polished rad

[Bert]

Rads of yore were entirely made of brass but 35 years ago there was a factory movement afoot (at the time attributed to cost and convenience) towards plastic tanks with aluminum fins. None of this made any sense to me (Al and vehicle Fe don't get along at all and Al is a 'sacrificial sheep' (anode)) in the 'salt belt' but here we are 35 years later and the 'cheezy new-fangled' rads have actually proven to be superior. My (then new) 86 F150 came with an OEM plastic/aluminum rad which made me very suspicious but gave me no trouble until a large branch poked a hole through it in 1991. I went through 2 aftermarket traditional brass rads (and these were 'new' purchases) over 3 years, after. They failed through corrosion. Cost me 50% more back in 1994 but I went back to an Al/plastic rad and 21 years later that one is still in place, unoxidized and working fine.
None of the 6 Festys I tangled with, drove or took apart had brass rads in them; all were OEM Al with plastic tubs.
If shining up a decorative brass rad is 'your bag' be forewarned that you're not doing it for any reason other than looks.

[Advancedynamix]

I don't plan to polish mine, but I like the 2 row core. I installed one of these on my 93 auto several years ago and the fan came on less frequently here in the hot AZ summer heat. I know aluminum conducts heat faster than brass, but these radiators do seem to work well. When I purchased that last one, it was the only one I could find, after months of searching. I saw one in a salvage yard, but it was heavily damaged by a collision. When I knew they existed, then I had to find a new one. Now they are commonly available again. I've had 3 replacement aluminum/plastic radiators fail on my Festivas, but that brass one is still in great shape. Dragonhealer has that car now.

[Advancedynamix]

So, I received that radiator on friday and it's not a 2 row core and it's not copper/brass It does appear to be a thicker single row core than the Spectra Premium radiators I have purchased in the past. It is also 1/3rd more expensive and is a CryoMax brand which is made in Tiawan. I'll know more today, because I'm bringing it up to compare it to the stock radiator that was in Pedro. I'll try to get some pictures.

[bravekozak]

I am very disappinted. I went to pick up my rad yesterday and discovered it had plastic resevoirs for an auto F1BZ-8005-A. Maybe only the 89 and 90 rad was brass? Since, the engineering change level on the 91 auto rad was A!

[Advancedynamix]

That is very possible.
The radiator that i got is thicker than the standard radiator. It's a single row core, but almost twice as thick as the stock aluminum core radiator. I like this because here in Phoenix, things get hot and you can never have to much radiator down here. I might need to cover half of this thing when I visit Maine or Minn., but for down here it'll be just right.

I'll try to get some pictures of the two radiators tomorrow.

[Advancedynamix]

I'm happy with this. It was a little expensive, but it's nice. It also fits tighter against the body of the car for more forced airflow. These DOHC1.6 engines run just as cool as the 1.3 ( in a fwd car) but less fan cycling is better for fuel efficiency and saves trees and whales somehow.

[Hatch]

I'm happy with this. It was a little expensive, but it's nice. It also fits tighter against the body of the car for more forced airflow. These DOHC1.6 engines run just as cool as the 1.3 ( in a fwd car) but less fan cycling is better for fuel efficiency and saves trees and whales somehow.

here I go dredging up old threads again, but hows this radiator working out for ya? seems like it'd be a step up from the factory... did you pull the top tank and look to see if the water passages are actually bigger?

[Sid_RallyX_82]

Has anyone put an auto trans radiator into a manual car and used the trans cooler for engine oil?

[Sid_RallyX_82]

Nevermind. Found someone saying the oil pressure is too high

[sketchman]

Oil pressure? What?

[Sid_RallyX_82]

Someone said the engine oil pressure would be too high for the trans cooler

[FestYboy]

That was me... you can see better than 80psi from the oil pump and that's way too much for an internal trans cooler. If you want to run a cooler, get one that's rated for engine oil.

[bhazard]

Doesn't ATX line pressure run well over 100 psi?

[FestYboy]

That's before the bands and plates, the cooler is after those and before the pan. If the cooler saw 100 psi and burst, it would blow apart the rad...

[Advancedynamix]

here I go dredging up old threads again, but hows this radiator working out for ya? seems like it'd be a step up from the factory... did you pull the top tank and look to see if the water passages are actually bigger?

Sorry for the delay. I didn't see this question.
Yeah, the passages are longer inside. It's a single row of passages, but they are nearly twice the length of the stock manual trans radiator.
It seems to be working great. The car runs at perfect temp all the time, wherever I go.