stewy1984 Posted July 11, 2010 Share Posted July 11, 2010 Hi guys, im looking for some advice on finding a heavy duty rad. I want something i can jet wash without fear of damaging it. I took my old rad to a local radiator place to ask about re-coring it with a anti-clog core, but it was going to reduce the cooling efficiency to much. so any ideas? for 300tdi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les Henson Posted July 11, 2010 Share Posted July 11, 2010 300TDi is over cooled anyway - you might find a more open-cored rad will be fine. Les. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jad Posted July 11, 2010 Share Posted July 11, 2010 Hi guys, im looking for some advice on finding a heavy duty rad. I want something i can jet wash without fear of damaging it. I took my old rad to a local radiator place to ask about re-coring it with a anti-clog core, but it was going to reduce the cooling efficiency to much. so any ideas? for 300tdi Me and my dad just put radiators on ours from Kempston radiators. We had them put in a heavy duty core so that they say can be power washed. Havent tried it yet as there not full of mud! but it certaing seams a LOT heavier duty than standard. Cost 168+vat each so is a bit more expensive than standard but hopefully worth and it does take about 5 working days for the HD ones to be done though and your probably a bit far away. Hope this is of some help..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piper109 Posted July 12, 2010 Share Posted July 12, 2010 300TDi is over cooled anyway - you might find a more open-cored rad will be fine. Les. I was a bit surprised to see this comment as I have overheating problems on long gradients and sustained high speeds with my 300tdi with a/c. Temps in the 80-90s. Admittedly this is not in the UK and being expat I am well acquainted with UK road and weather conditions. Radiator is freshly flushed inside and hosed out on the outside. I am driving 70-75 mph on freeways and then climbing to 3200 ft in the Appalachians. My rad was supposedly bought new a little over a 18 months ago and has done about 15k. It has a metal plug instead of the plastic but I do not know what brand it is, factory or otherwise. Car was repaired by a company in Shropshire and they clearly took some short cuts in other areas (left out 5 upper engine to gearbox bolts and bodged the crankshaft keyway). Is there a way to check who made the rad? I'm worried that it might be a cheapie. I am looking at maybe getting it recored but I am not yet convinced that I do not have a head gasket leak under heavy load though I am not using any coolant. I would like to be able to drive without constantly looking at the temp gauge. Yesterday I had to pull over twice going up a mountain road and turn the heater full on to bring the temp gauge back to horizontal as it was threatening to go to 10-o-clock. Any advice would be appreciated. Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BogMonster Posted July 12, 2010 Share Posted July 12, 2010 Have you changed the viscous coupling on the fan? They go all the time and the symptoms sound right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piper109 Posted July 13, 2010 Share Posted July 13, 2010 Have you changed the viscous coupling on the fan? They go all the time and the symptoms sound right. No I have not replaced it. At times when I can rev the engine with the bonnet up I can hear the roar. Not that this means that its functioning when all is hot. It will take me a while to get one shipped over. The V8 one available locally has a rh thread whereas the tdi has lh thread. Does anyone know if a BMW clutch will fit? Note too that with the aircon on, the two electric fans in front of the condenser are running full blast. Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BogMonster Posted July 13, 2010 Share Posted July 13, 2010 The cooling fans run full blast in the Falklands with the viscous knackered, so I doubt they'd keep up with 90 deg. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piper109 Posted July 13, 2010 Share Posted July 13, 2010 The cooling fans run full blast in the Falklands with the viscous knackered, so I doubt they'd keep up with 90 deg. I had been thinking about putting a more powerful electric fan on the engine side of the rad to take the place of the viscous clutch and fan and have it operated by a temperature switch. I have a Haynes book that shows a 200tdi modified in that way. I have a 2 speed fan from a 9 series Volvo which seems the correct diameter and power but it bothers me that they show the fan right up against the rad and I think the inter-cooler looses out a bit. I would like to remove the big idler the viscous is attached to as well and position the fan closer to the engine. (I am running the main belt to the a/c on a purpose built installation. The factory a/c parts are impossible to find here so I have adapted the V8 compressor). How is the idler shaft and bearing removed from the front timing belt cover? cheers, Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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