Anyone know how many rows/cores the Super Duty radiators are? I just bought a replacement unit and forgot to ask. All i learned is that all of the trucks use the same radiator, gas and diesel engines. I've done a little searching on the net and it looks like they may be only 1 row. Does anyone know of a heavier duty upgrade? Mine is supposedly an OEM replacement.
Thanks,
Matt

 

Are you having problems with that cummins overheating? The factory cooling system on these were never considered weak to my knowledge.

 

Yes, my truck overheats to 250 degrees when 4 wheeling in the Rocky Mountains. I had a 10 blade plastic fan custom made with a Horton clutch. The wires that extend in front of the fan from the clutch caught the blades and destroyed my radiator. It was actually the metal clip around the wire loom that did the damage.

I'm currently working on modifying the upper radiator core support so i can move my intercooler and new Ford radiator further forward. I was told the Ford radiator is much larger and heavier duty than the Dodge. Just wanting to make sure there isn't something better i should be installing instead of a factory replacement. Everything other than the engine is still original PSD.

 

I don't think it's very popular to replace the stock 7.3L radiator... not even aware of any aftermarket ones, although I'm sure there are some out there. Seems the stock one does fine.

You might post this in the 7.3L section.

 

I don't know of any upgrades, but the 08 6.4 psd uses a bigger radiator. The only problem is the front end was redesigned to accomodate it. I don't know if you would get it to fit. I had my radiator out the other day and while it was out I decided to hose it out. I could not believe all the bugs and crap that came out of it, and this truck does not go off road. I would think that could have a big effect on the radiators ability to cool. When you clean it, just remmember to spray the water in the opposite direction of the air flow. I know you have a new radiator now, but it might be something to keep in mind for the future.

 

Does anyone have specs on the 7.3 radiator? It does fine on the highway with airflow, rides at or a little above 180 degrees. In stop and go traffic when its 100 degrees out i've seen 230. 100 degrees crawling up mountains with zero airflow is when i have the biggest problem as the engine coolant gets to 250 degrees and won't come down for hours until we're coming back down the mountain and or the sun is going down. It has mainly been an airflow issue but if i can find out how many rows or cores this radiator has i'll have something to compare to.

 

The radiator that got damaged, pop one of the tanks off the side and look to see how many rows it has. I know when I bought a Griffin radiator for my old TA it only had two rows but they were like 1" wide, vs 4 rows as stock. It cooled alot better. I know they would make custom radiators but then again they aint cheap.

 

As I recall (former radiator design engineer for the 6L diesel in '02-03), the 6L had two rows of 36mm tubes. The '08 radiator is HUGE. I've seen them, but I don't know the specs on them.

No idea what the 7.3 was, but it was probably smaller as the heat rejection requirements weren't as great as on the 6.0.

Kevin

 

Even if you get a bigger radiator it isn't going to solve your problems. Your problem is airflow, not cooling capacity. You said it yourself.

You run cool when you have airflow. When you don't have airflow you get hot.

You need more fan to push or pull more air through the radiator. The 10 blade is not enough. Put an electric pusher out front. Get or make a tight shroud around the 10 blade fan.

Also, the fact that you run cool at highway speeds means you don't need to do anything fancy to get air out of the engine compartment (louvers or exit ducts). It's getting in and out just fine at highway speeds. You just need to get more air flowing through the radiator at low speed.

 

The 7.3 radiator appears to have one long core. Each tube appears to extend all the way from the front to the back. We dug a hole in the center of the new radiator for the wires to pass through so i won't destroy another radiator.

This fan that i just had custom made is a major upgrade! Stock had 7 thin metal blades. These 10 blades are much thicker. This fan moves a ton of air! When i reached under the hood and revved the engine with the clutch locked, the hairs on my arm were plastered back on my arm. When i locked it up on the highway the whole truck suddenly surged backward as if i'd instantly lost at least 30 hp.

