Experience with recoring radiator vs getting an after market one?

Ictran

Ictran

New Member
I found some radiator fluid on my engine the other day and had no idea where it came from so I took it into the shop. Mechanic told me I need a new radiator! Anyone have any opinions on if it's worth recoring the original copper brass radiator vs buying one of the cheaper aluminum ones? Anyone had any problems with the aluminum/plastic ones? recoring is going to cost about double the price!!
 
The trouble with buying a new radiator is the core thickness- 4WD L300s have an unusually thick 45mm thick core. Most of the cheap radiators online are for the 2WD L300, which are around 25mm but can be as thin as 15mm. You're unlikely to find a 45mm alloy/plastic radiator. Our engines have enough trouble keeping cool as it is, switching to a smaller radiator is asking for trouble.

I had mine re-cored which worked well initially, but the shop hadn't painted it thoroughly and the fins started to corrode- I had to take it back and have it re-done. If you have yours re-cored, make sure the shop knows to reinforce the top tank where the mounting bracket is, it's a weak spot and can split.

Recently I've been thinking about buying a full alloy radiator like this one on Aliexpress here. It's probably rubbish, but worth a look.

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I bought that radiator, but then didn't install it, to replacing OEM leaking top tank. I have great radiator shop, but didn't use, wanted to up grade cooling capacity. I then bought aftermarket OEM style "3" core, looks same as stock, was hoping for thicker, nonetheless installed. My baseline temps have gone up, i think its a higher temp thermostat, but cooling on the move has not overheated. My mechanics said the thermostat didn't fit, but they modified it. My gauge starts to creep up to no more than 3/4 or less on sustained grades. What is the OEM thermostat temp?
 
drdrift9000 said:
I bought that radiator, but then didn't install it, to replacing OEM leaking top tank.
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You're saying you bought the new aluminium radiator, but didn't use it and fixed your old one instead? How could you resist teh shiny? Was there any particular reason you didn't use it? Quality issues? Didn't fit? Or just decided not to risk it? (Asking because I'm thinking of buying one, but if they're crap I'll just have one made locally).

Your symptoms sound like a higher temperature thermostat to me as well. Higher baseline, but adequate cooling once it's open.
The thermostat for a 4D56 Turbo should be 76.5C (170F). 88C and 82C thermostats are also available, and are usually fitted to fuel injected petrol engines so might be more common.
 
look into : Delica Works intl (they are in Taiwan)
facebook. I recently bought a new radiator from them. Even Yelverton was my contact. here's the description:
"Alright everybody after many inquiries finally having the time, I'll advertise our Delica Star Wagon L300 upgrade aftermarket radiators are ready to ship. They are full aluminum 60mm thick caps with 48mm thick dual core centers that have beautiful welds, made in Taiwan, and come as either the MT and AT version(with ATF oil cooling connections).
***Both priced at $290usd****** before shipping and handling (from Taiwan) which as far as I can tell is one of the best deals on the market. They fit the factory fan shroud and bolt in without any problems."
Ended up costing me $410 delivered with a new stat. Great quality! I have not installed yet but it looks like it will fit perfectly. They have pics up on FB
 
Growlerbearnz said:
You're saying you bought the new aluminium radiator, but didn't use it and fixed your old one instead? How could you resist teh shiny? Was there any particular reason you didn't use it? Quality issues? Didn't fit? Or just decided not to risk it? (Asking because I'm thinking of buying one, but if they're crap I'll just have one made locally).

