thinking about coolant

[alpinekid]

Originally Posted by Ronnie

Good luck with it. At least yours is new enough to get hoses.

I could not find new hoses so made up metal pipe and just used straight hose at the ends.

Today my project is wiring for a trailer hitch. It is all there just not all working.

Thanks, I took a hard look at the lower hose and thought about how I tend to be a little on the anal side. I've changed my mind again and I'm not going to touch the lower hose.

I realized that it has the same kind of part number that is on the upper hose and it doesn't really look 26yrs old. Plus I haven't seen anything else on this bus that leads me to believe that the school was taking any short cuts in the maintenance so why should I think this hose is any older than any of the others.

I have already bought the new lower hose, I will keep it and carry it along with my normal collection of vehicle fluids.
I still need to finish the second distilled water flush and then refill with OAT coolant.
Good luck with your wiring. My next step is transmission fluid, want to switch

[alpinekid]

I got time this week to finish changing the coolant. I have nice new red stuff, the OAT chemistry. The coolant was $150, 5 gallons at $30/gallon, ouch.

I took the bus for a few mile drive and when I got back there was coolant leaking.

I thought I had tested the system before i started. but on the first drive I found coolant leaking from the top of a couple of cooling tubs right where they went into the top tank. and no coolant seem to go into the overflow tank.

The radiator looks not bad over all but the bus did sit for 10yrs before the school auctioned it.
I have a couple of observations:
1) I took the radiator cap off, set it on a house hold scale and pressed on it. it read 13 lb and the cap is labeled 13 lbs so that seems ok.

2) The engine temp was normal.

3) after cooling down and removing the cap the coolant was down an 1 or 2 inchs.

Do these things rot out just be sitting
Can these cooling tubs be resoldered to the upper tank
is it reasonable for me to get a small ox/propane setup and rebrazed. I have welded so I have a shot at it but will the tank be reliable or have I just fixed the first weak spot. Can the leaking joint be cleaned well enough to brazed?

Do I have any good possibilities short of buying new $600 radiator

I'm looking for ideas and option or other things I can try. I don't want to use stop leak or stuff like that. I plan to travel long distance, across deserts out west and far from base camp and want a reliable vehicle. That stuff may get you back to your base camp but I don't think you should leave your base camp using it.

[Tango]

Rebrazing a radiator is very tricky business. I would suggest either taking it to some pros for the repairs...or hit some local junkyards for a replacement. Of course it is easy to replace one bad rad with another, but...


And I don't know the situation where you are, but the big rig radiator shops here (Houston) are so competitive they are almost "cheap".

[Ronnie]

The most reliable is going to be a new radiator. Otherwise take it to a radiator shop and see what they say. I went for a new one, as mine was leaking in the same place as yours.

[alpinekid]

Originally Posted by Ronnie

The most reliable is going to be a new radiator. Otherwise take it to a radiator shop and see what they say. I went for a new one, as mine was leaking in the same place as yours.

thanks, dare I ask approx how much?

[Ronnie]

Scary much. My bus is old enough a new one is not available so had to have one made. Hopefully you can get a new one off the shelve.

[alpinekid]

Originally Posted by Ronnie

The most reliable is going to be a new radiator. Otherwise take it to a radiator shop and see what they say. I went for a new one, as mine was leaking in the same place as yours.

I'm siding with @Ronnie.

I went to a radiator shop, they actually work on radiators not just sell them. The sales guy gave me 3 choices.
1) new copper/brass, $700

2) recore, reuse my tanks $650

3) a new aluminum one. $475

A couple of things concerned me during the conversation.
1) He ask if I had a 2 or 3 core radiator, I said 4 he looked surprise; When I look in the filler I see 4 rows of tubes front to back. So I'm guessing that my answer is correct but why would he be surprised

a) am I wrong
b) is four common for our E350 buses could it be that a "regular e350 has 3 but in the school bus version they use 4 cores. I didn't mention it was a school bus only that it was a diesel. I'm just trying to give fewer reasons to run the price up
c) did someone upgrade over the years

How many cores are common


2) The new aluminum was quoted as cheaper but is it better.

a)Would it be as big and does it need to be as big

b)Would it have all the same ports. This radiator has an extra port on the bottom for a line from the heater. Does a new aluminum one have that port I sensed that either he didn't know or wouldn't make a statement to such things. Since I'm doing the remove and replace he really does care.

I wonder, do all 1992 E350 have a 4 core radiator with extra port for the heater

3) I thought aluminum Radiators were more expensive that copper/brass.
Did I get a good quote for the what i need?

[Ronnie]

It would be best to tell him it is a school bus. I would even get photos of where outlets/inlets are. The more info the more likely you are to get the right one.

Aluminum is often a little cheaper. Almost all new cars use aluminum, and I have used aluminum for any custom radiators I have had made including my bus with no issues.

[alpinekid]

Where did you get the cores?
Did you fab the tanks your self?
I've done tig welding but never thought about making a radiator.

[cadillackid]

your E-350 if it had factory AIr-conditioning wouldve automartically come with the upgraded 4 row radiator.. , every one of those vans I saw with factory A/C had really thick radiators... without A/C I think the 3 row was standard... but some people replaced them with the 4 row.. being as bus chassis it may have come with the HD cooling already even without A/C. just because it was designed to be a body-builder chassis.. vs the normal cargo van.
-Christopher

[alpinekid]

Originally Posted by cadillackid

your E-350 if it had factory AIr-conditioning wouldve automartically come with the upgraded 4 row radiator.. , every one of those vans I saw with factory A/C had really thick radiators... without A/C I think the 3 row was standard... but some people replaced them with the 4 row.. being as bus chassis it may have come with the HD cooling already even without A/C. just because it was designed to be a body-builder chassis.. vs the normal cargo van.
-Christopher

Thanks for the info. Yes it has AC, both what looks like "normal" ac under the hood and it has a really big courier ac unit mounted under the floor about half way back. I looks big enough to turn this thing into a ice cream truck.
It was a handicap bus, only two seat in back but room the 3 wheel chairs, The placard say capacity 8. I guess that's 4 in the seats, 3 in wheel chairs and driver.

No heat except for what comes from the dash. The aux ac control just shows cold to colder.

[Ronnie]

I have had radiators made, not made them myself. Guess I was not clear, oops....

[alpinekid]

I was just hoping there was a way to avoid paying $700. I did see a DIY site for radiator cores but they were charging just as much for the parts as the shop wants.