i have a used pwr set up from a member on this board. on it is a set of finned blades to cool the oil in the system. its in ok shape, but i was thinking since im painting the pump, why not that? but then will this create trouble with heat transfer? thats what this thing is made to do, but it looks nasty. any idea's? thank you all, Rick
paint reduces heat transfer capabilities. Radiator paint would be best solution. With that said, would it really matter that much with a "light" coat on it? Would it not work properly? I'm not sure........ Worth a shot in my book worst case scenario, you have to clean it with paint thinner to get the paint off. I always use condensor coil cleaner for radiators and stuff. If you give it time and clean out fins good and straighten any bent ones it gives it a nice look
Home depot sells some, other than that I prefer the real stuff sold at air conditioning supply houses. The stuff at home depot just not as strong and to dilued in my opinion.
pull-a-part, some Explorers used frame mounted power steering coolers that look a lot like ours but there are several cars you can choose from. The trans cooler idea probably would be best so you won't have to worry about contamination. crud usually ends up in the coolers when the systems have failures or excessive wear.
alot of older cars dont even have a cooler. Id say clean it up the best you can and paint it if you want to. It's still better than not having one at all.
If it was in great shape and you know its clean internally I would use it. If its beat up I wouldnt bother. Unless your doing some road courses its not needed. Underhood temps on our cars are low compared to the new cars that use PS coolers. If you want to use it. Straighten it with a fin comb and give it a light dust of black paint. Just enough to change the color when viewed. Its not like your dipping all the fins in paint and insulating them.
I just took one off a 72 I parted out and it looked like it had been dipped in black paint. Some of the fins on the lower portion of it had paint drips hardened in between the fins. Most all that I have seen have been painted black. I don't think a fin comb will do the trick, the fins are pretty thick on those things. Not like a radiator or condenser. The one I have is made out of copper. Pipe, fins and it has a steel mounting bracket soldered to it.
A cooler gets rid of heat in two ways, radiation and convection. Painting it a flat black is ok for radiation but any coating is bad for convection. Convection is the largest contributor for the cooling effect.
