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Are VE and VF V8 Radiators Interchangeable? All Alloy Radiator

lordsnipe

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I've always had a slow loss of coolant for awhile and it looks like its the radiator, as the bottom of my radiator core appears to be wet today, and is starting to rust (see pic).

Looking on eBay, there is this listing (https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/122898973245) which states it fits "Commodore VE V8 6.0L & 6.2L 9/11- & VF 5/13- Manual & Automatic Trans", so looks like they are all interchangeable.

I'm leaning towards this all aluminium radiator (https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/292137570852) to possibly avoid this issue again and was wondering if it will fit? This listing does not state VF fitment like the listing above. I do have a manual car so don't need the fittings for the auto transmission.

Has anyone changed to an all alloy radiator like this? Any issues?

For those who have had radiators changed out in their VFs, how many hours were charged by the mechanic?

Thanks

Alex
 

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J_D 2.0

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I recently changed my SSV to an all alloy radiator. The cheap Chinese ones like your looking at are a pita to fit as all the dimensions are incorrect.

Also the one I bought doesn’t have provision for an overflow tank so I’ve had to run a seperate surge tank to get back coolant recovery. I eventually got mine to fit despite the shitty dimensions but it took the best part of a days worth of work.

If you want it to fit straight out of the box your probably going to have to spend around $600-800 to get a quality all aluminium radiator.
 
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Fu Manchu

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Pretty sure VE series 1 and Series 2 have different radiators.

The power steering goes through one and not the other. Ours is series 1 and it has PS cooler integrated into… no. Wait. I think it’s the condenser. Yes the condenser has the cooler.

Anyway. There might be a difference.
 

J_D 2.0

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Thanks.. I decided against it and went for this which was advertised to fit: https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/402456568265

It looks like it has the AC condenser mounts so hopefully it will just all bolt in and lasts longer than the OEM one.
Should do. In hindsight I should have just bought the plastic tank one. The cheap Chinese aluminium radiator was more trouble than it was worth tbh but once I got into it I was committed.

Also my radiator went in exactly the same spot. Was loosing coolant for months and couldn’t figure out where it was going. Once it started showing up on the splash tray I figured out where it was going.
 
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