Clancy radiator problems with fit.

[goxu1]

Clancy are $225 from TM
If had known the dramas and cost the Clancy was going to throw at me I would have gone for an original recore any day
What do they say about hindsight ?

 

[Clemsonfor]

Clancy are $225 from TM
If had known the dramas and cost the Clancy was going to throw at me I would have gone for an original recore any day
What do they say about hindsight ?

Well you probably have the same price in the clan h by the time it was shipped to you down there in Australia.

 

[lyle11]

I don’t have any solution to Paul’s Clancy issue, but I figured I share my recent experience. I ordered a Clancy from A&I in late December 2021. TM was out of stock and couldn’t give me a price once they got them back in stock. With prices going up fast I wanted to buy the radiator so I bought one from A&I for $236. TM’s $225 price, which includes the gasket, is the best price I’ve seen for them if people aren’t scared off from buying one.

I also questioned A&I using the term radiator “core” but figured it was a full radiator as pictured and it is.

My situation is unique in that I live 700 miles away from where my Cubs and mowing property are located. So, I go there about 6 times a year April-Oct. and my sister mows it with a 55 Lowboy and Woods 59 when I’m not there. The new radiator is for my backup mower which is an 48 FCub with a Woods 59. I took the new Clancy radiator there in April but it was too cold to have any fun installing it so I removed the old aftermarket radiator and took the the hold down plates and side panels back home with me and did a quick rust cleanup and sprayed painted them with Rust Oleum.

My sister was there mowing today so I asked her to measure the new Clancy radiator from the top of the bolt flange to the underside of the radiator top. It appears to be 13 5/8” exactly as the A&I drawing shows for dimension A.


I checked my side mounts from the very bottom of the mounting plates to the top and it looks to be about 13 9/16”.


So it looks like I have about 1/16” to spare so I think they’ll fit. I won’t really know until I attempt to install the radiator in June.

The other unknown until I’m there is how the upper radiator hose parts line up. In my limited Cub radiator experience, I have not seen it line up anything close to perfect and the hose ends up with a little zigzag in it. I just put it in hot water right before I install it to maker it easier to get it on. I’ve not had any problem.

 

[wrz]

I have 2 other problems with my new Clancy radiator. 1.The inlet pipe on the top of the radiator does not line up with the outlet pipe out of the top of the engine which is almost 1/2 inch off set. 2. The fan shroud does not fit well below the radiator inlet pipe and will have to make the holes oval so the screws will go in. The inlet pipe is 1 inch above the bottom of the tank on the Clancy where the OEM is 1 1/4 inch. (this difference also effects the line up of the inlet and outlet). The mounting plate on my radiator is not perpendicular to the tubes and causes the radiator to tilt back to the rear almost 1/4 inch at the top of the radiator supports which also lowers the end of the inlet pipe on the radiator. The radiator does fit between the channel of the side supports (just) when the mounting plate is bolted down.
Wm

 

[Don McCombs]

Send it back to whichever retailer you got it from with your detailed explanation of the problem areas.

 

[Bob McCarty]

Send it back to whichever retailer you got it from with your detailed explanation of the problem areas.

William got his from the Art Luke Estate. I got mine when Tom still owned TM, so there's no way to return them. I think I can make a 3/8" shim to lift the tank to line up with the hose, and then cut an equal amount out of each side support, and weld them back together so the top holes still line up correctly. Fortunately I don't need mine right away.

 

[tst]

aside from height issues remember there are two neck heights, thick that was started by the aftermarket to cure the neck being to short poking up through the hood

 

[Don McCombs]

Bob, I understand your and William's situations. But, for new sales, if buyer's "make due" with substandard products, the problems will never get resolved. If you got yours from Tom, the issues have been ongoing for years. JMHO.

 

[goxu1]

Are the side brackets a different height on a square hood cub ?

 

[Don McCombs]

No.

 

[oldfarmkid]

Thought I'd chime in on what my local radiator shop owner told me. He's been in business almost 50 years. I have not dealt with a radiator problem in my Cub, but have on my 1940-H and 1952-SM. Both had original copper radiators. The H was leaking and he told me he would just solider it and see if it stays fixed. Also said some times the old copper radiators, the copper gets brittle with age. You can even re-core it and the brittle copper will just crack in a new place. That was about five years ago and the H is still good. However, the SM radiator according to Gerald was a classic example of an old brittle copper radiator. After It sprung a new leak for the third time he said, Tim, it's time for a new one.

That's my experience. Just thought I'd pass it along. Guessing original Cub radiator is copper and sometimes the copper gets brittle with age, and trying to repair it may not be an option. :tractor:

Take Care and Good Luck

 

[xrcr]

I bought a Clancy for my 50 did not have any fit issues. The puke tube outlet is tight in hood opening but I fabricated a line that works

 

[Stanton]

….I won’t really know until I attempt to install the radiator in June.

