Vannin' Home Forums Dodge Performance (Dodge) 3 Row Aluminum Raditor

Just some pictures of the 3 Row Aluminum radiator I installed later last year. My old copper radiator was clogged and back when I rebuilt my transmission I discovered some leaky freeze plugs so, I replaced them. Replacing the freeze plugs was good because there was so much junk built up in the low parts of the cooling jacket including some of the casting sand.

The radiator wasn't painted of course but I decided to paint the core matt black and the tanks orange. For those who are wondering why the core black. Well black body radiation, basically the principle states a good absorber of heat is also a good emitter of heat, this is true when the object temperature is higher then that of the environment. The tanks were painted orange for looks, painting the upper tank black would of been a benefit in cooling however 3 Rows is sufficient cooling. Because the rad is aluminum I have to always check the fluid pH and concentration and be sure to replace and flush every two years, especially since the cooling system is composed of many metals.

Oh yea and if you're wondering the tubes are 1/2" each and the fin count is 15 fpi.

Well here are some photos:

only photos I have at the moment

I used a black Non insulating paint just in the front of the radiator, and left most of the radiator natural in back to help cooling. Black in front though because who wants to see the radiator shining out through the grill. I do the same with the tranny coolers.I still use the Brass/Copper radiator but since the tranny cooler was hurt with the TCI disaster. I was seriously considering buying an aluminum rad. but shied away because of the longevity of the plastic /aluminum radiators. if they break they are scrap and kind of expensive. but they have us by the shorts now because of the price of copper. So both are outrageous in price now. I am not slamming the aluminum radiators I have them in most of our new vehicles and they last for as long as I own them. BUT I am kind of old school and I just can't seem to bring myself to throw an aluminum radiator in my Dodge, I know I might have to someday and it is comforting to hear that you are getting adequate cooling with it.

Trust me I was probably just as hesitant as you are back when I was thinking about radiators. Personally I don't really like aluminum, radiators I have got use to but things like engine blocks and heads, NO! You overheat an aluminum engine and you already know you are going to have some heavy machinist bill.

Yea to be honest, I bought the aluminum radiator because it only cost me 120 bucks shipped and my old radiator was shot to hell, since then the place I bought it from raised the damn price to 169 bucks just for the radiator. I bought it about 8 months ago, if you're interested it was shepherdautoparts.com

The radiator is all aluminum so there isn't any plastic on this thing. The tanks are hand welded (tig). To be honest I was surprised how well built it was for the price. It is a Silla brand, if you go on ebay the same radiator is sold for like 200+ bucks (some people crazy).

I did some research on aluminum and copper and basically took it to the engineering level like everything I do and well I said to myself surface area, even if aluminum is about 25% more efficient in conduction having a 3 row radiator 55 tubes per row 1/2" tubes and at 15 fins per inch well there is more aluminum in contact with air then with the copper/brass, on top of that even if the radiator was a 2 row like the copper the aluminum still would have more surface area, and if the aluminum was a 1 row and usually when they're 1 row the tubes are 1" it would again have more surface area. On top of that copper/brass radiators are brazed with lead or tin, mostly tin now days cause of that pollution stuff. But yea it's really all in the design not much the material when comparing copper and aluminum.

As for painting the front black, well I don't have to worry about it shinning through cause I have the condenser sitting in front of it. I installed a while back I installed a transmission cooler and painted it orange (kind of a mistake as far as black body radiation), so that orange shines through like a sore thumb. But the trans cooler is aluminum too like most.

As far as black body radiation, provided the surrounding environment is cooler then the black body then it will be more emissive. I have a good setup I think, engine black, rad core black, trans silver, trans pan black, engine pan black.

Oh as for the black paint I used, I just used Krylon BBQ paint it is cheap and works up to 1200F intermittently.

As far as cooling performance, it does the job. Like I said I bought it cause I needed a new radiator and had and still have little money so it was purely a budget friendly move but it turned out to be better then expected. I can tell you though even though 3 rows if I smash down on my gas pedal alot on like I'm doing alot of drag pulls the temp gauge goes up about eww 5-8 degrees maybe... Of course I can already tell you that it's not cause the radiator cannot cool because of where the temp sensor is placed, hot running engine we have, and a 195F thermostat. Thing is if first thing in the morning I start the van up with the heater valve in the open position the engine will never reach temp.

But if you want my opinion, aluminum isn't that bad. They use aluminum radiators in nascar, in drag racing, so on and hect even in those big huge diesel buses. But at the same time I would like a copper radiator, they're just expensive and collect gunk over time...

My 99 E-350 has an aluminum radiator, factory was aluminum with plastic tanks, I replaced it with all aluminum, has 2 rows instead of 3 like the factory, but the cores are larger.

Why did you decide to get 2 row instead of a 3 row replacement?

Probably one of the ribbon cores that are a flatter and a real wide tube one or two rows of those . I have a Modine replacement a/c coil made that way. They work ok

My Silla was advertised as an all aluminum 3 row 1.87" thick core.

It came as a 1 1/4" thick single row. My previous copper brass radiators were 2 row, 1 1/4 thick. I've not had overheating issues with either.

It is 19 months old, and has been leaking for a couple months.

I'm pretty sure it is leaking where the tubes meet the bottom tank.

I've never gotten more than 4 years out of a radiator, even OEM on a new vehicle. I Blame the salt laden air where I choose to park.

Not a big leak by any means, but annoying.

I can almost bet the reason your radiator is leaking is because of electrolysis, when you slap an aluminum radiator on a vehicle that was designed before the implementation of aluminum radiator you are bound to run into problems. Like I said I constantly check the coolant to make sure the pH is correct, the concentration, and I do electrolysis testing as well. I am still hesitant of aluminum but as long as I take good care of it then it should last long. Hect I have seen aluminum radiators in cars that are a good 7 years old and they look good as new mainly because they were taken care of properly and the radiator was grounded properly and there weren't to many mixed metals.

As for why you got a 1 row probably the company you bought it from sent you the wrong one or it was packaged wrong. All I know is I ordered mine from shepherd, I ordered a 3 row and it was drop shipped from the factory a 3 row. And the core is thick, it just fit. If you look at the photo you can see the A/C discharge line is about 1/8"-1/4" from touching the tank.