Chinese radiator, kind of ok.

[Des]

My old Rangie started suffering from a knackered radiator some years ago, about half its surface staying cool from blockage, a couple of bouts of flushing barely touched it so I made a mental note to replace it sometime. So after 5 years of not exceeding 80 as the temp gauge would start to climb I last week had to reduce the limit to 70, and it was starting to struggle with the 2 hours at tickover M25 crawl, so has a look, £175 for a cheapy one with the crimpled on placcy tanks, or £115 for a 3 core all metal jobbie from China, I took the gamble, and it's quite a nice rad.

 

 

Not quite straightforward though, two tabs that hold the cowling are on the wrong end and upside down, easily resolved by cutting and pop rivets.

 

 

Big problem was the transmission and engine oil coolers, on original rad there's four unions screwed in, the engine side of the new rad takes them, but the transmission side has pokey out male fittings welded in.

 

 

So should just mean leaving the unions out, only it's pairing two convex flares, albeit both with a good bit of square surface to meet, I couldn't be arsed to put the old rad back in and send this fucker back so I dug out a couple of copper washers to stuff in, but then considered that I'm bolting steel to aluminium, no need the copper, slathered on the thread sealer and seem to have got away with it. Probably look into adaptors or bypass it sometime but ok for now. Verdict, uprated Chinese rads are well worth considering, but be ready for issues.

[richardmorris]

It's odd though, that as with a lot of things, they can manufacture things well and cheaply, but not accurately.

[Des]

This rad scared me recently, ABS started cutting in when it shouldn't because transmission fluid dripping in path of nearside front tyre. OH NOES! that's where I nadgered the not quite right autobox fittings together on the new rad, disappointed as I'd thought it seemed ok.

 

 

That might look like the famed Land Rover automated front chassis corrosion prevention system in action, but it's not, it's supposed to use the engine oil and this is ATF. Looked bad for the rad but when I stuffed my hand down to feel around the unions they were dry. Weird. Off with the grill.

 

 

This elongated hedgehog is the rusted leaky cooler, ATF goes through this after the rad, so it gets cooled after being warmed in the coolant. Landrover innit. Two bigger than an inch unions that were tight as arseholes, squawked like bastards all the way off.

 

 

I wanted to clean up the rusty threads but not easy being inside threaded female unions still on the pipes, but these fancy woodscrews,

 

 

They've a serration that self drills, they're great screws, and the small size had the same thread pitch as the unions, did a wonderous job of scraping away the skankiness like a vertical thread file. Then I threw on an old oil cooler pipe to bypass the sorry mess.

 

 

That's better, I think we can skip the cooling for now considering the ambient temperature.

C U NXT summer sucker.

[uk_senator]

I`m always apprehensive about Chinese shite, my experience has been that it looks good when new, but quickly turns into a corroded mess, & I include my moped in that statement..

[Tamworthbay]

I have had a few of the alloy rads for minis over the years. They always fit and all are still going strong as far as I know, one has covered over 20000 miles now without. What makes me sad is that the Chinese made a bespoke one and delivered it in ten days for £60 whereas a local firm, Radtec, repeatedly ignored emails and calls and had even replied to me in ten days. Then people wonder why you buy from overseas. I guess minis are fairly simple and didn’t change much over the years. Most modern cars have a revision every couple of years or so.

[tooSavvy]

My rad, off the bay, for an Auto Corolla >> compatible with my manual Carina II >> £18 delivered.

 

Shanjong Mingehole Kanton Mfg Corp.... Straight IN!!

 

 

TS

[colnerov]

 Hi, I hate integral transmission coolers in the rad because if and when they corrode and leak you end up with water in the gearbox and that does it no favours at all. Just fit a separate oil cooler for the transmission.

 

 Colin