Texas Heat radiator vs Stock

[Emersonfiat1977]

I have a 78 124 that just sprunk a leak on the lower radiator.

I found 2 different ones. The stock one and a new one called Texas Heat All aluminum.

I live in Indiana where weather stay mostly mild.

I was not sure if any of you knowledgeable members would recommend switching from the stock one currently in the vehicle.


Thanks for all the help over the years.

[TheBender]

I do live in the heat of Texas and have the “regular” radiator from AutoRicambi and it works perfectly fine. No issues even driving in 110F temps. To me it would be more for cosmetic look if you went with the aluminum one.

[TX82FIAT]

I agree with TheBender that the stock radiator should be fine for the stock set up with proper maintenance. With that said, if you have engine mods to up the HP you may want to consider the aluminum radiator to keep things cool. I'm running my 82 at 140 HP to the rear wheels and I purposefully idle a little high. The aluminum radiator helps in my situation.

[18Fiatsandcounting]

I'm also in favor of keeping the stock radiator unless you have boosted the output of the engine. The design was reasonable and maintains the engine temp just fine, although there are numerous posts about overheating, but that's usually due to air bubbles, fan not coming on, partially blocked radiator, thermostat installed incorrectly, flaky temperature gauge, and even some oddities like the "fan" belt pulleys were non-stock and led to the water pump turning too slowly.

A question: Have you tried taking your leaking radiator to a shop and see if they can fix (weld) the leak?

-Bryan

[Emersonfiat1977]

Thank you for the responses and insights.

The car is stock and will probably remain that way.

The old one looks a little corroded where the leak is.

I could look around for a radiator shop if you think it would be worth it.

[18Fiatsandcounting]

I could look around for a radiator shop if you think it would be worth it.

It's hard to say. The leak could be a simple pinhole on the bottom that would be easy (cheap) to fix, or the leak could be the first sign of a radiator that is starting to rot out from the inside.

Since a new radiator is a little over $200, I'd suggest a new one. Unless you're in an area where shop labor rates are really low, by the time you have the old radiator cleaned and fixed, you might be looking at about the same amount of money.

-Bryan