At VIR this past weekend my radiator developed a hairline crack and coolant is steaming out ever-so-slowly. It's over 9 years old. Should I just get it patched, get a new/used OE replacement, or a high capacity unit like Fluidyne? Does anyone have any idea how much those Fluidynes cost? This engine has a hard life and I like to treat it as best I can [afford].
Thanks.

 

The Fluidynes retail for $250+, as do most other high quality aluminum radiators.
OEM replacement should be around $150 (at least, they are for my RX-7).

Is the Prelude radiator larger than the one you are using? If so, you should probably upgrade. If they have similar capacities, and you are done tweaking the engine, then a OEM replacement should be fine.

 

That sucks, Did you have any problems with cooling on the track? I seemed to be running in the middle all day long.

 

No cooling problems whatsoever. The temp gauge never waivers. It's a very slow steam leak; I guess it's on the upper tank. I dunno. Every time something goes on this car I tend to replace it with aftermarket (supposedly beefier) parts.
Some Accords and Preludes seem to share the same part number. http://www.absoluteradiator.com/

 

All I know is the Fluidyne is way lighter than most OE radiators. Ask alexboy, Ive seen his and it looks pretty.

 

Yup, but add the weight of the extra liquid they hold, and any weight savings are pretty much gone I think.

 

Could be true. His is for an Integra, so I'm not sure how much difference there is. It's quite possible the one for your engine is quite a bit bigger.

 

Here's another option: http://www.crracing.com/products/imports/

They're called C&R, I've spoken to them on the phone about one for my ITR.
The might also come with the FAL fans ...HTH

 

I think you will find the cost closer to $400. Not sure you could have yours repaired. Doesn't it have plastic end tanks? If so, you will be buying a new one. If you aren't having cooling problems, there really is no 'need' to get a Fluidyne. I purchased my last radiator from 1 800 radiators. It ended up costing me $112 including shipping.

 

The full size Fluidyne radiators for the Integra are in the $350 to $400 neighborhood. These folks http://www.becool.com are proto-typing a new radiator for my car and will hopefully have a line of Import products soon. They currently don't anything available for the Honda in a direct "bolt-in-OE" application.

I should have mine in a few weeks. Stay tuned for updates since I'm the guinea pig



[Modified by johng, 1:33 PM 12/14/2001]

 

I have a Fluidyne on my car, it has performed beautifully. I puchased mine at carparts.com with a $100 off 300 USD coupon, I am not sure if those are still available though...overall, I am very satified with the Fluidyne.

 

I talked to C&R and got the specs for the 5th gen Accord and 93-96 Prelude radiators. The 94-97 accord will not fit. The mounting points are different. The 93-96 Prelude, however, appears to fit perfectly. I wussed out and bought a stock replacement from radiators.com instead, but hope this helps.

I think I still have the details on the Prelude radiator so let me know if I can help.

 

fang-- what does the fluiddyne do that your stock radiator did not do? I mean we are talking a 400 option and I am having a hard time justifying one since I race my car in SCCA and if I wreck it now I have a 400 bill instead of a 150 bill for the rad and I dont see it making me any faster.

 

No faster of course. 30-50% increased (conservative estimate) cooling capacity/heat dissipation. Great peace of mind for those 95 degree summer days when your engine spends most of its time above 6,500 RPM. Heaven forbid my car ever hits anything... it's going to be at a velocity that causes more than 400 beans worth of damage and it's not my radiator I'll be worrying about.

 

These are a "SPAL" lightweight fan not "FAL"

I know someone who runs an ITS Integra and he has a fluidyne as well as an oil cooler and says the car doesn't run as hot as he would like anymore and it is somewhat of an overkill, he wishes he would've just gotten a factory Integra radiator instead.

 

D'OH!

 

That is what thermastats are for right?

 

Good point!

 

The stock itr radiator was damaged during a vandalism last nov. the price of the fluidyne actually ended up being 30-40 USD lower than the OE radiator. Plus, I track the car occasionally during the summer (it gets up to more than 100+ on the track), and just wanted some peace of mind...


[Modified by fangtl, 8:18 PM 12/22/2001]