Radiator mount

[DanOlson]

Is the radiator secured to the mount with or without springs. I'm wondering if my radiator is getting torqued when I lift the front end off the ground. This is the 3rd time I've had the radiator to the shop.

Dan Olson

[Merle Coggins]

The radiator should be bolted tight to the "U" bracket, which also supports the whole front clip. Is everything up there tight? I don't see how jacking up your truck could torque the radiator to make it leak.

Merle

[DanOlson]

I agree. It just seems more than coincedence that after being on jack stands for a couple of weeks doing the brakes that the radiator now leaks from a seam on it's maiden voyage. It's been 13 years since it went back together and thought maybe it was originally mounted like the gas tank with the springs in between.

Dan

[Young Ed]

Dan are you jacking it and supporting the truck by the frame?

[DanOlson]

Normally yes, but ....... this last time I put a floor jack under the crossmember in front of the axle and lifted the whole front end off the stands.

Dan

[Young Ed]

Thats still part of the frame. I wouldnt think your frame could bend enough to hurt the radiator.

[DanOlson]

Maybe it's mad because I upgraded the brakes and didn't do anything to the cooling system.

[48Dodger]

Where's your radiator getting damaged?

48D

[DanOlson]

This time it has a leak between the reservoir and the core. I've used the repair guy for many year as there aren't many people left in this area that can fix those older radiators. I don't think he wanted to this time but he's going to.

Any of you midwest people have an extra radiator for sale? I've not searched the threads but has anyone retrofitted an aftermarket radiator?

Dan

[48Dodger]

Just a long shot, but the U bracket does its lion share of holding up the whole front end. Is it possible the bracket is weak, or cracked? My thinking is that the bracket is allowing enough lean left and right to crack the radiator. Like i said, a long shot.

Sorry so many pictures, but I thought it would show people better the way the front is supported mostly by the U bracket on the front cross member. I didn't post a picture of the Radiator bolted between the bracket, but if the bracket was craked at the bottom, it would use the sides of the radiator for strength and in effect, flex the top of the radiator. Again....just a long shot.

48D

[Don Coatney]

Is there not also a bracket that fits at the top of the radiator support frame

to prevent collapse at the top? On the cars of this era there is such a

bracket as pictured below. The original position of this bracket is on the grill

side of the radiator and on the cars it is rivited in place. I had to move this

bracket to the engine side on my car as I reversed my bracket to move the

radiator 2" forward to install a long block Desoto engine and I am using an

electric pusher fan in front of the radiator. The addition of a can of "BARR'S"

stop leak pellets cured the radiator leak pictured below.

[Young Ed]

The 39-47 trucks have a similar bar on the U piece but its a bolt on piece so it could easily be left off.

[Don Coatney]

The 39-47 trucks have a similar bar on the U piece but its a bolt on piece so it could easily be left off.

If it were left off the only thing supporting the top of the bracket is the radiator itself. Not a good thing.

[48Dodger]

I agree threre should be something like that Don, but I haven't seen anything on our trucks. The only thing that comes close is the piece under the end of the hood. I imagine after 47 they might have changed to this kind of set up, but I have no real idea.

48D

The firewall to radiator bar ties into the top of the braket

the front of this bracket bolts to the grille, the top bolts to the hood, but only one bolt on each side of the U braket

This is it siting in the right spot without the U bracket.

[Young Ed]

here's the 39-47 version. It sits quite a bit lower then a car one but I think that it does the same job. Nothing attaches to it so its almost got to be to reinforce the U. Its kind of hard to see but its the only pic I have showing it.

[Merle Coggins]

One more thought. On my truck, when I disassembled it, I found that the bracket on the frame that the "U" bolts to was loose. The rivets seemed to have loosened up and it allowed everything to move around. I ended up welding it solid.

Before you put your radiator back in, maybe you want to wiggle things around and look for movement at that riveted piece.

[grey beard]

Dan,

On 48 to 53 Pilothouse trucks, only the U-shaped radiator support carries the entire radiator - no horizontal bracing on my own or friends' radiator supports such as the one on Don's car. Having said all that, my son in Montana has several similar vintage large trucks - 2 ton and bigger - and some of them have a round rod behind the core, just below the top tank area, but I have never seen this feaure on a pickup.

Methinks your radiator support, itself, must be cracked or broken somewhere to allow the radiator to move like it apparantly must be doing. If this is fact, a new radiator won't help too much, IMHO

Could be wrong - was once . . . . . .

[DanOlson]

The radiator guy called and we talked it over and decided not to attempt a fix in fear of making it worse. My leak or leaks as it turns out are along the front of the reservoir. The mount on the side of the radiator tilts it back a few degrees and the antifreeze runs to the inside making it appear that the leak is on the inside. Everything seems solid and I have the radiator back in the truck. Unfortunately we now have snow on the ground so it'll probably be spring before it sees the street again. I need an education on thermostats but I'll start a new thread.

Dan