Radiator cooling problems

[cbosman1]

Well, it's heating up in southern california and my dad's 53 Belvedere is heating up at long stop lights also. Cruising speed doesn't seem to be a problem. The flathead 6 is stock, but I recently put AC on it and the condenser covers the entire front of the original radiator. I have been talking to US Radiators in LA about replacing the honeycomb core with a 3 row hi-efficiency core for $420. That seems a bit steap for my dutch blood. Unfortunately there is no room to mount an electric fan on the engine side of the radiator, only 2.5 inches of clearance, and the hood latch would only allow me to put a small fan in the front. Here are my questions:

Any idea if this 3 row hi efficiency core will get the job done for sure?

Are there any alternative newer downflow radiators that will fit in the space without to much modification?

Is there a company out there that does the recore for less $?

Any suggestions on how to best cool this flathead 6 with AC on it?

Should I stick with the original mechanical fan or try to put an electric fan on it?

Sorry for all the questions, but I'm just looking for help from those of you with a lot more experience than myself!

Chuck

[Norm's Coupe]

Before going through all that expense, try adding a Fan Shroud. That will force more air in the direction of the engine and radiator, instead of the open areas where it's not needed. It's cheap and easy and if it doesn't work you're not out that much money. If it works, it's a cheap fix.

[Normspeed]

Any chance you could fit two smaller pusher fans up front on either side of the hood latch instead of one large one?

Seems like someone not too long ago installed a crossflow rad in their early Mopar but can't recall who, or what the rad came out of.

[cbosman1]

Good advice about adding a schroud first (I like the price too.) Anyone know of a donor shroud that might be about the right size to start cutting down to fit? I like the idea of two small fans in front to clear the hood latch too. Keep the ideas coming I appreciate the help.

Chuck

[Norm's Coupe]

Don't know what size shroud would fit. However, I did see a nice stainless steel one on a stock 48 Dodge radiator with a 350 engine in it. Might give a couple of the street rod parts houses a check. I'm sure they can come up with one for you. Or, you could try fabricating one. Shouldn't be too hard to make one if you want to try that.

[Normspeed]

The 53 should already have a top half shroud unless someone removed it. Other than that, make sure your core is good and doesn't need rodding out, fins are straight, and maybe even try a can of that coolant additive they sell that is supposed to help motors run cooler. Or, turn off the AC at stoplights.

[cbosman1]

The radiator does appear to be in good shape with no scars or damage. The AC works great but now I just have to keep that temp down. Does that coolant additive stuff really work? I want to include some pics but it keeps telling me they are to big. I'll have to work on that.

Chuck

[cbosman1]

Here are some pictures of it. Hope they come out.

Chuck

[John Mulders]

You can't blame your Dutch blood forever on being stingy !

We all know that copperwire was invented by the two Dutchmen fighting over a penny.

But that is it, the Dutch have changed with the world changes and when you are in Holland you see that they have less problems showing that they made money (which has always been 'not done').

I don't mind spending money at good stuff but hate to throw away things that could be fixed . I will try for hours to repair a 10$ item, just think we throw away so much stuff and also find that a lot of things are designed to fail after a while.

Hope you find a solution quick though !

John

[Plymouthy Adams]

The car needs attention to the real problem, not a bandaid fan...have you had the radiator flow tested? Is your lower hose in good shape or is it soft and collasping..is your block clear of buildup and the distribution tube in good shape. Water pump doing its job, is the thermostat fully opening. Is the heat riser on the manifold stuck? Is the fan belt tight enough to drive the fan proper. The fact it cools down at cruise shows transfer of heat through the radiator but at idle the fan may not be enough..reason for the flow test. Quite honest with you the old honeycomb rads are very effective units...electrric fans are great for towing and where engine bay modifications leave no room for stock fan placement. Are you running the AC at the time? Remember the added heat from the condenser forward of the radiator contributes to less heat exchange due to higher entry level heat. If the Ac is running try without it and see what happens..if returns to normal then I sould suggest finding a 6 bladed fan. I do not recommend a flat flex fan...

