[TR] TR3A Overheating - Outcome

[D&B Lambert]

Thank you to all who responded to my TR3A overheating question of a couple
of weeks ago.  FWIW, here is what happened.

After calling around a bit, I took my radiator down to a local shop.  The
guy took some time explaining to me about the different types of cores,
cooling tube arrangements, etc.  He suggested that we just "boil out" the
rad and see if/how much flow improved.  He didn't recommend "rodding"
because he felt that it would just stress the tubes and possibly cause leaks
with a radiator this old.  The cost for boiling out was $60 vs $480 for a
new "high efficiency" re-core.  I chose the cheaper route.  I'll see if I
get any cooling improvement when it's back in the car and running in the
heat, and at prolonged idle.  If not, it's a re-core before next year's
heat.  The "boil-out" did result in noticeably improved flow, so I'm
cautiously optimistic.  We'll see.

Thanks again, Dennis

 

I'm imagining that the radiator must be getting crudded up.  It's an
original radiator, still with the crank hole, and was rodded about 10 years
ago.   I'm thinking it's finally time to
replace it.  My choices are: 1) getting the original re-rodded, 2) having a
local radiator shop install a modern core, or 3) buying a new aluminum
radiator from one of the big three.  Keeping the crank hole is not important
for me; the only use I have had for it was to use the crank when adjusting
the valves (for that it's pretty handy).