Well, no replies about the heater bypass, so I put a bolt in the hose and tied it off. Maybe eventually I'll find the right fitting to hook it up.

The radiator is installed and I've already noticed a significant reduction in engine temperature. I've just got the factory gauge, so who knows how accurate it is, but with the old radiator operating temperature was consistently at the middle of "NORMAL" (i.e., between the R and the M, and climbing to L when really pushing it hard on upgrades). With the new radiator driving around town, operating temperature seems to be between N and O. Looking forward to seeing what it does on a mile-long 8% grade in 100+ degree weather.

Also, I found that the PO had bypassed the transmission cooler section of the old radiator, and hooked the transmission directly to an aftermarket cooler. I hooked the transmission pressure line to the new aluminum radiator, then from there to the transmission cooler, and back to the transmission return line. Should keep the transmission cooler, hopefully.

No real problems to report other than a little difficulty getting the fan shroud to mount -- the holes aren't exactly correct, but I was able to make it work. I did not experience the "twist" in the radiator that others have reported, though one of the top brackets was bent slightly on arrival.

 

Hey Flainn,

I just saw your post, and I searched high and low for a fitting that would screw into that thread pattern for the heater line. I was in Southern California where almost anything is available, and I couldn't make their threads work, so what I did was go to harbor freight and buy some manual pipe thread taps, and re-tapped the threads to a (IIRC) 1/2 NPT thread.The taps were 15 bucks, and the fitting was available at Home Depot. FWIW, all that hose is for is a trans fluid warmer. If you are running a manual trans, you can delete it if you can find a plug for it.

Good luck,

Mac.

 

Mac, great idea. I may go that route.

What I'm wondering (I do have an E4OD) is whether I really need the trans heater. I live in NM and it rarely gets colder than the teens here in the winter.

Right now it's tied off and would be very easy to hook up, if I tapped the hole or found a fitting that works. I wonder what weird thread they used in that hole?

Fortunately the radiator came with a plug for the hole, so it's not really that urgent. I'm just curious whether it's worthwhile to hook the trans heater back up.