Quote:
Originally Posted by Othen
Many thanks Dave,
The price differential to a 240 is just £4 (from the same company). I'm guessing you might thinking forward to changing to a separate cooler for the transmission some time in the future (4 speed box?). I think we should cross that bridge when we come to it I'm happy to use the standard one now and if need be splash out another £60 for the correct item if it turns out to be necessary in 2-3 year's time.
The radiator looks more or less okay to me, there are a couple of small mechanical dings here and there, mainly on the back where some clumsy mechanic (probably me) has been working, but overall it looks good from the outside.
I'm more thinking about what Clifford said: that radiators somehow seem to get a bit less efficient as they get older. When I have replaced bits around the car I noticed quite a lot of limescale build up (particularly in the old water pump - lumps of it) - nothing nefarious, just 40 years of standing in water (previous owners may well not have used EG). Bear in mind this is a pretty low mileage car - on average only 2,500 miles/year - so there may have been long periods where it hardly moved in the past. I'm wondering whether Clifford is right and the very same limescale has coated the inside of the radiator matrix and reduced its overall efficiency a bit? In household radiators limescale can reduce efficiency by 50% over time).
I've never needed to buy a radiator for a car previously, but have on bikes, where they are much more exposed (hence get more mechanical damage) and far more expensive (one tends to have to buy the OEM part as nothing else fits in the space). I must admit I'd never looked into car radiator prices, and I had it in my mind's eye that one would be £200-£300 (typical bike cost); I was amazed to see that one may be had from a UK supplier with a 5 year guarantee for 60ish quid. At that price it seems entirely sensible to change the original out for a new one and re-gain that lost efficiency.
So, that is where I'm coming from Dave: I don't know much about the RB's past, but having got it running nicely I'd like it to have a good future. I've replaced 80% of the cooling system and I'm surprised how cheap a new radiator would be, so I would certainly be happy spending 60 quid on the final 20% to make sure everything is as good as I can make it.
What do you think? Clifford's words keep ringing in my ears - and my gut feeling is to spend £60 to finish the picture now (and if I change to a 4 speed box at some later date just factor the right solution for that into the project costs then).
Long response from me- it must be early in the morn :-)
PS. I've just noticed my typo in the post above - the new radiator is only £68, not £86.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by john.wigley
The integral ATF cooler can and does fail, Alan, often without external indication. This will inevitably result in cross-contamination of the coolant and ATF; an undesirable situation with potentially disastrous consequences.
That alone is a very good reason for changing the rad, but, be warned, those two little ATF pipe connections can be a real pain in the backside!
If I were you, I think that for what it costs, I would buy one, but not fit it until I had to.
Regards, John.
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Your answer is much as i thought it would be Alan and i noticed you emphasised the bit about the efficiency of the radiator which i had deliberately "glossed over". I had taken all of that and Cliffords comments into account but needed the last bits of information from you before i could suggest a course of action that would be reasonable.
The thing in the back of my mind the whole time is the point John made, which i've highlighted in the quote from him above.
If you're going to go to the trouble of renewing the rad now, i'd strongly suggest using one from a manual and a separate ATF cooler so you can dispense with the worry about the heat exchangers in the rad failing as John describes. It's then ready for when you update the gearbox and should be proven reliable by that point.
I used this
ATF cooler on my Rover and plan on using the same one on my 760 when i do that one. Mount and connect it so the flow comes in the top and return from the bottom. If memory serves, the ATF cooler pipes are 8mm bore on yours, the Mishimoto cooler uses 10mm stubs and comes with a length of 10mm bore hose. I'd suggest using that 10mm hose, cut in half with a pair of
10 x 8mm reducers to connect to the original pipework.
Also take the trouble to mount the ATF cooler on a pair of brackets, the fixings supplied (modified cable ties) don't last that well.
My advice would be that if you're planning on replacing the radiator, get a manual one and separate ATF cooler and do the job now so no matter how long it takes to amass the AW70, Weber manifold and carb and a 4 branch manifold, the reliability of the cooling system and gearbox shouldn't be in question.
