You can type here any text you want

F Body Radiator install

Welcome!

By registering with us, you'll be able to discuss, share and private message with other members of our community.

SignUp Now!
I wondered if you could use some oil lines from the specific camaro to work with the radiator. I am using a separate cooler for the tranny.
 
So How do I get rid of the oil cooler lines? Do I put plugs in where the hoses were? Im a bit confused on what to do?
 
does it need to be a certain year or body style f-body? i ask because i have a 1980 camaro with a nice be-kool radiator, im sure it would be a great upgrade for the grand national i just donjt know if it will fit
 
You need to add a separate oil cooler because the F-Body radiator does not have this capability. I am putting on a Derale. I also advise a separate tranny cooler as well. Brad
 
I can't tell by your link. I checked my original box from NAPA and there are no NAPA numbers. Ask for a MODINE 951 and cross check that it if for an FBODY. The radiator is wider than the stock ones and both ends are black plastic. Brad
 
I have a front mount. So I put my oil cooler here. Took off the guard to show the cooler. The turbo will almost boil the oil. Oil cooled turbo. Just my .02.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_2360.jpg
    IMG_2360.jpg
    130.5 KB · Views: 348
Modine 951 Radiator from NAPA. Delete the Oil Cooler cause this radiator does not have 2 seperate coolers like the stocker. The only cooler the Modine 951 Radiator has is a transmission cooler. I use this and a stacked plate external cooler on my car, with dual fans, and the Powerstroke FMIC, my car never gets over 185 degrees.

Oh, and have had no problems without the Oil Cooler Lines deleted, contrary to popular belief:rolleyes:
 
Just did the F-body radiator today, had the stock one checked out and it leak all over the place and was plugged up pretty bad. Paid $103 from a CarQuest where a friend is the manager. Rebent the trans lines to line up with the cooler on the radiator.Removed opil cooler for now, will get seperate trans and oil coolers in a few months. Still waiting on few other parts to fet it running again.
 
Well I have beg brakes, so the other day when I got on them, the lights must have been pulled out.:biggrin: Not done putting all the screws back together yet. But will soon.
 
trans cooler

i wonder if it would be a good idea to run the oil lines to the radiator and just run the trans line to a trans cooler in front of the radiator. that way they both get some cooling benefit but the trans gets the most since its more important ????
mike s
all thoughts on this would be appreciated.
 
I was reading a bit back that because the built in cooler in the f-body radiator is a tranny cooler, the fittings are too small for an oil cooler because they need a larger diameter opening. (for flow etc.) I am just keeping them plugged and running two separate coolers anyways. I will be running a tranny cooler with a fan which I already have, and I will be purchasing an oil cooler to probably put in between my front mount and radiator. (my AC is removed). Not sure where to put my Tranny cooler yet, but at least it will let me run my own lines and possibly make the engine bay "neater". I have a question for you folks though. If I have a tranny cooler with a fan, it really doesnt matter where I mount it correct? I know it would be better in an opening but finding a spot is tough. Its no small one.
 
check out the G-body parts all aluminum radiator. it has all oil cooler and tranny cooler hookups, just as the factory radiator has. I just installed one this weekend, works great and is a nice quality piece. runs around 450.00 from G-parts. price is not bad compared to other alum. radiators.
 
F-Body radiator is the best thing I ever did for this car. I did have to bypass the oil cooler line...just looped it around and now have no oil cooling. But it seems to work ok. Keep the block cool and the oil should stay cool. I also installed an external tranny cooler, even though the F-Body radiator has a provision for it. I figure that if the radiator has to cool more than 1 thing, then the ability to cool the coolant will be diminished somewhat. I run at 162 everywhere I go, and thats with the single stock fan. I also cleaned all the fan relay connections. Got all that old dielectric grease out that turns to tar after 20 years. That also made a huge difference in fan performance. Some people will throw a jumper wire around the fan resistor so when the low speed fan relay clicks on, then the fan will always run at high speed. But I figure its better to have some resistance, so I threw on a 50 watt, .01 ohm resistor and used that to bypass it. It spins a little slower than high speed normally would, which keeps the fan vibration down. But the really cool thing about this radiator is that I can drive 35 miles all the way home from work, and my fan will never come on cause the coolant never gets hot enough to trip the relay. In summer heat and bumper to bumper traffic, it will run at about 168 degrees, but I dont have a front mount, and my A/C doesnt work. Never did. Has a huge leak under the AC fan cover. For about 250 bucks, you can have an external oil cooler, and external tranny cooler, and an F-Body radiator. Most aftermarket radiators cost alot more than that by themselves. Dont waste your money on fancy radiators cause they wont do better than this one.
People attribute the cooling ability to the fact that the radiator is aluminum. Not true. Copper is twice as thermally conductive than aluminum. The problem lies in solder. Solder is a horrible thermal conductor, so when every fin gets soldered together and to the tubes, the cooling ability is greatly reduced. There are really good thermally conductive epoxies available nowadays, which is what the aluminum radiators are bonded together with. While they arent super conductive, these epoxies are still FAR better with heat transfer than solder. Heres some cool trivia... usually the more thermally conductive a material is, the more electrically conductive it is as well. But the exception is diamond. Theres a rating for thermal conductivity..aluminum is around 200, copper, about 400, and diamond is 1000...but of course, diamond isnt electrically conductive at all. Its the only substance like it. Plastic is a great thermal insulator because it doesnt conduct heat. Alot of people dont believe when I tell them that I can melt micro grain carbide steel cutting tools, when cutting plastic. Its because none of the friction conducts into the platic, and builds up into the cutting too until is starts to glow yellow and melts all the flutes off.
 
