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All metal radiator

eBay, Quadratrac--just do an internet search, or you can order one from a local radiator shop.
 
gradon said:
Are those radiatorbarn radiators all aluminum, or alum/steel?
Click to expand...

I got a copper/brass I believe.

The aluminum ones are the ones with plastic tanks. However I like the link above. ALL aluminum just makes better sense.

My advice: Call them.
 
ParadiseXJ said:
I got a copper/brass I believe.

The aluminum ones are the ones with plastic tanks. However I like the link above. ALL aluminum just makes better sense.

My advice: Call them.
Click to expand...

I agree with calling them to see. The plastic tank ones have an aluminum core. The "all metal" ones are most likely all aluminum and are all braized up joints. Copper and brass are old school that I doubt are made any more.
 
winterbeater said:
I agree with calling them to see. The plastic tank ones have an aluminum core. The "all metal" ones are most likely all aluminum and are all braized up joints. Copper and brass are old school that I doubt are made any more.
Click to expand...

The vast majority of radiators are copper core. Its cheap and works well. They can have either plastic tanks that get glued/crimped on, or copper tanks that get brazed or hard soldered. All-metal usually refers to copper core and copper tanks.

Aluminum cores do cool a bit better, but often have plastic tanks. They can have aluminum tanks, but those have to be welded on as you can't reliably braze aluminum. For most applications they are far more expensive and overkill compared to a thick standard copper core.
 
lawsoncl said:
The vast majority of radiators are copper core. Its cheap and works well. They can have either plastic tanks that get glued/crimped on, or copper tanks that get brazed or hard soldered. All-metal usually refers to copper core and copper tanks.

Aluminum cores do cool a bit better, but often have plastic tanks. They can have aluminum tanks, but those have to be welded on as you can't reliably braze aluminum. For most applications they are far more expensive and overkill compared to a thick standard copper core.
Click to expand...

Up until 6 months ago I worked for an Tier 1 radiator supplier. Almost all of our radiators were aluminum core with plastic crimped on tanks with a o-ring style gasket. These were prone to eventual failure, but usually worked OK. A few top-end high tech radiators were all aluminum oven brazed assemblies (tanks and core). We didn't make any copper units at all. The old style copper ones had copper tubes and rubber gaskets at each tube to tank joint. I haven't seen any copper core radiators on any of the web sites linked to on this thread.
 
Brass tanks, copper core. Right off the radiator barn website. I have a 2 core I got from them.
 
winterbeater said:
Up until 6 months ago I worked for an Tier 1 radiator supplier. Almost all of our radiators were aluminum core with plastic crimped on tanks with a o-ring style gasket. These were prone to eventual failure, but usually worked OK. A few top-end high tech radiators were all aluminum oven brazed assemblies (tanks and core). We didn't make any copper units at all. The old style copper ones had copper tubes and rubber gaskets at each tube to tank joint. I haven't seen any copper core radiators on any of the web sites linked to on this thread.
Click to expand...

You missed the radiatorbarn links then.

I understand the oven method used to braze aluminum relies on precise temps and using an aluminum based filler metal that has a slightly lower melting point. What was your experience in their reliability? The reading I've done implied that the rest of the aluminum had a tendency to distort as it had to be raised to just under the melting point to braze. Strength was also an issue, which meant all the seams had to be overlapping as the filler was somewhat brittle.
 
lawsoncl said:
You missed the radiatorbarn links then.

I understand the oven method used to braze aluminum relies on precise temps and using an aluminum based filler metal that has a slightly lower melting point. What was your experience in their reliability? The reading I've done implied that the rest of the aluminum had a tendency to distort as it had to be raised to just under the melting point to braze. Strength was also an issue, which meant all the seams had to be overlapping as the filler was somewhat brittle.
Click to expand...

You're exactly right. Seams must overlap, at least a little. Distortion was not a problem, but temperature is extremely critical. Virtually all high production radiators, condensers, evaporators and heater cores are made this way now. Aluminum is .08mm (.003") or thinner. Corrosion is the long term enemy of this thin aluminum, but reliability is good. The joint between the plastic tank and core of most radiators is the weak spot. All aluminum radiators are actually not very common for production vehicles, but if they don't leak initially, they are more reliable long term.
 
Last edited:
i got a CSF three core all metal (copper and brass) from radiatorbarn.com for $168 shipped to my door. i love it. not a problem with it so far.
 
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