What's up with my new radiator?

[Bob Purinton]

My new radiator is different than my old one.
What do I have here? I didn't get to see it until I got it home and out of the box. I got this funny feeling it is a Chinese knock-off. My shroud from the old one doesn't fit and I had to mess around with it to get the fan to clear the lower radiator hose. The bolts that mount it to the frame are carriage bolts. Is this worth using?

 

[G6 at Snook, TX]

Where did you get the radiator from? Anyhow, most of the replacement radiators don't fit right and need a bit of adjustment to get them to slide into their spot. The shrouds rarely fit, but I learned to not worry about them as one of my 8ns have an aftermarket from YT (restoration quality) that has served me well, but did not fit the shroud. I have worked the tractor hard in the Texas heat and high grass and it did not overheat. Make sure you have some rubber under the mounts and you should be fine.

The general consensus on this board is that the OE radiator is better recored than a new aftermarket.
 

[wishihadagreenthumb]

Yep the only new radiators that fit right are the american made from Just8n's
 

[Bob Purinton]

Thanks for the answer. That's been my take on it as well. I'm putting my original radiator up some place until I can get around to taking it to a shop I can trust.
After sitting around here for a bit: I decided to go ahead and install it. It took a bit of work but I finally got it on there. I bet you couldn't slide a piece of paper between the fan blade and the lower radiator hose.
I let it run for about an hour and didn't feel the heat coming off the engine like I did with the old radiator. It didn't belch water out the top like the old one did either. I don't know maybe this is a good thing.
We'll see.
 

[Ken(Ark)]

I have extra fans but you can buy them cheap on ebay if you wait . I have one fan that I trimmed 3/8" on the tips of the blades for clearance . I have a lot of rough terrian that twists the front end and made the fan rub my lower hose .
 

[Dean]

NONE of the aftermarket radiators are identical to the OEM radiators and most do not fit properly without at least some adaptation.

The best aftermarket radiators that I have seen are those made by Clancy in Ireland.

You should repair or recore your OEM radiator if at all possible.

Dean