Your symptoms sound like a higher temperature thermostat to me as well. Higher baseline, but adequate cooling once it's open.
The thermostat for a 4D56 Turbo should be 76.5C (170F). 88C and 82C thermostats are also available, and are usually fitted to fuel injected petrol engines so might be more common.
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Thanks, you are awesome. I've bought a few aluminum radiators from low price CHINA made vendors, for the most part, I think they are fine, and have worked well for me in other turbo gas JDM cars. The last one I tried, was for a gas turbo automatic car, one of the trans coolant nipples on installation would not seal, even with attempts to modify, it's soft aluminum. So I re-cored the OEM and that car was fine.
I'm generally not shy to try, but I wanted the most robust, best capacity radiator. The Aluminum one I bought seemed fine, and has pluming for auto trans, but I decided to order "3 core brass", thinking it was higher capacity than the 2 cores offered, and better than stock, and potentially better than re-coring,since you are starting new. (A good quality re-core of a good OEM is better than a crappy aftermarket.) But I think its basically an OEM replacement, looks same thickness as stock.
I might put the aluminum one in, if i need more heat rejection when summer comes around.
I think the quality and fit are good to go on aluminum one i bought, you have a 5 speed, correct? so you shouldn't have that issue. You could pressure test it, but if you need more radiator, you might try. I'll see if i can post some pics of it.
My installation mechanic said diesels like it hot, so maybe its now operating at a more efficient temp range. Before it would fluctuate more since the original thermostat kept bringing it down, but then would climb with any load, which is sorta nerve racking, now it sorta moves around less, since starting from higher base line....in some ways I like it. On long down hill grades it will still drop needle to near bottom.
thanks again
 
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Sounds like your experience with the cheap alloy radiators is fairly good. Worth the risk at the price. I've had alloy radiators custom-made for other vehicles where the cooling required just wasn't possible from a copper/brass radiator, but couldn't really justify the cost on the Delica. But I can justify the cost of a Chinese one!
 
Killer thread!!!! I bought 4 aluminum radiators from WIN racing on ebay. Let's see how they look.
 
Just received my new alloy radiator from Evan at Delica Works International. First impression: this is a high quality unit, made by someone who knows what they're doing.
-Well packed in a sturdy box, with lots of "fragile, this way up" stickers (which the courier of course completely ignored).
-Very nicely pressed tanks, would look OEM if painted black. Which they will be, for stealth purposes. (In NZ if you put too many shiny bits in the engine bay the roadworthiness inspector starts paying more attention to the rest of the vehicle.)
-Superb welds and attention to detail. No loose parts or swarf inside the tanks (I've had new radiators that rattled). Core is completely undamaged- no bent fins at all.
-Machined spigots for the radiator cap, drain plug, and temperature sensor/thermo fan switch. No cheap pressed alloy here.
-Core is dual tubed, 47mm thick. Tubes have 8mm spacing, which is denser than other (cheap) radiators I've seen.
-End brackets and mounting bracket are 2.5mm thick aluminium, tanks and inlet/outlet tubes are 1.5mm.
-Fan shroud mountings are threaded inserts rather than the studs fitted to the factory radiator. 6mm bolts (uses 10mm spanner) are not supplied.

Today's job is to test fit it and see if everything lines up.
I'm thinking of modifying the top mounting bracket. The original mount (the rigid bracket brazed to the top tank) is a common failure point because it flexes and eventually splits the top tank- it's just bad design. Welding a strip of metal to the surface of a pressurised, heated, vibrating tank full of heavy liquid? Atrocious. The top tank on this radiator is probably much stronger than the thin brass tanks on the old one, but good engineering is good engineering.

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It fits, and it fits more accurately than the old radiator- it just slipped into place without any drama.

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There's a slight difference due to the tanks being 12mm wider than the factory radiator: the radiator is tilted slightly backwards, and the top shroud sits 12mm closer to the fan. Not an issue on my van, but the fan shrouds do get a bit saggy with age, and I could see it touching the fan if it moves. Not a huge deal because the new radiator top bracket will have a fan shroud retainer.
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New top mount bracket: holds the tank softly, while distributing the stress over a large area rather than through two small welds. The force is taken by the closed cell foam pad, but there are 3 rubber buffers in there to take over under heavy load (or if the foam melts.) There's also a small strap to hold the fan shroud away from the fan.

