gmc 1500 rad upgrade

[Fixit]

ive had ongoing issues with running hot while towing a load.

lately this problem has started occurring without towing anything, while running up a hill.


i just put a thermostat in, which didnt help at all
next i was thinking that the clutch fan was pretty weak, possibly not pulling enough air with the ARB bumper i have on the front of the truck.
so while checking that i noticed that the lower half of the rad was ice cold when the top half was too hot to touch!

bingo! plugged rad!

started looking online to see prices, and i found that there was a 28" wide core and a 34" wide core available.
the 1500/5.3L runs the smaller rad while a 25/3500/6.0L uses the 6" wider version.

turns out that swapping the larger rad in to a 1500 is a 100% direct bolt in conversion.

rad hoses are the same size, and the stock hoses are long enough to move over the additional 3"
tranny cooler has the same connections
truck has mounting holes for both sizes of rads

the only thing about this swap is you have to buy another fan shroud to match the larger rad.

28" rad = 487 square inches
34" rad = 587 square inches

100 more square inches of cooling.


should really help with the hot summer days!

 

[trophy fisher]

Sounds like an easy upgrade. Just need to call your local auto wrecker for a used rad shroud. 2 hours and a few beers later your on your way. Now the hard part, which beers?

 

[Island Fish Lifter]

I don't think you need to upgrade, Just recore it with a new core and you should be good to go.

 

[Fixit]

New rad was 189 no downtime waiting to get it recored

I wouldn't recore a plastic tank rad anyways

Why fix when you can upgrade?