Due to some urgency I have had to fit a radiator from a 340 heavily modified into the 360 (long story) - how long have I got till it gives up?

a day, week??

Only problem there could be is that it won't cool engine enough, if temps seem to be ok then you should have at least week, just avoid staying long time stopped at idle and don't drive hard as engine cooling capacity might be not enough for such situations.

Hi John,

Hummm - would need to know the long story and what your heavy mods are but -

The rad is simply a water to air heat exchanger for the coolant, in principal no different in a 340, 360, or any other car. In real terms rads are a different shape to fit different cars, and different sizes to give differing cooling area (the rate of cooling is largely the same per cm2 for any given rad given the same coolant temp and same ambient air temp. (yes, tech. heads I know different materials have different thermal transfer rates - but I'm keeping it simple).

A B200 cooling system will run at about the same temperature, and about the same pressure, as a B14, or a B172 (all run to about 102C - 105C max and all run at 75kPa max) All versions rads are made of similar materials so all thats left is cooling capacity. The 340 electric rad fans rarely switch on except at idle and this indicates a good reserve of capacity.

Cooling need is to a large extent dependant on engine output (a higher powered engine generally needs to dispose of more thermal rejection from the block and head) but a B200 does not have a vastly higher output than a B14 (in waste heat terms).

All things considered if your modded rad provides enough cooling and there is no immediate overheating (especially in traffic) there is no more reason for it to 'give up' than the original rad. (assuming of course no leaks, resonably competant fitting and same coolant flow pattern). If there is a tendancy to undercool in traffik an extra fan would help (unless you already have mechanical and electric fans fitted.)

My advice - 'suck it and see' - but I would like to know what your main worries are.

Hope this helps (and I don't have the wrong end of the stick)

Mac.

mac wrote:Hi John,

Hummm - would need to know the long story and what your heavy mods are but -

The rad is simply a water to air heat exchanger for the coolant, in principal no different in a 340, 360, or any other car. In real terms rads are a different shape to fit different cars, and different sizes to give differing cooling area (the rate of cooling is largely the same per cm2 for any given rad given the same coolant temp and same ambient air temp. (yes, tech. heads I know different materials have different thermal transfer rates - but I'm keeping it simple).

A B200 cooling system will run at about the same temperature, and about the same pressure, as a B14, or a B172 (all run to about 102C - 105C max and all run at 75kPa max) All versions rads are made of similar materials so all thats left is cooling capacity. The 340 electric rad fans rarely switch on except at idle and this indicates a good reserve of capacity.

Cooling need is to a large extent dependant on engine output (a higher powered engine generally needs to dispose of more thermal rejection from the block and head) but a B200 does not have a vastly higher output than a B14 (in waste heat terms).

All things considered if your modded rad provides enough cooling and there is no immediate overheating (especially in traffic) there is no more reason for it to 'give up' than the original rad. (assuming of course no leaks, resonably competant fitting and same coolant flow pattern). If there is a tendancy to undercool in traffik an extra fan would help (unless you already have mechanical and electric fans fitted.)

My advice - 'suck it and see' - but I would like to know what your main worries are.

Hope this helps (and I don't have the wrong end of the stick)

Mac.

Nope thats great thanks - most of my mods were - get it to fit!

My rad gave up yesterday in spectacular 'core collapse' fashion - whicj I could well do without - no cash for replacement had a spare 340 unit in garage

You have put my mind at rest - oddly a socket fell off under refitting and hit me in left eye (v painful atm) LOL

The only difference between the 340 and 360 rads is that the 360 ones don't have a doodah into where you can screw the thermostatic switch for the cooling fan.

360 ones with A/C do but its in a different place so you wouldn't be able to use it anyway, even if you could find one If you're good with a welder, you might be able to take the tapped hole off the old rad and weld it into the new one, but otherwise my advice would be to find a 340 one. Either that or make sure you don't ever stop in traffic

I've been running a 340 radiator on my 360 racer for at least half a year now, without any problems (other than the radiator getting punctured by flying debris again last weekend)..
It has been to Zandvoort and the nurburgring without overheating.
There is another difference, the lower hose mounting point is in a different spot, in which case you might need to "remodel" the plastic radiator shroud a bit (I used some pliers for this).

People here told me it would overheat on hot days but it has survived traffic jams in this summers heatwave without breaking a sweat. Just make sure you get the big model 340 radiator and you'll be sure of a good supply of cheap replacements (340's are a very common sight on dutch wrecking yards).