Hello Folks

As the thread title states xk8 aluminum radiator upgrade is what I am looking for. I have had a look on E-bay etc. but haven't been able to source an all aluminum radiator for a 1997 xk8 so... here I am wondering if anyone else has managed to make this modification and if so how?

Cheers
S. Degenkolb

 

there was not a stock item that i could find when i looked a few years back. Anything was a custom build as no interest.

Here in the states, East Coast, the best person to speak with is: Finger's Radiator Hospital. Inc. 2006 US-1, North Brunswick Township, NJ 08902

 

Do an ebay search for Nissens 66701. I believe this will do the job but you may need adaptors for the transmission cooler connections.

 

Hi and thanks for your input. By all aluminum I mean no plastic parts whatsoever and the Nissen rad is part plastic which is prone to cracking and causing cross contamination of engine coolant with transmission oil as I have found out the hard way. see pic of what I am after.

 

This is an option for the intercooler Jaguar XKR XJR 'Upgraded' Supercharger Intercooler Radiator MNC8200AFU | Jaguar XK8 and XKR Parts and Accessories (xk8-parts.com)

 

The Nissen rad should come with the trans lines adapters in the kit, inquire of the supplier. Most cars have the plastic tanks surrounding the cooling tubes. It is an industry standard. The quality of the plastic is the issue as well as age. One can usually tell before failure if this is to be a problem.

If one is concerned about trans fluid contamination, it is possible to add a remote trans cooler. However, this has nothing to do with plastic but a failure of the metal cooling tubes for the trans fluid contained therein, a manufacturing defect. Such a thing would have a trans rebuild bill sent to the rad manufacturer from my attorney. There is plenty of space behind the front bumper. It will require a thermostatically controlled cooling fan. One small issue is that the sharing of heat between the coolant and trans fluid also helps to bring the trans fluid up to proper temperature. Might be an issue. Have not gone that far.

The best thing that one could do for the transmission would be to add an inline fluid filter. This is never a bad idea as long as it does not restrict flow outside of spec and is installed in a proper fashion.