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Upgrade to new radiator and oil cooler mounted to the lower cowl? SL-00112

M

mikefox

Well Known Member
Patron
One question on two planes:

1) We currently have a 12iS that has the latest radiator and mounting hardware shown in SB-00088 Rev 2.

Is it worth spending the money to upgrade to the new radiator and oil cooler mounted to the lower cowling? No leaks so far (knock on wood).

2) We are building a second 12iS and already received the radiator and oil cooler, but haven’t installed yet.

Same question?
 
I would install new design on the aircraft in progress and keep at least the coolant radiator as a spare should you have problems with your first 12iS. Or you can surely sell it to someone waiting on their backordered radiator.

It’s a harder decision for those with operating 12iS’s. I’m planning on continuing to operate original design until (if/when?) issues pop up.
 
brianb08 said:
I would install new design on the aircraft in progress and keep at least the coolant radiator as a spare should you have problems with your first 12iS. Or you can surely sell it to someone waiting on their backordered radiator.

It’s a harder decision for those with operating 12iS’s. I’m planning on continuing to operate original design until (if/when?) issues pop up.
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Pretty sure the radiator is a different design to work with the new mounting. It also got a new part number. My understanding is that a different vendor is building these.
 
Brantel said:
Pretty sure the radiator is a different design to work with the new mounting. It also got a new part number. My understanding is that a different vendor is building these.
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Yes, 100% agree. Sticking to just the coolant radiator, the original engine mounted 12iS design can be modified per SB-00088 to work with the mounting described in that service bulletin, still engine mounted. It’s part number EA RV-12IS RADIATOR in the Van’s store. My understanding is these are sourced from a Czech manufacturer. Interesting that the online store shows this as no longer available.

The cowl mounted radiator is part number EA-RV-12IS RADIATOR-2 and available with the SL-00112 kits SL-00112-KIT-A and SL-00112-KIT-B. My understanding is this is sourced from a US based supplier.
 
I am curious... Would Van's post the actual number/percentage of radiator failures for their original 12iS design?
 
I'll be picking up my 912Is engine (ordered Dec 2024) in a couple of weeks and ordered the new radiator kit. Not even close to hanging it but at least I got it.
 
YME said:
I'll be picking up my 912Is engine (ordered Dec 2024) in a couple of weeks and ordered the new radiator kit. Not even close to hanging it but at least I got it.
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Did you have to pay the full $2500 price for the kit, in addition to the full price for the engine?
 
Just to report, I received my iS engine yesterday and it came with the SL-00112A bundled!
 
ymc9 said:
Just to report, I received my iS engine yesterday and it came with the SL-00112A bundled!
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Glad for you! It cost me $2500! It will be here tomorrow and my original radiator is still backordered!☹️ I may never see it even though I paid for it as well.
 
Brantel said:
Glad for you! It cost me $2500! It will be here tomorrow and my original radiator is still backordered!☹️ I may never see it even though I paid for it as well.
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Thanks! I'm surely lucky. Hope your B/O can be shipped soon and sold to someone needing a replacement.
 
Brantel said:
Glad for you! It cost me $2500! It will be here tomorrow and my original radiator is still backordered!☹️ I may never see it even though I paid for it as well.
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Since you've ordered an updated radiator, have you contacted Van's to see if they'll cancel the back order and credit you for the old radiator?
 
rv12is said:
Since you've ordered an updated radiator, have you contacted Van's to see if they'll cancel the back order and credit you for the old radiator?
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No because someone else already did and they got told nope. After all some of us have been through, not sure how I would react to that. I know my limits and that would likely pop my cork.
 
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jsalley said:
Did you have to pay the full $2500 price for the kit, in addition to the full price for the engine?
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Yes, do not know why but will ask when I go up. Thought if I was getting the engine, they would have swapped out the radiators.
 
