Radiator?

1

1929

Well-known member
now that the engine is getting rebuilt, almost forgot about the radiator which should be cleaned, I heard the days of getting the radiator flushed clean or boiled are illegal, what now?
 
I just had my 29 radiator cleaned and repaired in Marietta, Ga. Don't know just what they did, but it looks like new.
 
illegal to boil out? don't know much about that...but the proven method is to have the top and bottom tanks sweated off and have the tubes physically rodded out.
this operation will assure clear passages for the water flow.
Do not let the radiator shop pressure test the core over 4 lbs....The Model A radiator is not pressurized, it is an open system. Any more pressure will split the tubes and produce leaks you never had previously.
 
don't believe everything you here ,check around with some trust worthy small repair shops and find out what rad. shops they use , these old rad. are some of the best ever made, a good old rad. shop can clean and check it for leaks talk to the old timers they know who trust, good luck
 
The only way to clean it out is to have it rodded out, and the shops don't like to do it, or they won't do it. As soon as they start taking the tanks off, the whole thing wants to come apart. It's a lot of work for them, but most A radiators need it. I cut windows in my top tank and rodded out the tubes I could get to and had a shop solder them back. It worked.
You really want to save the old core with the big tubes. The new tubes are much smaller and easier for the dirty A system to plug up.
 
good thinking::: the radiator is overlooked when replacing the engine more often than not. a partially clogged radiator or if the fins are separated from the tubes can cause it to run hotter than it should without most drivers even knowing thus slowly damaging the engine.. i would get it recored or buy a new bergs and not mess with it...
 
Personally I would try to give it a cleaning myself first. If the fins are well connected to the tubes and there isn't excess paint on the fins you may not have to go to the expense of having it professionally taken apart and cleaned. Buying a new radiator isn't a cheap endeavor either.

Try doing what I did. It will only cost you a gallon of Simple Green and some time.
Flush the radiator out as best you can with a garden hose. Then plug the overflow tube and cut a piece of inner tube or something similar and stretch it over the lower hose fitting and clamp it off with a hose clamp. Pour a gallon of Simple Green into the radiator and screw on the radiator cap. Invert the radiator several times and let it sit. Next day do the same.... and so on for a week or so. Save the Simple Green that you pour out of it to use straight for degreasing stuff. It will come out pretty ugly looking but it will still work.
Rinse the radiator, install it and give it a try. Small cost and a little bit of time is all you will loose if it doesn't do the trick.
Worked well for me.
 
Yes,because they don't have clean blocks or radiators that work properly.
Like an eight volt battery, instead of proper wiring and connection repair.
 
"The trouble with quotes on the Internet is that you can never know if they are genuine." --Abraham Lincoln

While many shops may no longer "boil" out radiators there are still many that do.
I'm sure that near by you in NY there is a shop that will do it within a short driving distance.
 
Not sure where in NY you are but Canfields in Utica/ Yorkville area did my 40 pickup and it's fine.
 
I got ours rodded out, and it cost about 30% MORE than a brand new radiator from the dealer, for our VW!

The guy showed my the cupful of stuff he got out, and that was just the initial "dry" rodding, before the heavy cleaning process.

The only really proven way of doing it seems to be a proper rodding out, or replacement.

Besides... Why risk a new engine for the sake of a radiator???
 
Allanw said:
I got ours rodded out, and it cost about 30% MORE than a brand new radiator from the dealer, for our VW!

The guy showed my the cupful of stuff he got out, and that was just the initial "dry" rodding, before the heavy cleaning process.

The only really proven way of doing it seems to be a proper rodding out, or replacement.

Besides... Why risk a new engine for the sake of a radiator???
Click to expand...

Just wondering ! Why did you not get a new radiator if it was cheaper than a repair? Wayne
 
New radiators are SOP on my restorations where I want the car to be reliable driver. Besides cleaning out blocked tubes, the labor intensive effort required to rod them out, and the shop costs, the biggest problem is the mechanical properties between the tubes and the fins, something that can't be corrected by cleaning. With cleaning and repair cost you could quickly invest more than 50% of the cost of a new radiator and still not have it cool efficiently.


Save you money and buy a new one if you plan to drive or go on tour with your car a lot. There are good reproductions available that are 40% cheaper than Brassworks, but the quality and accuracy of a Brassworks radiator is hard to beat...in my opinion.
 
Much like Mitch has said a few times get a new one... You'd not put an old furnace filter on a new furnace... All the old muck in an old radiator in a new cleaned out engine makes no sense from a money point of view alone..
 
And when you get the new radiator be sure to use antifreeze so you have good rust and freeze protection.

BTW, I've wondered if when someone has no antifreeze, and the head cracks, but not the block, might the block have been distorted by the freeze expansion, even if it wasn't enough to cause a crack?
 
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