radiator alternatives?

[rocstarus]

need another radiator for a 202red with a trimatic in a 71 bedford bedouin..any ideas on most efficient and economic alternatives.

[willo]

a few quick suggestions from my experiences.
a) 202 three core radiators *just* do the job on a heavy campervan.  The 202 is working too hard all the time. 
b) do away with the radiator cooling for the auto.  Put in an external oil cooler. Mine was restricting the middle tubes a bit.
c) grab a beer and sit in front of your grille.  The first thing you will notice (apart from the refreshing taste of the beer) is that there are more ways for the air to travel around the radiator than there is to make it go through the radiator.  The more airflow through the radiator the better.  The grille is shaped to push the air up.  Up=over the top of the radiator.  (Grab another beer) work out how you can block off the easy openings and get more air through the radiator core.
d) Where is your number plate?  Between the bumperettes?  That's another air flow changer.  Move it down to the front apron and angle it so it pushes the air into the radiator.
e) what fan are you using?  If you can put up with the noise use a mechanical flex fan and get more air through the radiator.  Heavy campers need all the help they can get.
f) run a cooler thermostat.  Do not scrap it!!!!!  Get a new one that opens earlier.
g) does turning the heater on help?  If so, you might need more cooling capacity.  (more water)
h) go to the wreckers and buy a radiator and electric fan from a jap car.  mount under camper floor and use heater hoses to feed into it as a second radiator. (You might need to modify the radiator hose sizes or use adapters)
i) what gauge are you using?  How accurate is it?  Is it really overheating or d you have a dodgy gauge?

Heavy campers need more cooling than the vans apparently.  Probably because of the weight they are pulling around.  Mine is running pretty cool these days but I still get worried when i see the gauge rising on a long hill. It comes down quick enough and never goes over about 88 so that's OK.

Cheers

Neil

[MaTTe]

Willo those flex fans are good, but you're still robbing yourself of horsepower.. Get a set of the BA falcon, or AU falcon electric fans with shroud, they are reliable, move alot of air, and are quite efficient.

Run some Redline Water Wetter thru your radiator. Unless you live somewhere that the 'coolant' is likely to freeze overnight, you are best off getting ALL of the glycol out of your radiator, and run distilled water with Water Wetter.

Your other suggestions are quite good, and cover a good number of areas


I did post this in another thread with a similar title, we run the VK commodore triple pass cross flow radiators in the race cars, they are bigger in dimensions, and thicker, and will happily do a 30 lap endurance race in the perth heat on full song without skipping a beat.
They're plentiful and cheap, as well as easy to have re-cored.

[Marishka]

Rockstarus,
 that stuff on bull bar on your beddy looks like it would be restricting a lot of airflow to your radiator.
what is it?
looks like shadecloth.
that might be your problem for overheating ?

has anyone else noticed that ? or just me?

[willo]

I know what you mean about the flex fan.  Only problem is that I just don't have the clearance in front of the waterpump for an electric fan.  Is that unusual?  It is only a 202 but I've only got about an inch in front of the water pump before I hit the radiator. Haven't found a fan under about 40 ml and they just don't fit on mine

Neil

[Worby876]

My late father put a plastic shroud around the fan and it improved the cooling
On the 202 by about 50% this was important on a big heavy motorhome buddy as
Already stated...the motor is working hard pretty much all the time.

There is next to zero room to put extra electric fans on the front of the radiator between it and the front  grill so....
If you wanted too I guess you could loose the fan driven by the belt and save some
Horsepower and mount a couple of those themo activated electric units.

Cheers

Ian

[MaTTe]

I'll get you some measurements of the electric fans we've accumulated, i got some off ebay a few years back that were around the 25mm mark, for clearance issues on the race car, however, all electric fans can be setup to put infront of the radiator provided there is space, whilst this blocks part of the surface, it will free up some horse power. Tho is sounds as if there is no space.
From memory the BA type fans are around the 50mm mark.

A shroud will be a big help even if sticking with a mechanical fan.

If you have serious clearance issues is it possible to mount the radiator further forward with shims or alike? I've not seen a standard van in this respect so cannot be sure what fits where..
I have a couple of hundred mm between my motor and radiator.. hell, well more than a couple of hundred..

[vintageholden]

I know what you mean about the flex fan.  Only problem is that I just don't have the clearance in front of the waterpump for an electric fan.  Is that unusual?  It is only a 202 but I've only got about an inch in front of the water pump before I hit the radiator. Haven't found a fan under about 40 ml and they just don't fit on mine

Neil

fit the fan in front of the radiator ..i have,,,,,