[Merle Coggins]

I agree with Tim. Two things you need for proper cooling. Coolant flow and air flow. If either one is lacking, you lose you efficiency. Even though your radiator looks good from the outside, doesn't mean it's not partially plugged up on the inside. Also, from what I've seen and heard, these engines are notorious for having plugged up water distribution tubes as well as water jackets filling up with rust and gunk. It may be just open enough to keep things cool at higher RPM and road speed, but at idle it suffers.

As for the recore cost... I had my rediator recored because the original core was bad. It cost me just under $400. So your $420 price doesn't sound out of line.

Merle

[Lou Earle]

Some simple things to do-

-Drain the radiator and the engine-run your engine 30 minutes at 2500 rpm- that solves your problem- now you u can justify spending the money to install a v/8 and all new equipment-and u can now sell the ac unit to me at a bargain!! very nice unit indeed - I would like to see more pics of your ac bracket if possible let me know how u mounted it on bottom I am headed to the a/c route on one of mine .

Seriously drain radiator and put in water with one cup of Electrasol washer granules- that is the detergent used in your automatic dishwasher. Run /drive about 2 or 3 hours and drain. It will remove a lot of crud grease etc built up over the years. I have found this to be an excellent product and really cuts grease.

Also check water pump- I do this by removing the hose and sticking screwdriver into the pump and turning it by hand to make sure the blades are attached to the shaft- it you can turn it one revolution your blades have come unpinned from the shaft.

Next drain the unit again remove the thermostat and re-install the housing and hose or somehow get a hose into the housing and seal with rag or something and back flush the engine. that often flushes out a lot of crud- the manual actually calls for that as maintenance.

Next on the agenda remove heater hoses and then flush by running hose to rear heater outlet on head- this causes turbulence at the rear of the head- where a lot of stuff accumulates.

You can also run a coat hanger in there and loosen a lot of crud if it is there.

Finally remove the freeze plug on the rear of the head and feel around and flush-- run toothbrush or whatever in there and clean.

This should do it but if it does not remove the freeze plugs on drivers side and clean etc-

Also on all openings u can - if you have a compressor- blow air in and loosen a lot of rust etc.

I know 2 folks who run ac on their 218 engines and they have no problem with overheating with stock radiator.

If all this fails then remove the distribution tube and tackle that job.

Also all the manuals suggest u have the a/c unit in front of the radiator within 1 to 3/4 inch close to radiator- to far away- say 2 inches- causes overheating. I think, but have no proof, that to far away might create turbulence between the units and cause a reduction in flow.

Also you already have the stock shroud I would not think a full shroud would not do much better-

Lou

[Don Coatney]

I have installed a pusher fan on my P-15. This was done because I had to move the radiator forward 2" so my Desoto flathead 6 engine would fit. The first picture shows a stock P-15 setup in front of the radiator. Next picture shows my pusher fan installation. I had to replace my stock horns with others and modify my radiator bracket but the fan fits nicely.

[cbosman1]

Thanks for the info guys. I did not put the water pump on but it was obviously new when we purchased the car 6 months ago. When I got the car I flushed the block out for a long time and replaced all the hoses, belts and the thermostat. We also did a radiator flow test like it discribed in the manual about measuring how high the water came out of the bottom tube. I don't recall the measurement, but at the time we were happy that it was higher than what the book called for. Is that a good enough flow test? We had the head off to do some valve work and we flushed it as much as possible. It was rusty in there but not a huge amount of build up in my opinion. I haven't seen the distribution tube. Is there anyway of measuring how well the distribution tube is doing without taking it apart? I took the six blade fan off because of the noise and replaced it with a four blade. Needless to say the 6 blade is going back on.

Chuck

[Suddensix]

Don, What size electric fan did you use and does it do a good job of keeping things cool?

Cheers

Gary

[Don Coatney]

Don, What size electric fan did you use and does it do a good job of keeping things cool?

Cheers

Gary

Gary;

I bought the 16" fan from JC Whitney. It works well.

http://www.jcwhitney.com/autoparts/Product/tf-Browse/s-10101/Pr-p_Product.CATENTRY_ID:2000833/p-2000833/N-111+10201+600001647/c-10101