YME said:
Yes, do not know why but will ask when I go up. Thought if I was getting the engine, they would have swapped out the radiators.
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Another example of how they treat customers differently. One gets it includes included in his PP kit and another has to pay for his. 🫤
 
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Just got off the phone with Builder Support at Van’s. They expect to be shipping the backordered radiators on 10/1 (I.e. next week) to those who received their power plant kits before the recent SL was issued. These will be the previous generation radiators that bolt to the engine. Anyone who wants to upgrade to the cowling-mounted radiator/oil cooler will have to pay for the $2500 upgrade kit. I plan to install the older type and hope for the best. It’s a fairly straightforward replacement to upgrade later, if need be, so I can put off the $ outlay for now.
 
jsalley said:
Snip: They expect to be shipping the backordered radiators on 10/1 (I.e. next week) to those who received their power plant kits before the recent SL was issued. :Snip
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Ah the ever sliding radiator shipping date slides again. In August they were to ship 9/9/25. I lost count of how many times it slid out before then.
SMH
 
Here is my $2495+tax updated radiator and oil cooler. My never installed originals will be for sale sometime soon.

We now know who is making these now.
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Well, after thinking about the number of times Van’s has pushed out the delivery date for the radiators (and seeing Brian’s photos of the updated radiator/oil cooler kit), I decided to bite the bullet and order the kit too. So there’ll be at least two sets of oil coolers and radiators up for sale before long 😵‍💫!
 
Kit A requires pneumatic riveting/bucking tools to install the rivets that attach the lower bracket to the bottom of the cowling. Kit B substitutes nut plates and screws for the flush rivets.
 
Because the nut plates attach to the oil-cooler support bracket, they can be installed with a rivet squeezer. Without the nut plates, you need to rivet the support bracket directly to the cowl, which requires a rivet gun and bucking bar; you can’t use a squeezer for those rivets.
 
Amadeus said:
Nutplates require rivets, too. Right? I'm not getting the difference.
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The nutplates go on the brackets where you can squeeze them. The “A” has rivets that can’t be reached with most squeezers.

It would be clear if you download the SL and study the way it all goes together.
 
This might be a silly question, but since the RV-12 was designed to be fully assembled without a rivet gun, it seems odd that this one upgrade should require one, and even stranger that they spent the engineering effort to design a second replacement kit that doesn't require bucking. Is there some advantage to kit A over kit B? It would seem there must be or why else would they complicate the situation like this?
 
ravenstar said:
This might be a silly question, but since the RV-12 was designed to be fully assembled without a rivet gun, it seems odd that this one upgrade should require one, and even stranger that they spent the engineering effort to design a second replacement kit that doesn't require bucking. Is there some advantage to kit A over kit B? It would seem there must be or why else would they complicate the situation like this?
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Also the default kit sent with the PP kit is the -A version.
 
There’s not much difference engineering-wise between the A and B kits. The B kit simply requires installing five K1000-8 nutplates on the lower bracket (I have a bunch of those left over from my build), drill 5 corresponding holes in the cowling, and secure with 5 screws (again, I have a bunch of extra leftover screws). So even if you have the A kit, you probably have everything you need on hand to convert to the B installation if desired.
 
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ymc9 said:
Also the default kit sent with the PP kit is the -A version.
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If correct, that's even more annoying and puzzling. So builders now have to locate a rivet gun and the skills to use it just for this one part, or order additional parts to complete the kit? My engine kit should arrive in a few weeks so I'll see what I get then.

jsalley said:
There’s not much difference engineering-wise between the A and B kits. The B kit simply requires installing three K1000-8 nutplates on the lower bracket (I have a bunch of those left over from my build), drill 3 corresponding holes in the cowling, and secure with 3 screws (again, I have a bunch of extra leftover screws). So even if you have the A kit, you probably have everything you need on hand to convert to the B installation if desired.
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Even if it's only a few parts, why break with the design goal? Anyway, if Kit A is supplied by default now, I hope you're right. I'm just scratching my head at the logic here, though, if there is any.
 
ravenstar said:
If correct, that's even more annoying and puzzling. So builders now have to locate a rivet gun and the skills to use it just for this one part, or order additional parts to complete the kit? My engine kit should arrive in a few weeks so I'll see what I get then.



