HOW TO MEASURE YOUR RADIATOR

By and large, there are two radiator designs: DOWNFLOW truck radiators and CROSSFLOW truck radiators.

As the name indicates, the DOWNFLOW radiator is distinguished by the direction the engine coolant flows in the radiator - from the top tank on the radiator to the bottom tank on the radiator.

The CROSS FLOW truck radiator is one where the coolant travels horizontally from one tank to the other.

No particular one of these designs is better than the other. Rather, they were made this way because of the functional design of the truck.

It is very important for you to determine which type of radiator you have for measuring purposes.

CORE HEIGHT: As you can see from the diagrams, the core height on a down flow radiator is measured from top to bottom; the "height" on a cross flow radiator is measured from side to side. An easy way to remember this is that CORE HEIGHT IS ALWAYS MEASURED BETWEEN THE TANKS, no matter how the radiator sits in the truck. Core height is represented by measurement (A) in the diagrams.

CORE WIDTH: This is the distance between the core side rails. DO NOT count the side rails in the width measurement of a core. The width is represented by (B) in the diagram for both CROSS FLOW and DOWN FLOW radiators.

CORE DEPTH: The easiest and most precise way to measure the core depth (or thickness) is to insert a small piece of wire between the fins on your truck radiator until the end is flush with the other side. Mark the wire and measure it for your core depth measurement.