Aluminum Radiators on Ebay

[jlpst94]

I've seen a few threads on these but haven't seen any feedback.   Has anyone had luck with these matching up with the fan shroud, rad support, etc..

Thanks !

[theman53]

I bought one for my mk2. It fits in the car but I had to cut 1 vent off of the fan shroud and weld it back together to get it to fit. Looks stock now but it is not a drop in fit for sure. Other than that it works amazing.

[jlpst94]

Thanks.  im assuming the shroud was a little work but the pins and slots for the mounts matched up fine.   I'm giving it a shot.  The extra capacity has to be a huge help. 

[theman53]

You got it correct. The extra is nice, in warm weather. Forget about heat in the mildly cold.

[jlpst94]

Damn the one I ordered is about 8" smaller than the factory MK2.   The mounting pins aren't even close.    I'm assuming these are for a gas engine.   I don't see any on eBay that are for 1.6d or 1.6 TD.     
I don't mind fitting up a fan, but I was hoping the mounts would all match up.   I guess it's going back

[jlpst94]

Damn the one I ordered is about 8" smaller than the factory MK2.   The mounting pins aren't even close.    I'm assuming these are for a gas engine.   I don't see any on eBay that are for 1.6d or 1.6 TD.     
I don't mind fitting up a fan, but I was hoping the mounts would all match up.   I guess it's going back

[theman53]

That is exactly what I was trying to tell you. For the shroud to work it had to be cut into 2 pieces and welded together...narrower. If you slide it over instead of having it where the mk2 ac rad was there are other sets of holes and it will drop right in. you can modify your hoses or buy the gas non a/c hoses IIRC and it works. The biggest deal is getting the stock fan to work. Welding mine was a challenge as the metal is around 22 gauge and 30 years of road salt didn't make it any more stout.

[jlpst94]

i saw the other mounting holes but I was under the impression that these rads were double the capacity of the stock rad.   This rad was double walled but it was near a foot shorter.   I doubt it held much more coolant than the stock 28" rad.   
No big deal, I'll clean up the stock rad and get it back on the road. 

[theman53]

They are not quite double I don't think, but I use around 3 gallons of coolant to fill. When the block and hoses were completely empty it was over 3 gallons a bit. I don't know what stock capacity is.

[RabbitJockey]

stock is about 1.5 gallons on a mk1, mk2 has a slightly larger rad so probably around 2 gallons.

[RabbitJockey]

http://www.amsoil.com/mygarage/vehiclelookuppage.aspx?url2=1990+VOLKSWAGEN+JETTA+3

this says 1.65 gallons for mk2 jetta 8v

[theman53]

Yeah, it is nice buying 2 gallons of G13 coolant at the price it is.

[RabbitJockey]

haha, you don't just run the green?

[vanbcguy]

Green is way more expensive in the long run... needs to be changed way more often and doesn't protect as well.  Penny wise, pound foolish...

[RabbitJockey]

hmm  i usually just run what ever came in my cars from the factory, i assume rabbits were green ***, but my mk3 i run g12 or what ever the pink stuff is.