F-20 Radiator Installation

Hi All,

I am getting ready to install a new radiator core in my Farmall F-20. I have not installed a new core before and wanted to see if there is anything special that needs to be done when installing the new one.

I have the new core along with the upper and lower gaskets. My main question is, do I/should I put any type of gasket sealer on or should the cork gaskets be enough on their own? If so, what kind of gasket sealer? I have some indian head gasket sealer along with high temp head gasket sealer if either of those would work. Also, if I end up sandblasting the tanks and the side pieces, what should I use on the inside to protect it, or is normal primer fine?

Last question is, should I be painting the radiator core? How did it come originally and is there any benefit to painting it vs leaving as plain metal? And if so is there any special paint to use? I know some people paint letter series radiators black, but I haven't seen many F-20s with recent new radiators to compare it to.

This is a unrestored tractor, and I have yet to decide if I will end up restoring it or not.
I will be running antifreeze in it, not sure if that makes any difference.

Thanks in advance,

~FarmallCT

they make a special paint for cores, it's supposed to transfer heat better then regular paint.

Jeeze, you are lucky to have that tractor. It's a nice unit! I love the wide front ends on them.

Put a film of sealant on the sides of the gaskets for extra measure. Heat resistant RTV or copper coat would work.

I paint the core a flat black. Special paint for heat transfer won't matter, those affects are negligible. Or don't paint it at all and let it naturally acquire patina like the tractor.

Have fun!

FarmallCT, Looks good you need to post more pictures of that F-20
I use permatex HITak on my Radiator cork gaskets. Best to not paint radiator core.
Make sure your metal is clean and coat both sides of gasket.

On mine, I took the gaskets and put a light skim coat on them (running them through my fingers), of high temp RTV. I did not do anything special to the insides of the tanks, but I suppose you could prime them if you wanted. I have been told NOT to as that stuff may eventually end up causing you issues down the road. I made a video of the core replacement on my F20, which included how I fabricated a replacement overflow tube (link below, radiator portion starts about 17 minutes into the video). I also do not paint the cores on my radiators. Both my Unstyled A and my F20 are natural. I kind of like the color of them that way. One thing to pay attention to - make sure you put the radiator side panels on correctly the first time. I had to pull mine back off and switch sides because I put the one with air cleaner mount holes on the incorrect side. (I like doing things the hard way)...

Let us know if you have any questions. Lots of knowledgeable people on the forums here. Good luck.
Episode 11: Radiator Reassembly

Thanks! I will be sure to do so once it's back together.
I probably will go with what you said, leaving the radiator as is and just using some of that permatex on the gaskets.
Hoping to get the cast pieces sand blasted while its apart so everything should be pretty clean. Any suggestions on a coating/paint/anything for the inside of the cast pieces or just leave as is?

Thanks again!
~FarmallCT

Thanks. Did you sandblast the inside of the tanks or just left them as is? I started to look at the videos of you and your F-20 project, looks good. I plan on watching them some more to see how you've done it. I will likely leave the core unpainted as you and others have mentioned. Also will make note of the sides and put it on the right way the first time! If you hadn't mentioned it I just might have done that by accident.

Thanks again for the help and advice!
~FarmallCT

I did not sandblast them - I wire wheeled them as best I could, and left them raw cast. There are a lot of videos on that and other tractors. I try to include as much as I can (both mistakes and not), just to show maybe not necessarily the proper way, but a way that worked for me.

On a side note, if you screw up the side panels like I did - not a huge deal. Just have to remove about 16 of the 40+ bolts. Ha ha. Good luck, and let us know how you handle it.