[pSun]

Hello,

I may need to replace the radiator on the Sundance; I was thinking that perhaps the radiator from one the other models may offer better cooling or more cores and still fit.

Can anyone substantiate this suggestion. Or has anybody tried this?

 

[Bob Lincoln]

They're all plastic tank and aluminum core these days. Make sure that you get one with the same number of rows. I found some places carrying cheap ones that were single-row, and my original was 2-row. In addition, make sure that the flanges are not too thick for the clips that the retaining bolts go through. All the aftermarket ones had flanges that were too thick for the clips, so I could not bolt them in place. Had to go to the dealer, found the OEM was $40 cheaper and also it fit. But today, they're probably no longer carried at most dealerships.

 

[pSun]

Thanks Bob, I will check with the dealer before I make the purchase.

 

[Doug D]

FYI - when I had to replace the radiator in my '90 Acclaim a few years back, I had to go aftermarket. Checking with the local dealer he had none and it showed none in inventory in the entire country.

Like Bob said, some aftermarket radiators are single row - the telltale sign in the cheap price.

 

[B10alia]

I got an aftermarket rad when the OEM one in my Spirit finally rotted out. The fins on the aftermarket rad seemed more robust than the (unrotted) OEM ones. I didn't really shop around much because it was more of an "I need the car tomorrow, I'm taking whatever radiator's in stock" thing than something I had a choice in. But overall, I was pretty impressed with the quality of the radiator. I got it from Advance IIRC. The price was pretty good too. The only thing that didn't fit pretty much perfectly was a wire rod on the front of the rad itself, I think the new rad was a bit taller. The rod was rubbing on the fan anyways. Make sure you use a radiator designed for your transmission. The trans cooler for the automatics is built into the radiator. Some people run without them, but it's not something I would be willing to do on my car.

 

[Bob Lincoln]

The aftermarkets pretty much all come with the cooler, and you just leave the fittings open if you have a manual transmission.

 

[1991spirites]

You are going to have to go aftermarket, but at least some of the places have a lifetime warrenty on them now. Be glad you are not trying to find a radiator for an intercooled car, that's impossible now. No aftermarket, no dealers.

 

[Bob Lincoln]

For intercooled, you can find a radiator shop to build one, but it will be expensive.

 

[1991spirites]

Yup that is the only option for me. Luckly the owner before me got an NOS radiator for the Lebaron, that just happen to come from a friend of mine. Granted it's 7 years old but only has about 3,000 miles on it. The last 3 NOS 87-89 intercooled radiators where bought by 3 friends of mine. I got a qoute back in 2005 for them to make me one and it was around $500, but he warrented it for life. I will have to go that way to have a spare for the Lebaron.

 

[pSun]

I grabbed a stock replacement from Napa out of convienence.

I will set aside $500 so that when the Shelby Z's radiator dies.

 

[Bob Lincoln]

Let me know if it fits. The one they had for the Daytona did not allow the flange clips to fit on, that the mounting bolts go through.

 

[pSun]

Came in last night, took a look at it this morning.

- It looks as though the brackets are set the correct distance apart.
- Despite looking "pretty", I am very disapointed that the entire radiator is pain ted black. Painting metal decreases it potential heat dissapation properties...however slight. It is a radiator, why not just remove the cololing fins to reduc,e it's weight?
- the previous radiator in the Sundance was not an original and was a single core, this is a double core
- this was the most I have paid for a radiator In my life, $129.00.

Overall, if it doesn't leak, I will quit wining about it in a short bit.

 

[Bob Lincoln]

For my 1985 Daytona, around 1990 I paid $220 for a copper Modine radiator. For my 1992, around 2004 I paid $142 at the dealer for a plastic and aluminum radiator. $129 is a good price.

The problem I had with the flanges was not the distance between them. They lined up just fine. Problem was that you have to transfer the flange clips from the old radiator to the new one, and the new flanges were thicker, to the point where the clips would not fit around them, and therefore, the mounting bolts could not go through the clips and had nothing to thread into.

The paint is a non-issue, you need the protection from the road salt, which eats aluminum.

 

[pSun]

The new radiator from NAPA;

-I mock in stalled it, everything was where it needed to be. The fack that it was a dual core was the best part.
-while laying out the shroud and fan I noticed a difference between the old radiator and the new one. The lower transmission coolant line fitting was loose on the old radiator.

It still took me a couple of minutes to put together what exactly that loose fitting was doing for me. Ultimately, even though I was enamoured with the potential performance increase offered by th it's improved heat dissapation, I just can't spend the money to replace working parts. So the best part about the new Napa radiator is I don't need it yet!

 

[Dave Z]

I paid $100 back in the early 80s for a new radiator. My new Neon radiator was around $120. I find the $120 to be a lower price.

The new one was a terrific fit and was also painted black, I think to prevent corrosion. It worked as well as the original, which is to say perfectly. The original had no rot, I accidentally holed it while replacing the radiator hoses. Duh.

Always good to be able to save some cash.