A radiator helps to keep the engine of your car cool. It takes the heated coolant that has just passed through your automobile's engine and runs it through fins. These fins help to take the heat and push it outside of your car. The cooled-off coolant then passes through the engine again, completing a cycle that is designed to keep as much heat as possible off your engine so it does not overheat.
If your radiator is cracked or broken, you may be looking to purchase one. Buying a used radiator can be a great way to save some money, but only if you know what to look for. Here are a few things you’ll want to look for when you are shopping for a used radiator.
Anytime you are considering buying a used radiator, you want to be on the lookout for any signs of corrosion or stripped paint. Leaking coolant can cause paint to strip if it sits on the radiator for a week or longer, and can also corrode metal parts. If you see corrosion or stripped paint on a radiator, the part has leaked in the past. Do not buy it!
If the radiator does not have any stripped paint and is not corroded, this is a good sign that the part has never leaked coolant, and it might be in decent shape.
Another thing to look for when you are buying a used radiator is the condition of the cooling cores, also known as the cooling fins. The fins should all be straight and evenly spaced. They should not be bent, broken, or dented. They can become bent, broken, or dented due to an automobile accident or age. The fins help to pull heat outside, so having them in great shape is important.
Take a look at the inside of the radiator through the openings where the inlet and outlet pipes attach to it. You’ll want to determine whether the interior is relatively clean or has a considerable amount of residue buildup. The cleaner the interior of the part, the better it was maintained while it was inside the previous owner’s vehicle.
If you can see a brownish sludge or residue along the walls of the part, that typically means the previous owner of the radiator did not perform regular coolant changes. And without coolant changes on a regular schedule, the inside of the part may have developed some degree of corrosion, which you definitely don’t want.
Many radiators have inlet and outlet pipes that are fashioned from plastic or some type of plastic-composite material, which makes them fairly prone to deterioration. These pipes must be fully intact because coolant travels through them while your vehicle is operating. If there are any cracks or other forms of wear-and-tear on these tubes, you’ll end up with a coolant leak if you install them in your vehicle.
Thoroughly examine both hoses to see if there’s any wear-and-tear present. Look for crumbling, cracks, or damage to the clamps that attach the pipes to the radiator. If you notice signs of damage but the radiator itself is still in great condition, it’s likely safe to move forward with the purchase.
You’ll have to pick up new radiator hoses at your local auto parts store, but you can typically find them for less than $20. Even with that additional purchase, buying a used radiator will still save you several hundred dollars over the cost of buying new.
The last thing that you should look for when you are considering buying a used radiator is a decent warranty from the seller. A radiator is an automobile part that you cannot simply inspect to tell whether it works or not.
You must put fluid inside the radiator to ensure it is leak-free, and it needs to be hooked up to your engine and water pump to ensure it operates correctly. Having a decent warranty from the seller gives you the opportunity to test the part out and ensure it is functional.
After you find a quality discount radiator, taking care of it properly will help ensure it lasts as long as possible. Check out 5 Maintenance Tips for Your Used Radiator to learn how to do that.
Think you might need any other parts aside from a radiator? For more helpful information on buying used vehicle parts, you’ll definitely want to check out Tips for Finding the Best Parts at a Salvage Yard.
Here at Ace Auto Parts, located in St. Paul, Minnesota, we offer a wide selection of used automobile parts, including used radiators. All of our parts come with a warranty of at least 90 days, so you can feel confident that you are getting a quality part.
If you are looking for a specific part, conduct a part search to see our current inventory of used automobile parts. If you need any assistance, please give us a call at 651-717-4299 or reach out to our team, and we’ll be in touch!
Once you start your engine, certain processes begin. The engine encounters friction which in turn creates heat. Over time a lot of heat will be generated. This is where the radiator plays its role. The primary purpose of the radiator is to prevent the overheating of the vehicle. Radiators is a heat exchanger that is part of the cooling system that dissipates heat by passing a coolant to the engine. Because of this important role, the radiators are essential for the normal functioning of the vehicle. So, the users have to make sure that the radiator is always in good working condition. If they find that the car’s engine is heating faster than expected, then the radiator has to be checked and replaced if necessary.
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What Are The Different Types Of Radiators?In these types, a series of tubes are connected to the upper and lower tank through which the water passes. To improvise the heat transfer, fins are placed around them. As water passes through all the tubes in this type, a defect on even one tube will affect the entire cooling process.
Also referred to as a honeycomb radiator because of its appearance, this type of radiator allows the coolant to flow through the spaces between them. Air will pass through the tube and the coolant flows in the in-between spaces. The cellular core type has a great benefit over the tubular one because if the tubes are clogged it will only affect a small portion of the entire cooling surface.
In downflow radiators, the tanks are placed at the top and bottom of the core. These were usually found in older vehicles as they have a tall yet narrow width grille and radiator support. The advantage of the downflow radiator is its inlet and outlet placement. They can be placed at the center, left, right, or somewhere in between. But they have a limited cooling capacity.
In this type, the radiators are placed on the left and right sides of the core. You can usually find crossflow radiators in modern vehicles, as they are shorter and have wide grille openings. When it comes to performance, crossflow radiators are an excellent choice as they have several benefits over the other ones. Because of their large core, they remove more heat. The fluid passes slowly through the core and spends sufficient time in the air stream. Crossflow radiators are also available in double and triple pass designs. This enhances the ability of the radiator to cool by increasing the number of times the coolant passes through the core.
This type of radiator has an aluminum core with a plastic tank. This is the most common type and is found in modern vehicles. They are the least expensive and hence they are mass-produced by the auto manufacturers.
This type of radiator has a brass tank with a copper core. They were usually replaced by plastic and aluminum radiators as copper was quite expensive and when affected by corrosion, the repair costs were high. Though these radiators were bulky, with advancements over time, their weight was reduced to half. Though these radiators are reliable and function perfectly, their high cost and exposure to rust, led to their downfall.
To overcome the downfalls of the copper and brass radiators, auto manufacturers came up with plastic radiators. These radiators have an alloy core, yet they use a plastic tank to reduce weight. Though they weren’t as efficient as copper and brass, their reduced weight and low cost made them one of the common types of radiators used by auto manufacturers. But the issue with the plastic radiators was that fixing them was quite difficult as you have to replace the entire component in case of a defect. To overcome these issues, aluminum radiators came into existence.
One major issue with the plastic radiator was that the entire component had to be replaced if damaged. This needed to be avoided and that’s where the aluminum radiators came in as handy. Because of their high thermal conductivity, they can absorb heat faster. Their cooling efficiency and heat dispersion are much better compared to copper and brass and plastic. The main benefit of an aluminum radiator was that, if a certain part was damaged, you can replace them instead of the whole component but at a high cost. These radiators are the best suited for high-performance cars if you are looking for better performance.
The tanks located on either end of the radiator core, which is typically constructed of aluminum and conducts coolant through the cooling fins, are the key components that are made of plastic. According to Nationwide Plastics, the plastic used for the radiator tanks is glass-reinforced nylon. The high-softening-point nylon plastic helps the plastic radiator tank withstand the pressure and temperatures involved.