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Radiator and fan set ups

Getting the best performance from your Isuzu, the in's and out's

Radiator and fan set ups

Postby danz20 » Mon Apr 25, 2016 6:15 am

Just wondering what other people have done to upgrade their cooling systems looking for inspiration as mine needs some love and seeing weather I keep it standard or put a bigger radiator in with electric fans or not
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Re: Radiator and fan set ups

Postby geeves » Mon Apr 25, 2016 7:09 am

First check your viscous fan. It should be fairly hard to turn cold and even firmer hot. Ive rebuilt 3 of these fans with good results. BNT sell the special fluid for about $40 then take it off undo all the screws holding the 2 parts together drain the old fluid overnight (or longer) squeeze as much fluid as you can into both halves and put it back together
Next take a look at the radiator outside. The 2 things here that cause problems is missing and blocked fins. The fins do corrode away with time and mud is never good for airflow
Lastly what is the state of your coolant. Should be bright green. You need to drain this If its good save it otherwise change. They say it should be changed every 3 or 4 years anyway. Run a hose through the radiator If it backs up at all take it to a specialist to be cleaned with a rod. We have very good water pressure here but I took my radiator in because of a leak and he suggested it should be rodded while the lid was off. The conclusion 1/3 blocked but it had no flow restriction I could find with home testing. If you can run water both ways its better but means taking the radiator out.
If wanting to go electric fan. The twin fan off a Nissan Pulsar is a perfect fit to the core but I didnt figure out if it clears everything else or how to mount it. This fan will happily cool v8 hot rods
Sanding your knuckles before starting work can help. That way you cant skin them
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Re: Radiator and fan set ups

Postby danz20 » Mon Apr 25, 2016 12:05 pm

Fan is rooted physical damage and viscuss weak radiator is blocked and as rotten fins etc so needs birthday what model pulsar fans? Any ideas on a radiator that will fit would prefer to go 3row and have a bit of extra room now ive done body lift
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Re: Radiator and fan set ups

Postby geeves » Mon Apr 25, 2016 3:36 pm

Not sure which Pulsar. Mid 90s possibly. I bought the fan to use on my old truck but it didnt fit that so got thrown in the basement not far from a wizard radiator that has a good core but weepy tanks. When in the basement sorting a plumbing issue I happened to put the fan unit on top of the old radiator and noticed how good a fit it was. By then I had become disillusioned with electric fans because I had set one up to run only when the alternator was charging but killed a alternator followed by a slow 400 meter climb with no fan. Ive heard it said the old ubs55 temp gauge does not ever reach the red. This is not true.
Sanding your knuckles before starting work can help. That way you cant skin them
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Re: Radiator and fan set ups

Postby isuzurob » Mon Apr 25, 2016 4:44 pm

Best way is to take your radiator out and match it to something else that will/may work and modify it to work, there are a few people running bigger alloy radiators on here, id stay away from alloy though if its a true 4x4, i did a body lift on my ubs55, now it has a 3 core 60mm taller and 10mm wider radiator in it, had to modify it to fit though
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Re: Radiator and fan set ups

Postby danz20 » Mon Apr 25, 2016 5:22 pm

Whats yours from and what did you have to change to make it work also why would you stay away from alloy? It does a bit of everything but is still my daily
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Re: Radiator and fan set ups

Postby geeves » Mon Apr 25, 2016 5:54 pm

Alloy doesnt take the vibration as well and is harder to repair but copper is at least 3 times as expensive so if an Alloy one only lasts half as long you are still on the + side of the ledger.
As for 3 core the existing single core in my current bighorn works fine although when it fails it will get a 2 core
Sanding your knuckles before starting work can help. That way you cant skin them
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Re: Radiator and fan set ups

Postby isuzurob » Tue Apr 26, 2016 6:13 pm

copper is far far better and worth every bit of the extra money, can crimp damaged tubes in the bush if you put a hole in the core, can take tanks off to clean them, alloy crack and dont have anywhere near the cooling a copper radiator does, mine is a 2.8 bighorn, the 3.1 bighorn has different mounts and is bigger than a 2.8 radiator, i cut and modified the inlet and outlet, made new mounting brackets/side bands on the radiator, new fan shoud mounts and fitted a bigger viscous fan off a hilux, mines built for mud/bush bashing and driving home without worrying about it, extra money spent is cheaper than a toast motor and a tow truck home
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Re: Radiator and fan set ups

Postby geeves » Tue Apr 26, 2016 7:32 pm

Whatever you do dont use the boy racer fan mount kits that use a bolt and 2 washers through the fins
Also dont ask how I know this
Sanding your knuckles before starting work can help. That way you cant skin them
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Re: Radiator and fan set ups

Postby danz20 » Tue May 03, 2016 5:37 pm

Isuzu rob what radiator did you use mate
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Re: Radiator and fan set ups

Postby isuzurob » Tue May 03, 2016 5:57 pm

i used a hilux radiator from memory, as i said, i took original radiator out, went to radiator shop with a tape measure and spent a day looking through his books, till i found something close
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Re: Radiator and fan set ups

Postby danz20 » Wed May 04, 2016 4:30 am

Sweet thats the conclusion I came.too as well hilux or ive founf a 3row prado one looks close bit.bigger as ive done body lift.so have some. More room
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