TAC Tech => Mechanical => Topic started by: TA Dave on March 01, 2024, 08:28:30 PM
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Good evening! The TA is coming along, and I'm preparing to put in a new radiator, but I noticed this on my old rad - tubes coming out the front and running around to the back of the radiator. These look like he transmission cooling lines, but then there are the large ports on the back side of the radiator, too, and the fittings for the trans cooling lines are right where the large ports are on the back side.
Can anyone tell me what is going on here, and will a new radiator come at least ready for this?
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i am going to guess power steer cooling and auto trans cooling
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What motor is this? Your sig. says Olds 350? I have the ports on the motor side only of my radiator for transmission.
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Yes, as I have been redoing it, I am finding that this car really is a Frankenstein beast - Olds 350, rather than 403, TH350 with lockup converter case, but regular TH350 innards, and now this.
It is likely not how it came from the factory, but that is why I am asking.
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Probably not related here but some of the 350 Olds Diesels used in Motorhomes etc had a remote oil cooler option, extra plumbing to and from the oil filter adaptor. I think it was also a rare option for some of the Olds A bodies with towing option, I guess the auto lines may have already been plumbed on the engine side. Who knows. I haven't seen this type in a Firebird, regardless of engine etc. Not sure if there's any stamped codes etc on the radiator tab half way down. Very interesting. I always imagine the more things that are plumbed to a single radiator, the cooler they run, but also the harder it is to cool each of them combined!
Do you know what the 350 came out of originally? If not, the start of the engine number tells you year and where built which often equates to certain models. Could even have a peek at oil filter and see if standard adaptor with no plumbing, just in case pulled from same vehicle. Just ideas, still guessing.
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I asked an Olds friend of mine. He is pretty sure the outlets on the motor side are for oil cooling which would have been a rare option on the car. They should be a bit larger than the outlets on the front side which are for transmission cooling. I suppose if you are not using the oil cool function you could plug those two?
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I had a diesel Toronado and it had a set of coil cooler lines like that. So I'd say that's an olds diesel rad out of 40-year-old something or other.
You don't have to plug them if you don't use them.
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Are the front lines larger than the rear lines, or look to be the same? Have read those that used the engine oil coolers on the diesels used a larger line, perhaps 1/2", due to the thicker consistency than trans fluid.
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One would hook up to this:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/175176744072?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=ENzZ-BiZSMy&sssrc=2047675&ssuid=Otl3lLdJQZG&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY
https://www.ebay.com/itm/196218339827?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=fB8ZxxdxTEu&sssrc=2047675&ssuid=Otl3lLdJQZG&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY
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Are the front lines larger than the rear lines, or look to be the same? Have read those that used the engine oil coolers on the diesels used a larger line, perhaps 1/2", due to the thicker consistency than trans fluid.
Mine was that way if I remember correctly. 1979 Toronado. It's been 40 years, so I could be wrong.