[xj-s] Rodding out rads

["Opausky" <opausky@netcom.ca>]

Sorry Gents, I no longer can resist and I have to jump into this one.
As a long time addict to Barr's compound (until last year when I discovered
the digest), I have overhauled this year most everything (except the rad)
in the cooling system: pump (was leaking), put in new Jag 180 F stats,
clean out the fins , major hoses and a couple of years ago a rebuilt heater
core, new seals on the bypass tubes and new walve. My needle stays at the
bottom of N, only occasionally rising a little in adverse conditions.
Wanting to use the car in Fla eventually, I have investigated the overhaul
of the rad itself. In Canada nobody rods out rads any more, they simply
rebuild the core between the two tanks for about C$225. It does not stop
there: you have the choice of regular core ( called the cheap core), the
high efficiency core ( more tubes and more fins ) and the "super stuff" (
the tubes have dimples and the fins are very finely spaced). The two rad
shops I am dealing with are of excellent reputation ( friend with the
owners,the Jag dealers use them) and I have no trouble understanding how
the high efficiency core with the bigger cooling surface does a better job
for a car like ours. Both shop owners claim that the rodding is likely to
damage the very fine walls of the tubes, how mutch cement like crud remains
( I just red the tread about rodding a rad out 2 years in the row), of
course they be very happy to consider my request for rodding if I bring in
a Catapillar rad for economic reasons.
Both owners rate the original Jag rad only marginally better than regular
efficiency, at this point I was drawn at front of a mountain of scrapped
rad cores and invited to make my own comparison based on number of tubes
and fin spacing.
So, am I onto something here or  are we  just talking about cultural
differences? 
YCAA
Lee Opausky

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