Well, as my van approaches 120,000 the radiator and water pump dies.

Radiator side facing engine


Radiator side facing grill


OEM manufacture of the radiator (Valeo in Mexico copper/brass)


The nasty inside ...


The fan and waterpump


Oh, BTW many have asked about the extra tranny cooler that sits between AC condenser and the radiator here is a few shots ...





Well, I have on order a REAL radiator that is two channel two pass all aluminum construction with the nylon 6/6 GF40 tanks built to ISO9001 specifications. Rockauto has it for $65 less than AutoZone. The AutoZone link is easier to link here. All of the other radiators are copper/brass that do not hold up at all. http://www.autozone.com/autozone/par...er=321448_0_0_

AdvancedAuto has an online sale for %15 off online orders. Just look for the promo code at the top of the screen. So I got the water pump, gaskets and all the hoses.

It's been in the 60s all weekend. So the van is taken apart right now. A cold front and snow storm is moving in. So, I hope by next weekend another warm up will happen when the parts arrive.

The Hayes manual is right on for the step-by-step repair.

So, the radiator, hoses, water pump, gaskets all run just around $200 to do it myself. Oh, I have a spare Stant 195 T-stat to toss on new as well.

 

I bought an All Aluminum radiator made by Silla off ebay for my 94 B150 for 169.00, 25.00 shipping. It's made really well I was suprised, it's about as thick as a four core. I run Toyota Red coolant, 50-50 with DI water and a Wix 02469 coolant filter. The water pump i used is a NAPA special, it had an anti cavitation plate already on it. I would welded one on myself had it not come with one. These plates really help out with better water circulation. I removed my tranny cooler from between the radiator and A/C coil when the hose leaked, when I have a chance I'll post up a picture of where I remounted it along with a Wix Transmission Fluid Filter 51622.

 

I also have a Silla radiator. It was advertised as a 3 row 1 7/8 inch thick core. It arrived as a single 1 1/4 row. No leaks, No overheating, but I have not towed anything up a mountain range either.

I like that it is all aluminum and the tanks are welded on. I am hoping it lasts in the salt air environments I subject my Van to. This is the 4th radiator in 9 years. All the others were copper/brass.

The debate over whether a high flow water pump cools better than a regular pump continues. Some say the coolant does not stay in the radiator long enough with a high volume pump. They sell restrictors for those that believe that.

They sell high volume water pumps who believe more flow equates to better cooling.

I'd like to see the Wix external filter mounting. I am considering adding an inline Magnafine filter on the return line from the external cooler.

I'd also like to mount a coolant filter on the heater hose line, but cannot find an inline filter with 5/8 ID barbs. I know you can use a spin on filter and a separate base and designed for coolant but that would be too easy.





I have one on my power steering filter, and It might be leaking at the seam where it unscrews.

This is the impeller on my GMB water pump. 2 more vanes that the one I removed


My Silla's single 1 1/4 inch wide row.


Welded top tank and 3/8 NPT bung. I Used brass bungs rather than the plastic ones they supplied

 

Yeah, the OEM RAD is copper/brass. It only lasted a little past 110K miles. When I got the van around 80K, the outside looked a mess with the copper/brass all green and blistering under the black paint. I knew that in time it would need to be changed out. To bad i didn't know back in the early Fall. The job would have been easier.

I like the idea of having a tranny line filter in the loop near the external tranny cooler.

Hey on another note, FedEx finally found the house and delivered the RAD.

Here is the premium RAD that is aluminum construction, will fit Dodge Ram Vans, Ram Trucks and the 1st generation Viper.



Yes, this is a super stant nickle plated T-stat. The regular ones are zinc plated are are worthless. Why offer something like that?



The weather today was in the low 50s and no rain. A little sun here and there, so I changed out the T-stat. Yuck! What a mess and had to remove the alternator too.






OEM Chrysler Mopar p/n 53020135 for the water pump. I got a good deal on this one new.

 

So, does anyone know how to get this off?

The fan and waterpump


The Fan Clutch seems to be bad since I can hold the water-pump pulley and lightly touch the fan and it spins really well. It may need the 7" thermal heavy-duty fan clutch replaced. Anyone do that yet???

 

Yes I changed to the heavy duty fan clutch almost 2 years ago. Runs a little longer in the winter than I like but over all it works fine.

To remove the fan you need to borrow the fan clutch wrenches from your local auto parts store. If they have the Dodge Fan Clutch kit use it. If not get the wrenches and a long pry bar. The Dodge Fan Clutch kit has a tool that will hold the pulley when you put some 1/4 bolt just into two of the 4 holes on the pulley. Then with that tool facing the correct direction you can pull on the fan against it and pop the fan loose.

If they don't have that kit than with the regular kit find the wrench that fits the fan nut. Use the pry bar to act like a chock to put resistance on the water pump pulley as you use the crank pulley as the fulcrum. Then apply just enough pressure to hold the pump still while you break loose the fan.

When tightening do not worry about getting it supper tight. Get it as snug as you can, not even as hard as it was to remove. It will self tighten as the engine operates for the next few days.

 

LandYacht318, Yes the Silla has less rows, but the total surface to me seems about the same as a four core, either way it certainly holds more coolant. I too like that it’s all welded, and no rubber seals to depend on. I watched a friend bump his plastic tank out while working on it, and it cracked, that’s not my cup of tea. I painted mine in a few places using Red Insulating Varnish, I did this for two reasons, one to prevent any corrosion where the radiator caps goes, and I did the inlet and outlets so that there wouldn’t be any corrosion where the radiator hoses mount, also they come off easy.

My experience with the anti-cavitation plate pumps started with a FlowKooler pump on my 300HP 360 I installed in my 68 A-100 Van, those engines are in a square box, it made a huge difference in cooling. For the first time it was able to hold a constant 195°, never increasing even when towing my trailer up mountain passes, that was a first. On those who would say such a silly thing as a high volume water pumps make it so the water doesn’t stay in the radiator long enough to cool must not be running a thermostat. LOL
I added a few pics showing my Wix water filter, tranny cooler mounting and Wix coolant filter. How I mounted the cooler to the center bracket was I use Nut Inserts, every DIYr should have one of these tools to install Nut Inserts.
Soon I’ll be flushing my power steering fluid, then use Castrol Dexron 4 Synthetic fluid, install new hoses, using constant tension clamps, install a better cooler, and a Magnafine 3/8” Inline Filter. I’ll put a pic up when I get that done

 

Thanks for the instructions. It looks like an easy job to get the fan off, however when you play with it using regular garage tools, things just keep spinning around and nothing gets loose.

I did call Advanced Auto for the fan clutch tool. It's $60 for deposit use with a full refund upon return. They didn't say if it was Dodge specific.

I have three pry bars of various sizes. One of them will have to work.

Today I've ordered the fan clutch, a premium ignition wire kit, three Purolator L30001 filters, and a crank case breather bell from Advanced Auto. If you have $100 in the total, they give back 30%. So, my bill with FREE shipping came around $81. The filter price discount was less than Walmart.

 

You guys have been most helpful with all your input. Depending on how things go I might be back for some more instructions.
Stev I noticed your waterpump didn't come with the pulley. I don't think mine is bolted on so I'll hve to get one with the pulley already on. All the oes I looked up on line had the pulley on as well for my particular vehicle.
So here goes nothing. Hopefully with a little faith and help from my neighbour I just might get this problem licked.

 

ooooooooops wrong thread