hey guys, so before i go spending hundreds of dollars on a new radiator for my 46 ford, is there any way to 'bench test' my stock radiator? the rest of the car, body and drivetrain wise has been in great condition. the only thing im seeing 'wrong' with it is a group of bent fins where you can see that it bumped the fan at some point. from the looks of it probably not even when it was running. Also when you pull the cap is got some orange dust under the cap. so other then flushing a bunch of water threw it with a hose to clean it out and watch for leaks is there realy any way to do a test yourself? ive seen reference to having them air pressure tested? is this something i can do myself? sub question, do they make some sort of radiator 'comb' to straighten those bent fins out? thanx in advance for the help, if this has been covered in some other post i must have missed it in my searchs and would appreciate a link to them timm
get a bicycle inner tube, cut it once, put the now open ends over the inlets, tape in place with electrical tape and fill it with air. use a 7 lbs pressure cap. ifn its a flatty rad, use 2 inner tubes. spray radiator with soap and water and watch for bubbles. Thats how I test all mine. yes they make a comb but its easier to use a pocket knife.
You need to make plugs for the inlet and outlet. One of them will need a fitting for an air hose. You need to make sure the radiator is empty and preferably dry. Your air source needs to be low pressure (around 15 psi on newer rads, 7-8 psi on old cars) Submerge the radiator in a big tub and wait for any air bubbles to surface, Once the water is still turn on your air supply and watch for bubbles on the radiator. If there are any, that's your leak. Turn it over and do it again. And Yes, auto parts stores sell fin straightening tools
I always used in ner tubes to block off the inlest as well. Works like a champ. I actually have a comb in my tool box they use the same type of comb for the HVAC industry for straightening fins on evaporators and condensors. But like Tinman said it is just as east with a pocket knife or a small screw driver.
You want some type of flow test, it can be simple, hose into top, see how long it takes to fill a 5 gal bucket. I had a old radiator 37 MGTA, copper looked cruddy, did a flow test. sent it to get ultrasonic cleaned at a local radiator shop, got it back, no more flow than before. so I hot tanked it in my tank, checked after twice the flow, moral of the story don't trust anyone!
The Redneck radiator shop by me tests for flow by forcing water up the bottom outlet. If it comes out fast enough for his liking he says it's good. WRONG. I told him to rod it out anyway. It dropped 20 degrees. He told me not to come back. I Love It
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