When i bought my Pantera it had a Hall brass radiator. After a few years it would need repaired every year. So a few years ago i bought a new Hall brass rad. Fast forward a few years and now it needs repaired every year. It works great, no complaints there. But im really tired of taking it out. Anyone else have this problem ?
Thanks, Mike
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I ran one for 10 years in my first Pantera and it was rock solid. It had probably been in the car for 10 years prior. Where is it leaking?
Yep, same thing happened to me. A few years after purchasing and installing the radiator, it started to leak where several of the tubes were soldered to the header, so I had it repaired. A year and a half later, it started leaking again at different tubes. The problem appeared to have been a bad tube-to-header solder job which would have required completely removing (unsoldering) the header and thoroughly cleaning the header and tubes. A new core would probably have been cheaper. It went to the recycling yard.
John
Looks like its leaking at the bottom corners. I will have it repaired again. As much as it cost, it should last longer. At least now i know im not the only one with leaks....
That sucks and confirms I will not be buying one there. I had my original redone at a radiator shop and it has been solid now for over 20+ years.
Dear Guys,
I have all iron engines in both Panteras that are cooled by old school brass radiators. I just re-cored one after about twenty years, the other one is doing fine at around 18-20 years of use.
I notice that Mike has aluminum heads, an iron block and a brass radiator. I seem to recall that the metallurgy of the components connected to the cooling system can have a deleterious effect on vulnerable metals.
Could it be that the shortened life of brass radiators might be related to having aluminum heads in the corrosion equation?
Warmest regards, Chuck Engles
Chuck makes a good point. Are you using an additive? See attached. I use HyperKuhl due to having aluminum heads and radiator, but No-Rosion is designed for cast iron and brass radiators.
Here is a link to the products.
No-Rosion Products Home Page (norosion.com)
Steve
From the No-Rosion home page:
"No-Rosion is a powerful, industrial-grade automotive cooling system corrosion inhibitor that stabilizes coolant pH, and protects all six metals most commonly found in cooling systems from corrosion and electrolysis - including aluminum."
From No-Roison pdf link:
"No-Rosion is formulated to provide maximum benefit to engines having mostly cast iron components, and radiators made of copper/brass. It is therefore formulated with IAT chemistry.
HyperKuhl is formulated to provide maximum benefit to engines having mostly aluminum components, and radiators made of aluminum and its alloys. It is therefore formulated with OAT chemistry."
It would appear that both protect cooling systems / engines that have aluminum components.
Just say'n.
John
My hall radiator failed after 10 years, and my radiator guy was not super impressed with it, so he reused the tanks and put in a new core. Works like a charm.
I havent used any additives but change coolant every 2 years. Never had other vehicles get leaks like this. Probably pull it out tomorrow.
I have pulled the radiator so many times....added these drains last year. Raise the front as high as you can. Damn that radiator is heavy.
I did the same modification to 2511.
yes, if you are draining radiator you want to raise the front of the car. Otherwise you will drain the entire system once the lower radiator hose is removed
however, if you are removing cylinder heads or changing engine bay coolant lines or coolant tanks, you can just leave the car level and drain until it is below your intended work area
Larry
I added a pair of stainless steel exhaust bungs in my tubing, but back nearer to the rear bulkhead.
It’s really interesting, when you open those up, and drain the coolant, the entire system ends up bone dry…. It’s as if there is a siphon action that sucks the system dry…. It is a helpful modification!
Rocky
No-Rosion products are the real deal. We use them in all the cars.
Mine isnt like that....guess they changed over the years
Stockton Radiator Shop with working Experts (IN MY Opinion).
well Over 10+ Years ago
a 40+ Year Old Original Brass Radiator sprung a 'Small' Leak in one Tube.
Scrapped the 3 cores, saved the Brass Tanks.
Soldered in 5 Cores, Plated over the Sender Bosses...I Don't NEED Sendors to Turn-On My Fans, Ever.
cost $500.00 with a 5 Year Warrantee. Job Done in One Day.
NO Leaks as Yet!
MJ
"...When You Pay 'Peanuts'. You End-Up Hiring a Bunch of 'Monkeys'!"
You will find 'Cheaper', but You won't find 'Better'!
Gary & I had some discussions re radiators over the years. The Hall angled brass cores were an attempt to increase air flow thru the cores and tend to induce laminar flow, while turbulent flow promotes better heat exchange to air passing through. But I suspect its simple local water quality. Do you have a way of checking tap-water acidity? Swimming-pool sites have pH paper and there are other methods. Some drinking 'water' is close to the acidity of Coca-Cola! Some vendors that sell radiators- especially aluminum rads- now include a package of No-Rosion and it DOES work!
FWIW- my OEM brass rad weighed nearly 50 lbs (with accumulated debris in the tanks) while an aluminum rad weighed 18 lbs & holds more coolant. Turns out that water flow is more important than air flow, and most brass rads simply do not have core tubes big enought to cope with more horses. Alumium rad tubes are 1-1/4 to 1-1/2" wide while brass is not stiff enouge to support such sizes beyond 5/8". After changing everything in my cooling system including the water pump & pulleys, adding a Fluidyne alum. rad dropped cruising water temp nearly 20 degrees F; the whole saga is in the POCA Archives (sorry, PPatt).
.
(1) Be sure the radiator is mounted in such a way that any twisting of the chassis is not transferred into the radiator. With the Hall radiator there is a temptation to just use long bolts from the mounting tabs to the chassis mounting points. But, mounted like that, any twisting of the chassis shall twist the radiator. The Hall radiator should have intermediate mounting straps between the radiator and the chassis. All assembled with rubber grommets and spacers that allow things to rotate & twist in relation to each other.
(2) Use pre-mixed coolant and change it every 18 to 24 months.
If it still develops leaks, I'd agree the soldering job on the core is botched, I've seen radiators like that. Instead of patching the core over and over, replace it.
-G