Lyle, be sure to give us a follow-up on what you discover.

 

[lyle11]

I made it to my place in Wisconsin and set the gasket, radiator and side supports in place. The issue with this Clancy radiator is that the top section is about 1/8” lower in the front than the back (fan side). So, the support fits under the top in the back but contacts it in the front.




With regard to the hose alignment, it looks pretty good. Not perfect but should be fine.



The other thing is that the fan comes real close to the top of the radiator. Slight difference in clearance between the blades ranging from 1/8 to about 3/16”. I oiled the fan since I have access. Fan seems real stable and I don’t think they wobble.
Is this a normal amount of clearance?
Should I bend the blade that is 1/8” away a little bit to get a little more clearance?


I’m soured on Clancy too. But, I bought it 6 months ago from
A&I. Not sure if I can get anything better. I can grind away about 1/8” material from off forward facing top of the side supports and get it to fit. I haven’t set the hood in place yet to check the fit. I’m optimistic it’ll be okay based on the water pipe alignment. Other than my Lowboy with a re-cored IH radiator the top always seems to barely clear the hood. I don’t know why they don’t extend the cap opening up another 1/2”.

I haven’t installed anything yet. Interested in comments about the fan clearance and grinding the support a little bit so it will fit. A&I is the distributor. I could ask to return it but would then still be in need of a radiator and JP is the only place I’d trust to have something that fits. The one I removed was a cheap aluminum aftermarket version so fixing that is not an option.

Thanks

 

[radioguy41]

Better check how the hood fits before making any mods. The neck on mine didn't line up with the hole in the hood, it was rearward about 1/4" - 1/2". I removed the side supports and bent the rad forward to align it then reinstalled the side supports.

 

[lyle11]

Better check how the hood fits before making any mods. The neck on mine didn't line up with the hole in the hood, it was rearward about 1/4" - 1/2". I removed the side supports and bent the rad forward to align it then reinstalled the side supports.

Good advice. I have the exact same problem. It is not yet fastened down, just a few bolts to check the fit. I had to grind about 1/8” of material off the front of the hood supports to get them under the radiator top so I could get the hood in place.




The hole in the hood isn’t so far off that the radiator cap extension doesn’t fit through it but it’s too far back to allow space to place a hose on the overflow.




If I look at the way the radiator lines up in the hood supports, at the top of the cooling fins there is about 1/4” bigger gap so it leans back. So, my fan blades don’t contact the radiator but they are real close. And, there is no room in the little hood cutout area to attach the hose.



I am wondering if I should just bolt the radiator down without the hood supports and push it forward like Radioguy41 did? Or, should I gently bend the hold down flange up in front and down in the rear with a large adjustable wrench to get it to lean forward? Seems like the copper flange should be pretty flexible but I’m concerned about breaking the cooling tubes soldered at the bottom.

 

[SamsFarm]

Unbelievable that a company can not make a proper radiator.
Double bad when their website boasts they make their own tooling in-house!
Even more crazy is that company being in Ireland!

I guess getting a good one is "the luck of the Irish"!

 

[goxu1]

Mine actually leant back so far it hit the fan
I eventually got a refund on the radiator and am now working on a refund for lost postage
Postage costs were twice as much as the radiator , so its substantial
I'll keep annoying them , emails are cheap
(Thanks Ron)

 

[radioguy41]

It took me a while to find it but I knew I had a photo of how far off the neck was from the hole. Once I had the side supports off and the rad bolted down it was easy to just pull it forward until it lined up. Then I took a piece of foam and cut holes for the rad neck and aircleaner to keep things aligned while I tightend everything down.

Click on image for a larger view.

 

[Stanton]

...If I look at the way the radiator lines up in the hood supports, at the top of the cooling fins there is about 1/4” bigger gap so it leans back. So, my fan blades don’t contact the radiator but they are real close. And, there is no room in the little hood cutout area to attach the hose.

I am wondering if I should just bolt the radiator down without the hood supports and push it forward like Radioguy41 did? Or, should I gently bend the hold down flange up in front and down in the rear with a large adjustable wrench to get it to lean forward? Seems like the copper flange should be pretty flexible but I’m concerned about breaking the cooling tubes soldered at the bottom.

Thanks for posting and documenting your findings, Lyle. Thanks also to radioguy41 and goxu1.

I'd love to take a trip to Ireland. And while there, stop in at Clancy, sit down with the manager or owner, pull up this thread to explain exactly what's going on and how they can go back to their former pattern.