Replacing A Early C4 Corvette Radiator

Grumpy

The Grumpy Grease Monkey mechanical engineer.
Staff member
one of the guys has a 1987 corvette that started overheating and losing coolant,
after noticing a constant steady drip, or even a trickle of coolant under the radiator on both ends,
we pulled the radiator to inspect it,
I've always been amazed at how thin and low quality the OEM corvette, radiator is,
in the early c4 corvettes, it appears to be about the correct size for a 4 cylinder 120 hp engine at best.
once we had it out, and after a brief inspection, it was obvious,
the seams in the end cap tanks were leaking badly.
now for most of us moneys tight, but to me, it makes zero sense to spend,
let's say $170-$210 on a stock replacement radiator,
when there are significantly more efficient, obviously better designed, radiator designs available for $230-$270,
it certainly makes sense to step back mentally before you spend what is likely to be your very limited cash, and consider your options,

btw
ACDELCO 10054615 GM Original Equipment is the heat sensor located pass side about 5" below radiator hose, its connector is prone to breaking

at times spending a bit more for better aftermarket style,
parts , rather than repurchasing OEM or duplicate clone parts,
makes a great deal of sense.
and certainly, you'll have a big improvement, in cooling and no problem if your willing to spend $500-$1000 on a custom radiator for your Vette,
read carefully, the stock radiators about 1" ,
aftermarket can be had that are 3" thick with multi pass designs

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/bci-62031

http://garage.grumpysperformance.com/index.php?threads/copper-vs-aluminum-in-radiators.4230/

go this route
https://www.ecklerscorvette.com/corvette-3-row-high-efficiency-aluminum-radiator-1984-1990.html


https://www.corvettemods.com/C4-Cor...MIrqWe-qya5gIVR77ACh0f-QHlEAQYAyABEgKhZPD_BwE

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/fbr-fb255



1984-89


later C4 vettes


many aftermarket radiators offer vastly improved cooling
shop very carefully
the early 1984-87 radiator does not interchange with the 1989-96 radiator in most cases
and obviously cars with auto transmissions require the trans fluid cooling connections on the radiator so a manual trans radiator won,t work.



https://www.ecklerscorvette.com/corvette-3-row-high-efficiency-aluminum-radiator-1989-1996.html

https://www.jegs.com/i/Champion+Coo...MInt2s_qaa5gIVCZ2zCh3eqw7dEAQYAyABEgJiffD_BwE



this is our HD aluminum radiator for the 1984 - 1989 Corvette C4. It will handle up to 700 horsepower and fit in the stock mounting area. Like all of our radiators, it's made with proven 2-rows of 1.0" tubes that is proven to out cool 3-row and 4-row radiators by a substantial amount.

- All aluminum construction with a heavy duty 2-row core with 1.0" tubes. Our core density is higher than other high performnace radiators costing 3 times more!

- Core size is 15" high x 23-5/8 wide. Overall width is 28-5/8". Both the inlet and outlet hose connections are 1-5/16.

- Billet CNC machined filler neck. A new cap is included.

- A heavy duty plate transmission cooler, not a cheap concentric transmission cooler found in many aftermarket radiators.

- A 2 year warranty against any defects that cause your radiator to leak or fail.

- The radiator 2-row radiator with 1.0" tubes replaces the 1-row factory radiator with plastic tanks. Because it is larger than the factory radiator, minor modifications are required for installation. The rubber support bushings that the radiator sits into must be trimmed to accommodate the thicker radiator and the plastic housing needs slight trimming.



the oem radiator in the 1987 corvette looks hopelessly to small to be useful in my opinion
pictures below are of a similar replacement radiator from advance auto
4

4



HERES a Dewitt aluminum rad and wow is it a lot thicker! Here is the old:
Photo0262.jpg

And the new:
Photo0261.jpg
 
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