392 Cooling System

pvkj454

pvkj454

Member
Has anyone got a good look at the factory 392 cooling system. It appears to have an oil cooler and an auxiliary radiator. 68481138AB is the entire cooling unit and it is under $600. The radiator is around $150. The online Mopar part sites don't have very good detail on the auxiliary radiator or oil cooler. It looks promising for a V8 swap.

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pvkj454 said:
Has anyone got a good look at the factory 392 cooling system. It appears to have an oil cooler and an auxiliary radiator. 68481138AB is the entire cooling unit and it is under $600. The radiator is around $150. The online Mopar part sites don't have very good detail on the auxiliary radiator or oil cooler. It looks promising for a V8 swap.

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You mean buy all that stuff for a non-392? Not a bad idea.
 
Fingers crossed. I ordered from another site at a slightly higher price and got a reply that it is on order from the factory.
 
I don't see how the small 392 radiator can keep the engine from overheating. It is the same thickness as the 3.8 JK radiator, same width and slightly shorter. They both have a single tube design that is approx. 1" wide. The 392 radiator does have a tube spacing of approximately .235 and the JK and the Camaro SS radiators have .350 spacing. The Camaro SS radiator is 3/8" thicker. The 392 transmission cooler has a larger tube diameter than the JK cooler.
 

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pvkj454 said:
I don't see how the small 392 radiator can keep the engine from overheating. It is the same thickness as the 3.8 JK radiator, same width and slightly shorter. They both have a single tube design that is approx. 1" wide. The 392 radiator does have a tube spacing of approximately .235 and the JK and the Camaro SS radiators have .350 spacing. The Camaro SS radiator is 3/8" thicker. The 392 transmission cooler has a larger tube diameter than the JK cooler.
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I suspect a lot of this has to do with the airflow through the front of the Jeep. With the grill on the jeep doesn't really get a whole lot of air passing through the radiator. The fan helps some but a large portion of the JK radiator sits behind the bumper. A car with more efficient airflow design likely flows about twice as much air through the radiator. Also, the 392 radiator could be a multi-pass.
 
The 392 radiator has 84 tubes and the JK radiator has 60. Less coolant volume through the 392 tubes since they are thinner. Maybe that is how they are gaining heat transfer in the small size.
 
So far so good on the 392 radiator keeping the LS cool with only the JK fan rigged in for temporary use. The 392 fan is on national backorder. I wasted money by ordering the cooling package since I didn't use the condenser.
 
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