has anyone pulled a rad from an 86 PA and had it cored/rodded or whateer they do these days?  we will remove it ourselves and we have a primo rad shop here.

we will also replace the water pump, thermostat and belts/hoses.

any ideas on approximate costs for DIY?

I've pulled my radiator from my 86 P30. It took me an entire Saturday. I repaired a leak in a tube, but got quotes on replacement and re-cores. A replacement for a four row P30 motorhome radiator at the time was $700. Recore was between $400 and $500. I think I will go with the recore in th Spring as many people told me the newer raditors are not as well built and won't last as long as the re-cored original (20+ years)

Glad i didn't get it there!! Mine was a four core re-core at $300.00 ,Thats for a P-30 in Tucson,Az.!!

That is a great price. I think this winter (after cyclocross season) will be the time for me to pull mine out and have it re-cored. The radiator represents one of the last big replacement items that needs to be done - and can also strand me on up creek without a paddle.

Generally aluminum come in 2 rows of 1 inch tubing BUT can be built up with 1 1/4 and even bigger rows if you would like to spend the money.

When i removed the radiator (decent shape) it was off to the shop, A mild chuckle after finding out the 3/8 tubes per ROW we're factory stock in the 70s & early 80s.

A new 4 row CORE was ordered with 1/2 tubes and the overheating worries are somewhat diminished but only somewhat here in the extreme heat of the desert southwest.

Bottom line is when you talk to a radiator shop please let them know you know the difference between cores & rows and aluminum and tube sizes.

I do run a aluminum 2 row (1 1/4) tube in the drag El Camino for weight saving ONLY and if it was strictly a street car the brass/copper unit would be in it.

Jim

This one had the 1/2" tubing and was a 4 core. Someone at sometime in the past said they make a six core but I can't remember if it was the copper or aluminum. Since I was adding a pusher fan for the a/c and another for the oil and trans coolers, I went with the new copper 4 core. It never went above the quarter mark, should be 195f. It used to go up above the half mark with just a small hill. I also changed the air compressor and changed over to R-134 coolant.There is a company that makes a bracket to mount where they had the yorks compressors and mount a sandan or sanyo compressor. I got the sandan. I \f you have looked at the pictures on my photo site at google, you can see the pictures on the engine rebuild

I am not a mechanic and just purchased a 1989 StarChase RV. So far nothing but problems....replaced the radiator, the repair shop did not look into the head gasket? So now that may be bad. So does anyone know if I fix the head gasket, will this Chevy 454 continue to overheat? Did the manufacturer not install an appropiate size radiator when this coach was introduced? Any one that can help, please respond. I am getting tired of breaking down, spending money on hotels and repairs.....thanks

05 Oct 2009 11:40 AM Quote Reply Alert
I am not a mechanic and just purchased a 1989 StarChase RV. So far nothing but problems....replaced the radiator, the repair shop did not look into the head gasket? So now that may be bad. So does anyone know if I fix the head gasket, will this Chevy 454 continue to overheat? Did the manufacturer not install an appropiate size radiator when this coach was introduced? Any one that can help, please respond. I am getting tired of breaking down, spending money on hotels and repairs.....thanks

I would doubt if your head gasket is blown....Are you sucking/draining water and constantly adding water? If so the gasket might be gone....
180º thermostats are what I prefer along with the anti-freeze ratio of 30% A.F. and 70% water IF you can run that mixture, I live in the low desert where it rarely freezes and your area might require more A.F.....Water just flatout does a better job of cooling.....
Another reason "Chebby 454s" run hot is the timing is really retarded (4º base) and they run much better at 10º (base) and the mechanical tweaked up to 22º for a total (without the vacuum advance) of 32º up.....
Now with your year/model you may have the computerized ignition setup and that will require a "Computer chip modification" which ain't no big deal to change out.....
My 83 (454) runs between 180º and 190º 'cept in the 115º HOT summers....Then it will rise to 190º to 200º which satisfies my soul...
Another item is just how MUCH stuff is blocking the airflow to the radiator....Get it all out of the way please (move the ~stuff~ to the ends of the front end.....
Take a good long look at the amount of air slipping around the sides of the radiator and use strips of rubber to block that loss of air...
I have many other tricks IF needed but it's time to shut down for the day....Good luck.

Jim