45punkbus wrote:it seems to run fine on road, but the last 2 times i have been out 4wding and had a good work out of low range it has started to heat up more than usual,
but never really got to excessive, until yesterday but a nice sized whole sorta helped that one
Ok so there is no real reason to waste $$$$ on a radiator recore to take it out to a 4 core job when the 3 core is working fine...... its still gunna cost tho and again you still wont get much change from $350 - $400.
If the hole isnt that bad then just get it repaired and if your slightly worried about the temp situation then get em to do a tank removel and clean/flush out.
The radiator will nodoubt have some buildup of crud and this usually deposits itself in the actual cores..... that build up however small restricts the water flow which causes a slight rise in temp..... the thermostat in the engine should be able to offset this rise but like all things there comes a point that the thermostat cant regulate the water flow well enough to overcome the core restriction...... thats when it starts boiling !
So what will the radiator shop do........ for what you have described Id recemend a repair to the hole and a full clean and power flush......
this is what they'll do .....
Desolder the one tank from the radiator
with a steady flow of water they will push a steel band down each individual core
NB: the band is similar to an old clock spring and I have one here that I use to clear my radiators out with.... it works a treat )
As the band is pushed down each core it scrapes off all the buildup in the cores..... the water acts as both a lubricant and a flushing agent as the band is pushed through the cores.
The scale / crud is washed out from the exposed side and then runs freely out through the hose outlet on the side that hasnt had the tank removed.
NB: not many radiator shops remove both tanks, its usually just the one tank removal for the std clean out. Bout the only time they remove both tanks is when the cores are really badly blocked and they need to be able to get to a blockage from the other side.
Once the cores are clean then they resolder tha tank back on and pressure test it for leaks ( usually 16psi )
If they are really keen they will sometimes straighten the fins out ( fins are the fine bits between the cores ) with a tool that looks a bit like a comb !, they also blow out as much of the dead flies/bugs etc as posiable with either air or water.....
A water wash is far more effective but also much more time consuming = more $$$$$
Used to be a place in Geelong that soaked em overnight in a mix of chemicals ( smelt like baby wipes !! ) and in the morning just hose em off...... the bugs etc had disintergrated overnight in to a state I can only describe as similar consistancy to those green lumps we cough up when we have a bad cold.....
Sorry for that description
They also used to leave em for about 4 hours with a fairly strong mix of CLR ( yep that product that cleans out Calcium Lime Rust form our home appliances n shower heads etc. )...... this mix helped clean out any other shyte that the core cleaning process may have missed.
I have on the odd occasion done the CLR trick to my own radiators and engine water jackets...... its quite supprising the amount of cwap that it actually flushed out !!!
anyhow back to the "specialists" ......
Once this has all been done they coat the radiator with a coat of black paint so its nice n pretty to look at.
( the paint also helps protect the fins from corrosion as they are very suceptible to corosion )
and then they make out the bill
Kingy
I've got a new genuine one on the way from Japan at the moment... waiting ...waiting ... praying for no hot weather! 
