Which radiator?

[aboyandhisdog]

Re: bottom mount radiator.   KW lists a US made with shroud for $600,  a "foreign made" one just like it with shroud for $350, and an aluminum US made for $400 (no shroud needed).

I'd be interested in hearing of anybodies experiences with any of these?  Or maybe you've heard good or bad?

Thank you!

[RICKG]

Hi Tom, I went with one of the many offerings from the mega online auction house. $130 bucks shipped. Am using it on the 3A project (remember JMedsker?). For the $$ I gave it a shot. It arrived in good condition.� The only fitment issue was the bottom tube, I wanted to use my steel 3A shroud but the bottom tube on the alum rad is radiused, needs to be straight so we cut the rad and tig'd a straight tube in its place. The shroud is secure with a liberal application of good ol' JB Weld we'll see how it holds up. I've run it up to oper temps many times with no problem, but up on blocks so I can't say how it'll perform in the real world.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Aluminum-Radiator-For-1941-1952-Jeep-Willys-M38-CJ-2A-MB-42-43-44-45-46-47-50/322792012559?hash=item4b27e73b0f:g:hoMAAOSwR31ZzZ48:rk:4:pf:0

[aboyandhisdog]

That looks pretty good, Rick.  Never even thought to check out ebay.  Did you attach the shroud because you wanted it to look right, or for better performance?  The alum one at KW says specifically no shroud needed. 

I'm not quite to the point of needing a new radiator yet, but I do feel it is just a matter of time.  Mine has been repaired several times and I don't know how much life it has left.  Trying to line up my options.  I've heard these alum ones work well, but I have also heard they don't!  Hard to know what's true...

[RICKG]

� Did you attach the shroud because you wanted it to look right, or for better performance?�

Both.. plus I had a nice shroud on hand, and I think an un-shrouded fan is a accident waiting..

[aboyandhisdog]

Well, the time is now...I do in fact need a new radiator.  These aluminum ones seem to come in 2 row, 3 row and 4 row configurations.  This is Greek to me!  What is the difference and is one style preferred to the others?  Also, there are "down flow" and "cross flow".  What is the difference?

The only brand that I've seen that seems to be mfg. in the USA is the Champion brand and they have a lifetime warranty, so there's that.  The Omix from KW (the aluminum one) looks good but it has a top inlet tube that is square to the rad and not angled like the OE style.  That bugs me.

And a question...can these aluminum ones be painted successfully?  I would like to paint it black like the steel OE style.  Can't have "shiny stuff" under my hood!

Also, some of them list the inlet/outlet tubes as 1.5"/1.75", and some list them as 1.75", and 1.5".  I have to believe that the specs are listed wrong as I thought all of the bottom mount radiators were 1.5"/ 1.5".   In fact, Rick, the one that you posted a link to is spec'd at 1.5"/1.75".  This is all very confusing!

Thanks a lot for any help!!!!

[64CJ5]

Good morning Tom,  check Rust-Oleum Professional Aluminum Primer.  Amazon has it.  Let us know how your project turns out.

[Rus Curtis]

Tom,
I can sum up my entire knowledge on radiators in a few sentences - hopefully it will help.

The rows are a selling point where more is better, i.e. a 4 row is supposed to be better than a 2 row (not sure if you'd see a noticeable difference in cooling though).

Down Flow will have tanks at top/bottom like our original radiators.  Cross Flow will have tanks on each side.

Personally, my route was to re-core my original.  My theory is the tanks and attachments would still be the same.  I did have to get it "tweaked" a bit as I didn't initially provide the shroud and after the adjustment, it all fit like the original.

[SteveKfl]

My two cents is, painting the heat exchange surfaces is like putting a sweater on it, reducing the cooling capability.  That said, you're only dealing with "small horsepower heat generation", so it may not make a significant difference.  It did on a condensing coil once, I learned that the hard way.  A fan  shroud would offset the loss with better air flow, IMO.  Another thought, it seems in my memory somewhere, there is some kind of 'staining' that can be done to aluminum to "blacken It", so maybe someone with experience with that has some input.  I live in So FL so "heat exchange" is critical with our current 99-100 degree ambient temps with "feels like" 110-115 degree temps with the humidity.  Nice pics!

[1955CJ-5]

Another thought, it seems in my memory somewhere, there is some kind of 'staining' that can be done to aluminum to "blacken It"

It's Called Aluminum Black, oddly enough

https://www.brownells.com/gunsmith-tools-supplies/metal-prep-coloring/blackening-browning/aluminum-black-prod4941.aspx

I've used the Brass Black and it lasts a good while....Brass contains zinc so i suppose that's why the Blackening reacts with the zinc plated bolts in the picture

[Bob W]

The thickness of the core would be a better method to determine the heat dissipation capability rather than "rows" since we don't know how thick each row is. Thicker is generally better.

[squidtone]

I also did the eBay radiator aluminum overseas radiator. It was about $130 to my door. It is meant for a CJ2A so it does not have a way to fasten the original '3A shroud. But I drilled some holes (carefully!) to attach my shroud. The '2a style lower neck is also different, so I had to change the shroud to accommodate that. But since my shroud was very rusty I notched it to clear the different neck. The swap was not the easiest, but if you don't mind the nit-picky details, you can save some dough. I made a post about this, but all the photo links might be broken due to photobucket.
But anyway, it performs very well, and it seems like it can idle all day, even when really hot out, and stay at a constant 190F.

Here is the link to that aluminum radiator "report":

http://www.cj3apage.com/cgi-bin/3Ayabb26/YaBB.pl?num=1460689076/7#7

Good luck!

[aboyandhisdog]

I really appreciate everybody's input.  Tomorrow I plan to call some of the companies to see what they offer.

Dave, that is a good write up on making a side mount with shroud out of a bottom mount.  Luckily I do have a bottom mount and there seem to be quite a few options out there.  I didn't know the bottom tubes were different on the 2A and 3A, so will try to pay attention to that. 

Randy, that aluminum black is cool stuff but I'm not set up for electrolysis so I think I'll go the alum primer/paint route.  Thanks for the suggestion though.

One thing still leaves me scratching my head - the different inlet/outlet tube sizes.  I have 3 thermostat housings in my garage and 4 water pumps, and they are all 1.5".  The radiators that are offered that have 1.75" inlet's and/or outlet tubes...what do these fit?  Did MB's, or GPW's, or 2A's have different sized therm housings or water pumps?  I figured that 1.5" tubes would be universal for the old bottom mount radiators.  No???

[1955CJ-5]

Randy, that aluminum black is cool stuff but I'm not set up for electrolysis so I think I'll go the alum primer/paint route.� Thanks for the suggestion though.

You just wipe it on and when it's gotten to the color you like you neutralize it with water.....

But paint can be removed, if you don't like it......

For what it's worth, I bought a replacement radiator for the CJ-5 from Walck's. It came nicely painted and bolted right in. Works fine lasts a long time... But I had to rub some of the paint off and expose the brass in places so it looked as though it belonged in the old jeep!

[aboyandhisdog]

Well, found a nice 4 row on Ebay from AlloyWorks and put it in a few days ago.  It works beautifully!  keeps me nice and cool between 160-170 degrees even with my bug screen on.  The screen would add about 10 degrees to my old radiator, and I like that now I can actually use it in the summer.

Also, it painted up just fine with VHT Epoxy Satin Black.  You don't even need a primer with this paint.