Lower Radiator Support Suggestions

[stangfanatic]

Go ahead and laugh at me, but I have a problem. My 93 has a wide two row aluminum radiator in it, and I have just recently had a problem with it. The other day I hit a pretty hard rut/bump in the road and I did not know until I got home about 8 miles later that the radiator had fallen off of the lower support and caused all kinds of damage, not to mention that the two new fans I had just installed got blown apart.

Take a look at the result...

And a closer look, notice no blades left on the right side fan...

Anyway, I want an opinion or a solution to my problem. The radiator I have only sits about half way or so on the lower support and this allows the radiator to move up with a pothole or something like that is ran over. What did some of you do to keep the radiator securely in place?

 

[87GT Drop Top]

WOW that sucks. Don't you know anyone that can weld you up some custom brackets?

 

[faststang90]

the holes that are on the top does it have them on the bottom on the other side away from the motor. where u can bolt the rad into the car.

 

[stangfanatic]

I believe so, I am going to wait until tomorrow to pull the radiator out and look at it further. I also have the original upper support brackets, I thought about turning those upside down and trying to bolt them in somehow. We'll see how that works.

 

[ID89GT]

Ya I would say you are gonna have to have some kind of custom lower brackets that prevent it from moving. Something you could do maybe as a temp. solution is get some zip ties and stick them through the radiator and wrap them around the core support? Idk if it will mess up the radiator or not but I always see the electric fans held in place by those zip tie type things so it might work.

 

[stang&2Birds]

Wow, that sucks.

But, thankfully, I don't think it's that hard to fix.

For the top, there are a few places that make good top supports. You can get one chrome, or steel. Those top radiator supports are often very good for wide radiators.

For the bottom, it's not hard to make custom supports for the bottom. Use Epoxy Putty to custom make your own support. Once cured, it has a similar strength to a grade 3 bolt. IMHO, don't go under ~0.2" thin on any part. 0.2" (200 mills) of ~grade 3 steel is pretty strong. Also, use vinyl gloves to protect your hands!


More info on the epoxy putty:
Epoxy Putty Web page - Oatey.com


Epoxy Putty Web Specs:
http://www.oatey.com/apps/catalog/instance_assets/assets/Submittal_Sheet/Epoxy Putty.pdf

Old package:

New package:

BTW: There are many different epoxy putties. I like the above because it works well and you get a bigger stick for the price. Of course, JB weld also makes one:
J-B Weld Company - J-B STIK Product Information
Properties (psi)
Tensile Strength: 6,000 psi
Density: 15.8 lb/gal
Compression Strength: 14,000 psi
Shear Strength: 700 psi
Hardness: 75-85 psi
Resistant to: 300° F
Modulus of Elasticity: 6 x 105 psi

BTW: How strong is that stuff?
Well, my rear axle arm let go on the highway on my '92 Olds. However, about a year before, I reinforced the bottom of the shock support with ~0.4" of that stuff. So, my shock held onto the epoxy reinforcement that was attached to the rear axle. I though my rack went because the car was pulling. When I got home, I noticed that my rear axle was attached only by the shock and that epoxy reinforcement that I did.

Get some putty, and do a couple of tries/experiments at first. See how fast it dries. You can tap and drill it. So, you can put bolts in inserts into it. IMHO, I suggest an insert gets some JBWeld as a good measure.


BTW:
Here are some pics of my rear axle:

In this 1st picture, you can see where the arm for the rear axle gave away.

In this 2nd picture, you can see where the shock is held to the rear axle (just behind and below the drum).

In this 3rd picture, you can see the difference in the reinforced shock support that I did (on the left) and the OEM shock support (on the right).

So, I think that the steel epoxy putty would be up to the job in holding a radiator.