Fitting a Rockauto radiator

[saxart]

I'm trying to fit up a Rockauto radiator and having a bit of trouble deciding how to proceed. Here are some pics of what is going on. Feel free to give any thoughts/experience you have with this.

Got a brand new set of 4-core radiator mounts.



As you can see, it fits very well on the bottom side.





Here's where the problem comes in. The top mounts fit the radiator well, but they end up being too high (~3/4") off the radiator support to mount up the bolts.



What is the best way to deal with this? If I remove the cushions from the top mounts, it will bolt up, but I'm guessing running metal brackets against the radiator with no cushions won't last long. My initial thought was to cut down the thickness of both the top and bottom radiator cushions, but I figured I'd ask here first. (Another thought was to make up some spacer blocks and run the top mounts up higher, but that just looks so wrong.)

I can understand the temptation to say, "You should return that and buy BRAND-X radiator", but I've had this one sitting in the box in the garage for about 6 months now, so the 30-day return policy is over., so I am committed to keep this and make it work.

Thanks

['68OrangeSunshine]

I'd just use the spacer blocks, I guess. Maybe the Big Block club might know of some 4-core drop-down lower radiator brackets.
Possibly there are upper radiator brackets that are straight across w/o that 30* dip.
IDK.
Only problem might be how your fan shroud fits.

[Stocker]

Originally Posted by '68OrangeSunshine

I'd just use the spacer blocks, I guess. Maybe the Big Block club might know of some 4-core drop-down lower radiator brackets. IDK.
Only problem might be how your fan shroud fits.

x2, if the shroud fits OK, I would use spacers and call it a day. If not..... IDK

Interested in what others will come up with though....

[dfwright]

If you can weld, chop those upper mounts up and re-weld them so the flange goes down or straight rather than angles up. You also need to pull down the other side, because it will be too high to bolt up the fan shroud otherwise.

[bill3rail]

Make two spacers to place in the gap! Simple enough even if you cannot make a spacer, put a crap-load of washers between the bracket and radiator support.

[AussieinNC]

From memory, the upper supports are different between 2/3 core rads and 4 cores...and the bottom rubber mount is also different..

Check out this link to LMC....

http://www.lmctruck.com/icatalog/cb/full.aspx?Page=170

It lists different brackets and rubber mounts...

Hope this helps...

[jjzepplin]

I have a four core original to the truck. My upper brackets do not dip down in the middle like that. Are those aftermarket brackets?

[Warrens69GMC]

I have MOUNTED aftermarket radiators with thorn resistant inner tubes from a bicycle.

[FirstOwner69]

To me, it looks like the cushions are the problem. Are they original or new? Do you have some original cushions? Mine looked pretty tough until I sandblasted them. They now look new. Here's a picture of some original 4 core brackets and cushions.

EDIT: The original cushions do compress some (1/4"?) when the brackets are tightened.

[jjzepplin]

Op's brackets seem to dip down further than mine and yours. Thus the question about aftermarket. If the rubbers are new aftermarket, both together could be the issue. What is the part number for the radiator?

[BlueBullet]

When I did mine I took a die grinder to the top and bottom rubber cushions and worked them evenly until they bolted in. Then make one inch tabs that drop down and fasten to radiator shroud. This was on a 72 K20.

[camtoys1]

trim some of the rubber off the back of the pads so they go down in the brackets more do the top and bottom ones

[CaptRMW]

Hey Art I just checked mine and it appears just like JJZepplin said you have upper hold downs with too much dip. Get the right upper hold downs and you will be on the road soon with no fabbing or shims.
Capt Roger

[72Cheyenne454]

Originally Posted by FirstOwner69

To me, it looks like the cushions are the problem. Are they original or new? Do you have some original cushions? Mine looked pretty tough until I sandblasted them. They now look new. Here's a picture of some original 4 core brackets and cushions.

EDIT: The original cushions do compress some (1/4"?) when the brackets are tightened.