The electric pusher fan i have is useless so i'll be getting rid of it. The biggest dual electric fan kits only move about 6,000 cfm, not suitable for heavy towing. The stock Cummins fan supposedly moves around 12,000 cfm. This fan moves far more air than stock. The only time my old fan let my engine get hot at speed was when driving 55-60 mph up mountain roads. Plenty of airflow, but still working hard.

Since i can now lock my clutch even at idle, i'm almost certain i won't have anymore lack of airflow. I really don't want to ruin the look of the front of my vehicle by removing my grille, cutting out the plastic grille support, and fabricating bracketry to mount electric fans. What i'm doing now is almost completely hidden, looks almost factory, and will move far more air than electric fans. Even though many off roaders i wheel with rely on electric fans, i would rather have a mechanical fan in case of electrical failure. I've had to help one of my buddy's Cherokee Jeeps because his electric fan quit and the vehicle immediately overheated. This electric clutch is as close to that as i wish to get.

One of my buddies overheated his Comanchee last weekend while climbing a mountain. His stock gas engine got up to 250, even with hood louvers so i won't be bothering with hood modifications at the moment. I was told by the guy i bought my radiator from that a diesel engine can at least handle the hot coolant better because it doesn't have the heat from the electronic spark. I didn't quite understand that. No doubt my diesel is heavier duty than any comparably sized gas engine.

Yes, i know i needed airflow which is why i have spent several hundred dollars and many, many hours researching, making phone calls, measuring, experimenting, and putting together this custom fan, clutch, and shroud.

My a/c was previously blowing as cold as 40 F at speed without the clutch locked. I'm eager to test the new setup on a hot day but it will only be in the mid 90s for the next week. I was just hoping one of the experts here would be able to provide more information on the stock radiator and enlighten me as to whether or not there is anything better available. FTE has always been an excellent resource. Perhaps i should have used a 6.0 radiator.

 

You could put a 4 row aluminum custom built high dollar radiator in place of the stock, but if it doesn't have the air flow it won't do much better at cooling than the stock radiator.

Did you get a fan shroud yet? I think you'll find that the shroud will solve your problem. If you have any buddys who work in an AC/Heating shop they will be able to bend you up a low dollar shroud pretty quickly. It doesn't have to be real elaborate. Shoot it with some rattle can and it'll look fine.

Make sure the radiator is clean and flushed out. Get all the dead bugs and road crap out of the fins.

You add to the problem by going 4 wheeling in the mountains. This not only creates more heat but the thinner air at higher altitudes doesn't carry as much heat away from the radiator. It makes low speed air flow twice as important.

One guy I used to know years ago put a 302 into a Pinto. He used the stock 4 cyl. radiator and the thing would overheat within 20 miles. Instead of getting a bigger radiator, he rigged up his windshield washer pump to spray a mist of water in front of the radiator. It was somewhat of a redneck fix, but it did cool things enough to get him to the track and back home.

 

Without moving to a Technicooler.. The 6L Radiator is far superior then the 7.3L.. There's been numerous 7.3 guys begging me for my Cooler when I throw the Technicooler in... I'm not sure on the specs of the 6L.. I'd have to dig it up.. Kinda inbetween breaks, just dropped the fuel tank to cut the vent tubes.. Fixing to button her up..

 

Oh, also what the guy said about diesel engines is somewhat true. They can run hotter because they do not use spark ignition.

On a spark engine, if it gets too hot the fuel/air mixture will ignite from compression instead of spark. This is known as preignition. It causes damage to your engine when the flame front of the preignition flame meets the flame front of the spark flame. It can often be heard as a ping or knock.

Diesel engines don't have this problem so they can run hotter.

 

Are you talking about the tranny cooler or radiator? I looked on ford's truck builders advisory service, and I was surprised to see the 7.3 radiator has a higher coolant capacity than the 6 oh's. Also, the 6 liter is 1 row and the 7.3 is 2 row. I don't know what that means for cooling capacity though.

 

My mistake.. I'm talking about intercoolers.. I just realized this was Radiators LOL..

DOH