You may have heard that new cars are being made with plastic radiators. We'll it's true or at least half true. Since the early 1980's most manufacturers have been using radiators in some models that have plastic tanks and either copper or aluminum cores. Since the 90's, roughly 80% of all new cars and light trucks have PTR's (Plastic Tank Radiators). Virtually all OEM manufacturers use plastic tank/aluminum core radiators exclusively today. The manufacturers began using PTR's for several reasons. Using plastic instead of brass tanks took some weight off each radiator which means better fuel economy. A machine can assemble a PTR instead of a person. Lastly plastic tanks are cheaper to make than brass. Many people have been misinformed, that these radiators cannot be repaired. Most plastic tank radiators can be repaired. Just as the manufacturers build their cars differently, their radiators are also quite different. Some have very durable aluminum cores with weak tanks that can be quickly replaced. Some have copper cores that can be easily repaired by soldering. Other designs can also be repaired but not as easily as others. Unfortunately there are some that cannot be repaired at all due to design weaknesses. At Cap-A-Radiator, we keep plastic radiator tanks in stock to service and repair many PTR's. We also have in stock or can easily get new radiators to replace a non-repairable radiator. In some cases the replacement may be an all copper radiator that will exceed the cooling capacity of the original plastic tank radiator. At Cap-A-Radiator we can handle your cooling system problem even if it is a "Plastic Radiator."
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