewitt for his 96 LT4 car he never installed and sold his car so he's willing to sel it to me cheap.

[-=Jeff=-]

Originally Posted by 5ABI VT

Are the base c4 and ZR-1 rads exactly the same ?.

Essentially yes