Older Rig Updates: Cooling and Power

Turtle n Peeps wrote:
The mods you made will make a huge difference in cooling ability.

A lot of people just think about the cooling system and not the exhaust system when dealing with cooling issues.

As with all things there is also a down side. As Ben states, the new fan will pull a LOT of HP away from the wheels. But I also think that it's better to finish your vacation a little slower than not finish it at all.

BTW I love the way your rig looks. Your Burb and trailer look great together.

Again, great job on your mods! :)

Exactly my thoughts. I would rather pull a hill slower and not have to micromanage engine temps. And, I had the power to go (slightly) faster, to be honest. Just not the cooling.

We'll see how it goes, one thing at a time. I still have a few more cards to play if needed.

Thanks!

1320Fastback wrote:
Love old trucks too, something about simplicity and being able to work on them yourself keeps me in mine!

Does your suburban have a single core radiator? You said you would upgrade to a 2 core?

I know with the old Dodges like mine the replacement radiators are much lighter even with the same amount of cores. The general feeling is it's better to get the stock one rebuilt as the weight difference is more metal that can absorb heat from the coolant. For us it's pretty drastic too, almost 9 pounds!

Also consider a coolant filter. It's not something you have to run all the time and is easy to Y it into the heater core lines. If you do run it all the time, like I do, it adds a little to the capacity and is another metal source than can absorb and dissipate heat, although minimal.

Yes, the current radiator is single core, but the wider version they offered in these trucks.

With a little digging I was able to find a 2 core model. I will eventually buy that either way. Just haven't pulled the trigger yet since this one is only a few years old.

It was an emergency purchase after I cracked a tank, so I had to take what the store had in stock.