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The final step will be to paint the radiator and bracket a nice factory-looking matte black, because too much bling attracts the attention of the roadworthiness inspection man.
 
And... done. Painting it black is borderline sacrilege, but it looks completely normal. Test drive tomorrow, though the real test will be when I'm towing the caravan.
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Edit/Update: first drive completed. First impression is that the temperature gauge is rock solid. Radiator top tank temperature supports this, sitting around 60C, with a range of 55C (driving downhill for 5 minutes) to 65C (driving back up the same hill in 5th with foot to the floor). It seems the alloy radiator's cooling capacity far exceeds the old one.
 
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Were you able to reach all of the bolts to remove the radiator hoses and what not from above?Or did you also have to go under neath to take out and put in the radiator?No lift?I am planning to get this same radiator from Evan if you test it and have good things to say about it!Did you make that top mount bracket?
 
You can remove everything from above, except the lower hose clamp.
The lower radiator hose clamp is easily accessed from below once you remove the undertray. No need to use a lift for that one clamp, though it's easier if you jack the front of the van up a little.

I recommend buying new spring hose clamps from Mitsubishi (4x MR404538) because they clamp more reliably than worm drive clamps. (Worm drive clamps rely on the springiness of the rubber to resist water pressure. The clamping force therefore changes as things vibrate, expand and contract, and the rubber hardens with age. Spring clamps will apply the same pressure no matter what the rubber is doing. They're also fun to apply- hold the clamp in place, pull the red safety cap and *pow!* your clamp is installed.)

I made the top mount bracket. On the factory radiator the top bracket is a weak point- all the stress and vibration is transferred to the thin metal of the top tank, and it eventually fatigues and splits.
The tanks on the alloy radiator should be stronger than the factory one, being made of 1.5mm thick aluminium, and so the bracket that comes on the radiator is probably perfectly adequate. (But I'm a tiny bit obsessive and have far too much spare time -you might have noticed- so I made a better bracket.)

When fitting the alloy radiator I would also fit new rubber bushes (MB356561 and MB356560) to the top bracket so that it's held as softly and flexibly as possible. There's a steel tube (MB356559) inside the rubber bushes, make sure that's in place so you can't overtighten the bolt and crush the bushes. Also make sure the top bracket lines up with the bolt hole before you tighten it- you don't want to use the bolt to pull the radiator into alignment, as that would add extra stress.
 
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lookinsidetheboxnyc said:
How much antifreeze do I have to put back in?And which one is recommended that I use?
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I didn't drain the engine block, just the radiator, and it took about 6 litres of coolant to refill. I didn't measure precisely and I was mixing it up from coolant concentrate. Definitely more than the old radiator, which took 4-5 litres.

I would think any green coolant would work. If you're getting concentrate the label usually tells you how to mix it depending on what climate you're in; I would go for the more concentrated end of the range (usually 50% water, rather than the 66% water mix) as it's an older engine design and can suffer from localised boiling.
I prefer green coolant because the unique colour is easy to identify if it leaks, and it doesn't hide corrosion and sludge like orange/pink coolant can.
 
Thanks Growler for all the info_Once I get my Delica back,and see what the issues were I will decide when to buy the same radiator you got from Evan.Have you drive yours around since the install?Any words or reviews?
 
Yup, I went for a long drive. The engine temperature is rock steady at about 1/4, and barely moved when climbing a long hill where it would usually get up to 1/3 or more. Radiator top tank temperature matches engine temperature. It seems the radiator has more than enough cooling capacity. The real test will be when towing- that's when the temperature usually sits just below 1/2, and rises to 3/4 when hauling up hills.
 
I will have my Delica back this weekend and will do some mountain driving.They gave it a good radiator flush and replaced the fan clutch.I also got the alternator replaced.Should see the results in the next 2 days of driving.Evan's radiator is one of the first things I want to get before the warm weather sets in - then 2.5" side exit exhaust. I had a snorkel installed.Any advice?
 
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