Need new radiator for TJ - Aluminium?

[Redemptioner]

This is a Chinese made radiator and are being sold by the same company "trading" under 5 different names on ebay and 3 different names retail in Australia.

These will give much better cooling than stock but should not be used with standard coolant if you want long-term lifespan, when you mix steal and aluminium you should not have any water present as it will eat the aluminium....

Also remember that you are comparing a $200 radiator with a $400+ standard radiator when doing the basic comparison between aluminium and copper radiators.

[ajftj]

Unfortunately you are right, when I looked at the detail it's just an importer - I had hoped it might have been something from Auz.

Your comment on aluminium and corrosion puzzled me a bit, antifreeze is there to stop the corrosion (as well as modify the cooling). Engines with alloy heads, pumps, and even the plastic capped radiators are all aluminium and steel components mixed. Am I misunderstanding?

Had a good search for copper / ally and really seems they are not around on the internet.

Adrad seems to get a lot of discussion - guess you might get warranty honoured as Australia based, but who knows where they are manufactured and are they any better than the ~ $200 imports.

Any links to suppliers would be welcomed with any recent experiences - ta..

[Classic Boy]

Originally Posted by ajftj

Your comment on aluminium and corrosion puzzled me a bit, antifreeze is there to stop the corrosion (as well as modify the cooling). Engines with alloy heads, pumps, and even the plastic capped radiators are all aluminium and steel components mixed. Am I misunderstanding?

.

The problem is the grade of aluminium alloy used in many aftermarket radiators is cheap commercial grade alloy, which is easy to shape and weld but doesn't have good inherent anti-corrosive properties. Aluminium is a great material but in its pure state is to soft for most engineering uses but can be alloyed with many different metals to create the necessary desirable properties the metallurgists are seeking the drawback is the alloying often also introduces undesirable properties as well such as more prone to corrosion or cracking'.

Aluminium and iron(steel) are opposite sides of the galvanic scale which means in the presence of an electrolyte (water) quickly form a battery with the aluminium being sacrificial. Good quality coolant does have anti-corrosive additives but it is only part of the story.

Most aluminium alloys chosen by car and component makers is of a alloy and grade that is naturally far more resistive to corrosion but it usually is more difficult to work. Modern car aluminium radiators are made from a totally different aluminium alloy that aftermarket radiators, but they too will decay if the coolant is no longer up to the job but maybe not as fast as the aftermarket jobbies.

To barstardise an old quote about oil 'aluminiums ain't aluminums'.

[ajftj]

Thanks for the info, makes a bit more sense. I did wonder how the OEMs get to 5-7 years.
Getting some big numbers for aftermarket radiators (not the eBay specials) ~ 900$
Can't justify that kind of money!

At that price, tempted to buy a cheapie, some deionised water, good antifreeze and flush yearly. If I get more than 2 years of out of an ebay rad I'm probably still on top.

Anyone out there please shout out if you've purchased a cheap rad in the last couple of years from where, experiences etc...

Thanks.

[bonza]

Originally Posted by ajftj

Anyone out there please shout out if you've purchased a cheap rad in the last couple of years from where, experiences etc...

Thanks.

me, years ago.

a single row aluminium & plastic radiator on ebay. 100,000 and more kilometers later it's still hanging in there with no problems

matter of fact it has way outlasted the original stock unit

all I do is flush it every couple of years and use the cheap green premix like supecheaps calibre or the Nulon stuff

[Rocket55]

My fully American import alloy radiator split the other day where the cores meet the top tank. I just replaced it with and alloy/plastic Adrad unit. Cheap as chips. Wheeled the TJ on Sunday in mid 30deg and the temp never moved. If you are having overheating issues, then you likely have other issues.

[ajftj]

No overheating, just leaking rad due for replacement. Still browsing choices, you know one of the reasons I was looking for an Australian supplier was to have some kind of warranty protection. But when I downloaded the Adrad terms, your pretty much stuffed if you can't prove you had a powerflush on install and annually maintained similarly.

Almost worthless as a warranty for DIY mechanics, might as well buy China and be prepared to replace.

out of interest, how much is the plastic ally Adrad?