I agree. It appears the aftermarket/new cushions are too thick. I've had the same issue in the past. Either trim the pads down, or go back to good, used originals if available.

[roboticjunky]

I did what some of the others are suggesting. I cut the rubber cushions down for both the top and bottom. They were thin, but worked.

[Jason Banks]

I used a belt sander and a 60 grit belt to thin out the cushions.

[burb71]

I had to shave down the new rubber mounts back when I put in my rebuilt radiator

[saxart]

Thanks so much for all of the thoughts! I ended up grinding about 3/8" off the bottom of the rubber cushions. It was just enough to allow it to work, but still have some "squish down" left when you tightened the bolts, and yet there is plenty of rubber left to cushion the radiator.

Here's what I started with:



Here's the cushion after hitting it with a flap-wheel disk on a 4.5" angle grinder:



Here is the results:



I forgot to mention, the fan-shroud mounting points don't really matter in this case... Because this:



(Ford Windstar fan...It's not installed, just laying there for now)

Also, for those who were asking, yes, these are aftermarket mounts I bought online. I don't think they're much lower than the stock ones you guys pictured, but the ends (where the fan shroud mounts) seem to kick up a bit higher, giving the illusion of being lower at the rubber cushion.

[FirstOwner69]

Looks great! Glad it worked out.

[FirstOwner69]

Originally Posted by saxart

...but the ends (where the fan shroud mounts) seem to kick up a bit higher, giving the illusion of being lower at the rubber cushion.

Original bracket end showing shroud mounting point for reference.

[saxart]

I just measured my brackets, they have the same measurements at the end.

[Freddo]

I purchased a Champion radiator from Rock-Auto a couple years ago and ran into the same problem. Lots of good information in the above posts as far as trimming the rubber mounts. After posting here with the same problem, there were several suggestions that I found helpful. In my case, the rubber mounts were not the problem. the problem was the 'header' flange on the radiator where the core mounts on to the plastic tanks. It is wider than a stock radiator and doesn't fit down into the rubber mounts, which makes the radiator sit up higher. I put my rubber mounts away, (I didn't want to cut or grind them up.) and used a 'doubled over cut up piece of a bicycle inner tube as a rubber mount. (Others on here suggested a piece of garden hose sliced lengthwise set into the metal radiator mount where the rubber pieces sits.) The hose was too thick for me, but the rubber inner tube worked fairly well. The radiator still sat high, but it was a lot closer and was snug after I tightened it up. The rubber inner tube also gave it enough insulation from themetal that I was confident that it would hold up without rubbing a hole in the aluminum radiator. So far, so good. I ended up using a couple of washers, one on top of the other where the top radiator mount bolted to the core support and that tightened everything up nicely.

That still left the shroud sitting too high. I ended up attaching the shroud to the bottom mount where it originally mounted. The top mounting holes on the shroud were about 1/2-3/4 inch below the mounting holes where they mount on the radiator flange. I used two 1 inch long pieces of iron that were thick enough to be rigid. ( Kind of like angle iron without the angle. Drilled two holes, one in the bottom of the piece of iron and one at the top of it, about 3/4 inch apart. I mounted the shroud to the bottom hole and put a bolt through the top hole into the radiator mounting flange where the shroud is supposed to mount. (Not sure if that makes sense...Easier to explain with pictures.) Not the most elegant solution, but my radiator is mounted very solidly and the shroud is sitting right where it is supposed to sit.

[In The Ten Ring]

I have the same problem.

I have decided to use longer bolts on the upper brackets and PVC tubing as "tubular shims."

For now at least.

My new radiator is higher, my original radiator and the new mounts and cushions fit perfectly but my original radiator needs recored.

[67ChevyRedneck]

Good call on the fix, that was going to be my suggestion before I saw your pics.

I have a 4 row with "used" mounts and rubbers and they are WAY thinner than your new ones.