Original heater core and radiator....

They both leak. Do people recycle them or trash them?

Thanks!
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Current rides: 2005 Volvo S80 2.5T, 2003 Volvo V70 2.4NA, 1973 Volvo 1800ES (getting ever closer to road worthiness)

Chris;

Locate leaks and determine if due to mechanical puncture or corrosion from the outside (solder to repair if accessible) or corrosion from inside (there is no way of knowing if other weak areas exist), so I'd personally still solder to repair, but keep an eye on it for further leaks... OE brass Rads and HCs will outlast those shiny Alu ones (which are RARELY repairable) every time!

Know that Coolant must religiously be 50% mix (ideally distilled water!) in order to have the anticonductive/anticorrosive additives to prevent internal Cooling System corrosion! This is not an area to skimp!

Cheers

I prefer to have the original radiators and heater cores serviced, mostly due to fitment and/or quality issues with the cheaper replacements.

I like the idea of using aluminum radiators in the old Volvos, but every 1 I've seen couldn't be bolted in properly and modifications were required to attach them to the car.

The aluminum radiators currently available are a lot cheaper than a proper recore too, which is what makes them so attractive.

New ready to install heater cores are available for $210.00, but you can usually get you old 1 repaired for less.

Sometimes the old 1 can't be repaired, but if it can be saved, make sure to ask the radiator shop to pull both tanks and to check the "divider" strip. The divider is a strip of rubberized material that is installed in the tank with the inlet and outlet pipes and it forces the water to circulate to the other side of the core. Occasionally this strip has deteriorated which then allows the flow of hot waster to bypass the core which means very little to no heat or defrost inside the car.
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Eric
Hi Performance Automotive Service (formerly OVO or Old Volvos Only)
Torrance, CA 90502
hiperformanceautoservice.com or oldvolvosonly.com

Eric / Ron,
Thanks for the reply. I just moved from TX back to GA and of course I had to haul a bunch of spare1800 parts because hey, we all know there is some “high value merchandise” in there especially the leaky radiator and heater core. I was impressed with the apparent quality of them especially the HC. Eric, before I installed the non- leaking core in the project car I did a bench top flow test to assure the water was diverting properly.
Looks like I’ll be hanging on to the leakers which my wife finds ridiculous. Thank goodness for basements so that I can stockpile and build wealth. How else can I justify spending $10 to move a $5 gizmo? It’s not the monetary value of this stuff, it’s the fact that it is all slowly disappearing from supply sources.
Watch for me on The Hoarders.
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Current rides: 2005 Volvo S80 2.5T, 2003 Volvo V70 2.4NA, 1973 Volvo 1800ES (getting ever closer to road worthiness)