Hi Ian,
To paint or not is up to you. If you want original, black appearance,
there are special "radiator " paints that go on and cover nicely with only a
very
thin coat, to maximize heat transfer. Shop around and also double check if
they are good for use directly on aluminum. Try to avoid any thicker paint. A
thin coat of paint will have very little effect and, assuming the new radiator
is
well designed and made, you should find the aluminum provides significantly
better heat transfer than your original radiator, anyway.
Removing the engine fan will definitely reduce some load on the engine. It
will also mean less air is moving in the engine compartment when the electric
fan is not running and you happen to be stopped and idling. But, I think this
is a slight concern because the elec fan is very likely to come on quickly
when stopped and idling in traffic, anyway. Also, you lose backup potential if
the electric fan ever fails (the elec fan on my TR4 uses a tiny self-resetting
circuit breaker, instead of a fuse, for just this reason).
The electric fan will likely not need to operate at all when at speed on
the highway. There is more than adequate airflow in most cases, to the point
that a fan is not needed. This is a good example of when an elec fan is better
than an engine mounted fan.
You haven't indicated if your fan is installed with a thermostat to turn
it on and off when the coolant reaches certain temperatures (Note: simple,
non-adjustable t'stats usually come on at 185F and turn off at 170F, but there
are
others with different ratings and adjustable t'stats, as well). If you don't
have a thermostat, might be a good idea to install one. The type that has a
probe into the system is preferable, installed to measure coolant temp when
it's
returning from the radiator (bottom hose on most cars).
Airflow might be improved with only one fan, there could be some conflict
caused by the two. This is especially true if the elec fan is mounted as a
"pusher" in front of the radiator (likely the case if both fans are installed).
It would be better mounted behind the radiator as a "puller". Some fans can be
installed as either pushers or pullers. Others are only pushers or pullers.
Look into this with yours, to help make your decisions.
If you choose to remove the engine fan, you might want or need to leave
the fan extension hub in place or replace it with a harmonic dampener.
Investigate this, I'm not certain with regard to your car's 6-cylinder engine.
I *do*
know that it's true on the 4-cylinder TR engine. Engine vibrations and various
dire consequences require either retaining the hub or installing a proper
balancer on the TRactor motor. It shouldn't be run without one or the other!
Cheers!
Alan Myers
San Jose, Calif.
'62 TR4 CT17602L
*********************************
I'm nearing the end of the TR6 re-build and have obtained an alloy
radiator at a sensible price ... a couple of questions though:
1. Should I paint the radiator core with black radiator paint?
2. I'm planning to keep my electric fan, but am considering removing
the engine driven fan. Pros / cons of this? I'm getting conflicting
advice but with little reasoned arguement from my mates locally!
Comments etc. welcome.
Regards,
Ian Viles (Derbyshire)
73 TR6
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