aluminum radiator mounting

[arizonaE]

I'm in the process of installing a new aluminum radiator into my jump truck. I've been told by one person I should rubber mount the radiator to prevent it from cracking. I'll have to weld on brackets to the radaitor for mounting, so I can fab anything. How should I go about mounting it? pictures would be nice.

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[Kbach66]

I'm in the process of installing a new aluminum radiator into my jump truck. I've been told by one person I should rubber mount the radiator to prevent it from cracking. I'll have to weld on brackets to the radaitor for mounting, so I can fab anything. How should I go about mounting it? pictures would be nice.

You want to support the radiator by the core, where the majority of the weight is.

You should try to mount the core in a cradle of some sort. If you just weld some brackets onto the tanks, over time it will crack the tanks and possibly crack the tubes where they meet the tank becuase the core isn't supported.

[FABRICATOR]

It works well to mount them like a stock radiator. By the core as mentioned.

Fabricated tanks can also provide full or partial support.

[sickrick]

You want to support the radiator by the core, where the majority of the weight is.

You should try to mount the core in a cradle of some sort. If you just weld some brackets onto the tanks, over time it will crack the tanks and possibly crack the tubes where they meet the tank becuase the core isn't supported.

Wrong in every way.

I am guessing you just are talking about some other part then the core.

The core is the weekest part of the radiator. The core is the part the air flows thru and has no strength. If you are going to mount it in a cradle you need to place the cradle under the part where the tanks and core meet.

I suggest welding a long piece of angle verticly to each tank and mount it off that. if you think there is flex in what you are mounting to use rubber mounts, if you think the mounting suface does not flex you can mount it solid.

[Kbach66]

Wrong in every way.

I am guessing you just are talking about some other part then the core.

What do those OEM's know about mounting radiators anyways....

I would take a guess and say that 90% of all radiators are mounted by attaching to the top and botttom, or sides of a core and not to the tanks. Probably more considering most tanks are plastic these days.

I dug through some of the skunkz on here, and found several examples of them being mounted like I said...I wonder what kind of problems they're having?

And what I mean by the core is the top and bottom (most radiators are cross-flow these days) of the core have an end cap on them. On most race style radiators (Ron Davis, C&R) this is a piece of aluminum channel.

I guess you could use the Pep Boys electric fan mounting kit and stick them through the core and into a hole in the core support, that would probably work good to..........I hope you get the sarcasm there!!!

[Moss2]

[QUOTE=Kbach66;248555]What do those OEM's know about mounting radiators anyways....

And what I mean by the core is the top and bottom (most radiators are cross-flow these days) of the core have an end cap on them. On most race style radiators (Ron Davis, C&R) this is a piece of aluminum channel.

QUOTE]


Yeah.. ... Thats not the core. Read your own writing that is a piece of aluminum channel welded to the tanks. Nice goin.

Actually probably welded to the manifolds in most cases, which the tanks are welded to and the core is welded, soldered or glued to.

[Kbach66]

Potayto.....potahto....
Sorry if I assumed people would understand what I said when I said the "core". I didn't realize I needed a four page essay on what I was saying, I felt it was pretty clear and I guess Fabricator is the only one that got it.





Good luck everybody with they're builds.

[sickrick]

What do those OEM's know about mounting radiators anyways....

I would take a guess and say that 90% of all radiators are mounted by attaching to the top and botttom, or sides of a core and not to the tanks. Probably more considering most tanks are plastic these days.

I dug through some of the skunkz on here, and found several examples of them being mounted like I said...I wonder what kind of problems they're having?

And what I mean by the core is the top and bottom (most radiators are cross-flow these days) of the core have an end cap on them. On most race style radiators (Ron Davis, C&R) this is a piece of aluminum channel.

I guess you could use the Pep Boys electric fan mounting kit and stick them through the core and into a hole in the core support, that would probably work good to..........I hope you get the sarcasm there!!!

Most OEMs have plastic tanks and have the mounts molded into them. I cannot think of one radiator that mounts by the core. The race radiators I have do have a piece of channel that joins the two tanks across the top and bottum of the core but both came with instructions to not use that piece to mount the radiator, it is ok to mount the shroud to that piece.

I have also seen several radiators mounted with a metal plate across the top but they are still being clamped in place at the tanks.

[FABRICATOR]

Core supports, the plates at the ends of the radiator core that hold everything together. They are an integral part of the core and are used to mount a vast majority of automotive and light truck cross-flow radiators. Works for 0ff-road racing too.

[sickrick]

It sounds like we are arguing the same point.

I believe this is all a problem of definition.

my definitions
Tank = everything that is not the core
core= the tubes and fins that join the 2 tanks
Core support= the thing the radiator mounts to.

I think all will agree; the area where the core meets the tank is a strong part of the radiator.