well guys no one mentioned the weight savings! but let me tell you it is significant~ i just put my radiator in ! i bought mine from rockauto.com! cheap i think i paid 96.00!
 
cjacobs said:
check out the G-body parts all aluminum radiator. it has all oil cooler and tranny cooler hookups, just as the factory radiator has. I just installed one this weekend, works great and is a nice quality piece. runs around 450.00 from G-parts. price is not bad compared to other alum. radiators.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I gotta say if I got any other aluminum radiator that would be it. But the price of the f-body one was too good to pass up, plus I can use the extra money that I saved to install a "better" oil and tranny cooler.
 
VadersV6 said:
F-Body radiator is the best thing I ever did for this car. I did have to bypass the oil cooler line...just looped it around and now have no oil cooling. But it seems to work ok. Keep the block cool and the oil should stay cool. I also installed an external tranny cooler, even though the F-Body radiator has a provision for it. I figure that if the radiator has to cool more than 1 thing, then the ability to cool the coolant will be diminished somewhat. I run at 162 everywhere I go, and thats with the single stock fan. I also cleaned all the fan relay connections. Got all that old dielectric grease out that turns to tar after 20 years. That also made a huge difference in fan performance. Some people will throw a jumper wire around the fan resistor so when the low speed fan relay clicks on, then the fan will always run at high speed. But I figure its better to have some resistance, so I threw on a 50 watt, .01 ohm resistor and used that to bypass it. It spins a little slower than high speed normally would, which keeps the fan vibration down. But the really cool thing about this radiator is that I can drive 35 miles all the way home from work, and my fan will never come on cause the coolant never gets hot enough to trip the relay. In summer heat and bumper to bumper traffic, it will run at about 168 degrees, but I dont have a front mount, and my A/C doesnt work. Never did. Has a huge leak under the AC fan cover. For about 250 bucks, you can have an external oil cooler, and external tranny cooler, and an F-Body radiator. Most aftermarket radiators cost alot more than that by themselves. Dont waste your money on fancy radiators cause they wont do better than this one.
People attribute the cooling ability to the fact that the radiator is aluminum. Not true. Copper is twice as thermally conductive than aluminum. The problem lies in solder. Solder is a horrible thermal conductor, so when every fin gets soldered together and to the tubes, the cooling ability is greatly reduced. There are really good thermally conductive epoxies available nowadays, which is what the aluminum radiators are bonded together with. While they arent super conductive, these epoxies are still FAR better with heat transfer than solder. Heres some cool trivia... usually the more thermally conductive a material is, the more electrically conductive it is as well. But the exception is diamond. Theres a rating for thermal conductivity..aluminum is around 200, copper, about 400, and diamond is 1000...but of course, diamond isnt electrically conductive at all. Its the only substance like it. Plastic is a great thermal insulator because it doesnt conduct heat. Alot of people dont believe when I tell them that I can melt micro grain carbide steel cutting tools, when cutting plastic. Its because none of the friction conducts into the platic, and builds up into the cutting too until is starts to glow yellow and melts all the flutes off.
Click to expand...

Very good points. Isn't it true that aluminum can absorb heat quicker, yet can do just the opposite and cool quicker? Just trying to put it in decent english. As long as you got a decent fan, I would imagine you'd still be good in stand still traffic. Not to mention, Autozones is a lifetime warranty which is a no brainer.
 
Great buy, easy install but you do need to trim the Ram Fans like stated. :cool:

If you ditch the OEM sandwich adaptor off the filter housing you save 18lbs total ( rad, adaptor and lines ).

I would run external coolers with this rad, leave it plugged up.

A lot of debate on the oil cooler but the longer you run the car the oil will get hotter. The hotter the oil the thinner it will get and if it falls under the engineered standard of a 10 viscosity at 212 degrees you will get wear on your bearings.

The oil cooler has it's place but there are ways to keep things under control without one.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

T
Getting Hot
8
635
V6sleeper
V6sleeper
M
Chevy Volt PWM fan conversion
11
2K
MarkJamesGN22
M
Y
A little advice please
2
22
2K
Chuck Leeper
Chuck Leeper
K
Leaky oil cooler lines
1
644
TurboTGuy
TurboTGuy
J
Parts
4
1K
js402
J

Online statistics

Members online
19
Guests online
5,789
Total visitors
5,808
Totals may include hidden visitors.

Newest members

Stay Connected

Back
Top