I had the same issue. The plastic tanks swell and crack when heated. I tried to repair the tank withy JB Weld, but it would not work with the tank swelling. I installed a new radiator and used less torque on the mounting bolts, to relieve some pressor at the breaking site. Seven years and so far, so good.
When the "aluminum core with crimped on plastic reservoirs" began in early 1980's, I thought "this will be a cluster-f", particularly since they rely on a rubber gasket to seal the plastic. I did see some early ones taken apart at radiator shop when getting my brass Mopar radiator repaired, so perhaps some early teething problems, but they have since been fairly reliable. Best thing is they are cheap to replace in most vehicles (<$100), so no more rodding out cores.
Exactly. And of that list, flow rate is the variable that's probably the easiest to change.
I kind of thought that a little too as I read it. I mean, after all, they are going to do and say everything to push their product. However, from a scientific standpoint, what they are saying does make sense. I never really bought into the thought that you had to SLOW the flow down through the radiator to give the water time to properly lose its heat. That means that the water is also flowing slower through the hot engine, and that would only allow the water to get hotter. The basic laws of Thermodynamics are only going to allow water to absorb so much heat before boiling, even with a pressurized system and antifreeze. Overall, I have to agree with the article.
That brings up an interesting point I had not thought about before. Why not just put a very slightly larger pulley on the water pump. For instance, going from a 6" pulley to a 6 1/8" pulley gives you a circumference increase of 1.19" (a 4.2% increase). Wouldn't that make the pump spin a bit faster and, therefore, move the water a bit faster? I would think that the impeller design will eventually be maxed out and not allow an increase, but 4% over stock should not reach that maximum. What do you think, @Newbomb Turk?
A larger pulley on the PUMP will slow the pump down, not speed it up.
I don't know how much clearance there is between the fins and the shroud as a restriction (some airflow across the core has to turn to exit through the fan assembly), but you could add vent holes to the corners and add flaps. They can be made out of thin, flexible rubber, overlap the holes all the way around behind the shroud, and are hung with washers, nyloc nuts, and two machine screws (#8 would be fine or rivets are an option) side by side and on one side. The flaps operate on differential pressure. At low speed, the pressure in front of the shroud is lower than behind it from the fan operation, so the flaps are closed. At higher speed, the pressure in front of the shroud is higher than behind it, so they open, increasing airflow through the core.
Is the 30% you're referring to the ratio of the pullys?
It's low rpm/idle where they help.
I don't see how the pully ratio changes with rpm. At a given engine rpm the pump rpm will change with different pully ratios.
It's the way you phrased this that is confusing. The first sentence is saying is that the waterpump is 30% over driven, a 30% ratio. I understand that. It's the second sentence that I don't agree with. You say the pulley ratio to get that 30% will change with rpm. I asked you if the 30% you were refering to was the pully ratio and you said yes. If 30% is the pully ratio how is that going to change with RPM? If the ratio is 30% it's still 30% regardless of the rpm. The math you outlayed in post #69 is fine which leads me to believe you have a understand how pully ratios work. I think maybe the 30% you were refering to in that second sentence isn't the pully ratio but rather something else?
I agree with post #71. It seems you have a pretty good understanding that it is pump speed that is important. Not too fast as to cause cavitation not too slow as to cause heating problems. You got the math right in post #69. But When I read this quote "Of course the pully ratio to get to that 30% will change with rpm" to me it sounds like you think that pully ratios change with rpm.
