Langer radiator fitting

[Rowan]

Hello all
Since my 87 430 auto overheated on its last outing I bought a set of coloured silicone hoses and decided to finish off a project I started many years ago. The overheating was due to the previous owner fixing a hose leak by cutting the leaking hose and putting a copper sleeve inside to join the pieces. It was only leaking when hot so was undetectable when cold.

I can't recall what make or model my over-sized radiator came from but it is the same width and thickness - just longer and made of copper so repairs are easy. It also has 10 columns of tubes so should cool better again.



I decided not to cut into the bottom tank or tubes as I feel that defeats the extra cooling capacity so I have mounted it with a slight forward angle at the bottom so that I can use the factory bottom mount.

The only old radiator hose I used was from the bottom Y fitting to the bottom of the new radiator - I had a damaged old hose (it had a gash in it) which I had checked out and then cut it down to length. I didn't want to chop up a brand new hose for nothing.





This is the view from the left and you can just see the bottom of the longer radiator as it is angled forward.



Pictures of the finished job will come later this week after I buy all new hose-clamps and put the tank and seat back on.

Rowan

 

[justintendo]

if you havent yet gotten clamps...heres the originals for sale new
im not out in the garage, i forget what the original size is..but you get the idea. lots of normas available in different sizes. you must use embossed clamps or the hoses will get chewed up.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/10-Norma-W2...m1a203e3c1d:m:mh0IZs11tqaqyKBHLeEKU0Q&vxp=mtr

 

[Rowan]

All my existing clamps are Norma except for 3 and none of them show any sign of chewing the hoses. Which part of the replacement clamp chews up hoses? The 3 'outsiders' I have are all smooth on the inside with no lumps or sharp edges to catch on the hoses. Any more info welcome . . .

Thanks

 

[justintendo]

All my existing clamps are Norma except for 3 and none of them show any sign of chewing the hoses. Which part of the replacement clamp chews up hoses? The 3 'outsiders' I have are all smooth on the inside with no lumps or sharp edges to catch on the hoses. Any more info welcome . . .

Thanks

you just have to stay away from the "non-smooth" or "non-embossed". sounds like you are ok... i just like the normas as they are good quality, readily available, and have the added bonus of being original equipment.
the type that chew up things have the open slots cut the whole way around the hose. they are no good on silicone

 

[jo360]

Copper and aluminium react with each other causing corrosion.might be better off with alumium radiator instead.

 

[Crashaholic]

jo360 makes a good point, one that I was not aware of. A bit of research online revealed the info. below from a radiator repair/manufacture's website.

http://www.cgj.com/2013/07/02/aluminum-vs-copper-brass-radiator-corrosion-susceptibility/

"Since modern vehicles and parts are designed for aluminum components, there is significantly less risk of galvanic corrosion with an aluminum radiator. If you are a die-hard copper-brass radiator fan, you may be tempted to replace the stock aluminum radiator with a copper-brass radiator. This would be an expensive mistake. While your copper-brass radiator would not be at risk of corrosion, all of the aluminum components that your coolant touches will be at significant risk of galvanic corrosion. That’s because, as we mentioned before, aluminum has less nobility than copper; therefore, it will corrode preferentially to the copper-brass. Needless to say, this means expensive repairs to your engine and other components."

"Due to the number of dissimilar metals in a copper-brass radiator, it significantly increases the risk of corrosion in a cooling system. Even if it isn’t the radiator itself that corrodes, it can cause other metal components in the system to corrode. Combining that with the fact that most vehicles and parts are designed around aluminum components, an aluminum radiator has less risk of corrosion than copper-brass."

 

[jack topper]

...

http://www.cgj.com/2013/07/02/aluminum-vs-copper-brass-radiator-corrosion-susceptibility/

"Since modern vehicles and parts are designed for aluminum components, there is significantly less risk of galvanic corrosion with an aluminum radiator. If you are a die-hard copper-brass radiator fan, you may be tempted to replace the stock aluminum radiator with a copper-brass radiator. This would be an expensive mistake. While your copper-brass radiator would not be at risk of corrosion, all of the aluminum components that your coolant touches will be at significant risk of galvanic corrosion. That’s because, as we mentioned before, aluminum has less nobility than copper; therefore, it will corrode preferentially to the copper-brass. Needless to say, this means expensive repairs to your engine and other components."

"Due to the number of dissimilar metals in a copper-brass radiator, it significantly increases the risk of corrosion in a cooling system. Even if it isn’t the radiator itself that corrodes, it can cause other metal components in the system to corrode. Combining that with the fact that most vehicles and parts are designed around aluminum components, an aluminum radiator has less risk of corrosion than copper-brass."

Galvanic corrosion is a huge problem when you put aluminum, steel, iron, copper and aluminum together and add an ocean full of salt water. In the marine/sailboat world, we used bare zinc as a sacrificial anode to thwart galvanic corrosion. They were clamped to the propeller shafts, bolted to the keel or bolted to the rudder shaft. All we had to do was remember to check them and change them out when needed. Many domestic hot water heaters also use zincs. Do any of the manufacturers use them on LC bikes?
JT

 

[DaveM]

Hi,

Looking at your original radiator, I would be buying a new pair, that and a new cap may solve your problem straight away.

There have been good reports here on Cafe Husky, about the Chinese radiators available on E-bay, just the mounts are a bit light.

And replace the repaired hose.

 

[Joe Chod]

guards on them stop the air flow.....removing the stock louvers also reduces the channeling and air flow (they did put them there for a reason)

 

[suprize]

I thought it was to wear holes in the tubes...all mine ever seem to do.... silicon saves the day.... again...

 

[Rowan]

During the week I enquired at two local radiator shop repairers regarding aluminium/copper reactions and neither had ever heard of such a problem. They both said that there are a lot of cars that have copper radiators and aluminium heads from the factory. I also called the Castrol technical helpline and they were the same. They all said just use a good quality coolant at the manufacturers mix ratio and it will be ok.

My original problem was because the previous owner had a leaking hose and fixed it 'on the cheap' rather than buy a new hose. I will finish the installation of the longer radiator as a Xmas project. Why spend another $200+ when I already have the radiator ready to go, a set of new silicon hoses ( US$25 including postage ) and a couple of days holiday.

Just as an extra thought - we experiment and personalise to see if we can make it a little better.

Rowan

 

[jo360]

Use quality inhibitor and change regularly, go kart boys use copper rads and distilled water only to lower hi rpm running temps might get 2 seasons before the cylinder corrodes out.copper has better heat transfer qualities but the dissimilar metals ionise the coolant leading to galvanic reaction.i used aluminium rads and pure distilled water change out regular with no problem.your call just letting you know the possible consequences.