Even if it's only a few parts, why break with the design goal? Anyway, if Kit A is supplied by default now, I hope you're right. I'm just scratching my head at the logic here, though, if there is any.
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I wonder if Vans is still finalizing how to deliver it. I got the SL-00112A box with my PP kit, but the hardware for installing it is missing (there are only the two coolers). I've contacted Vans and asked if the HW will be shipped later can it be swapped with -B.
 
YME said:
John, I thought I responded to your post previously but to answer your question, yes I did.
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Gonna be a lot of brand new previous generation radiators and oil coolers on the market soon. Got my radiator kit today - heading out in a few minutes to get started on it.
 
jsalley said:
Gonna be a lot of brand new previous generation radiators and oil coolers on the market soon. Got my radiator kit today - heading out in a few minutes to get started on it.
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John, keep us informed on what it takes to install. Thanks
 
Received my radiator/oil cooler kit yesterday, and have the installation on the lower cowling pretty well competed. It’s a straightforward install, although it was necessary to do a fair amount of trimming and sanding of the openings in the cowling. I think the B kit (bracket attaches with screws and nutplates) is probably easier than using bucked rivets as in the A kit, although it does leave you with five exposed screw heads on the bottom of the cowling.

Planning to install on the plane on Monday, hopefully followed by first engine start soon after.
 

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jsalley said:
Received my radiator/oil cooler kit yesterday, and have the installation on the lower cowling pretty well competed. It’s a straightforward install, although it was necessary to do a fair amount of trimming and sanding of the openings in the cowling. I think the B kit (bracket attaches with screws and nutplates) is probably easier than using bucked rivets as in the A kit, although it does leave you with five exposed screw heads on the bottom of the cowling.

Planning to install on the plane on Monday, hopefully followed by first engine start soon after.
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John, Thanks for the update.
 
I have gotten around to starting the install for this kit upgrade and have a few observations…..

The paint quality of the radiator and oil cooler is terrible. With minimal handling, it scratches and peels off easily. The original oil cooler design appears to be powder coated. Not sure about the original radiator since that debacle is still unresolved.

The material that the mounting flanges are made of is very very soft. It bends with the slightest pressure. The original oil cooler design seems to be with stronger material due to the fact that I can’t bend them by hand. Again, not sure how this compares to the original oil cooler.

The holes and edge prep on the new designed mounting flanges looks horrible compared to the original oil cooler which has very nice edge treatment and quality holes. These new ones are very rough in my opinion. Not sure how this compares to the original radiator.

For $2700 of my dollars, I expected an equal or better quality radiator and oil cooler compared to the original.. Not sure how durable these very soft flanges are going to be. The edge and hole prep is not good. Looks like the edges were cut with a band saw and the holes were drilled with a worn out bit. The paint is horrible and most of it will likely fall off in short order.

Both oil cooler and the radiator are marked as an oil cooler with different part numbers. Minor issue I know but …..

YMMV, this is just my opinion and I call it as I see it.
 
Brantel said:
I have gotten around to starting the install for this kit upgrade and have a few observations…..

The paint quality of the radiator and oil cooler is terrible. With minimal handling, it scratches and peels off easily. The original oil cooler design appears to be powder coated. Not sure about the original radiator since that debacle is still unresolved.

The material that the mounting flanges are made of is very very soft. It bends with the slightest pressure. The original oil cooler design seems to be with stronger material due to the fact that I can’t bend them by hand. Again, not sure how this compares to the original oil cooler.

The holes and edge prep on the new designed mounting flanges looks horrible compared to the original oil cooler which has very nice edge treatment and quality holes. These new ones are very rough in my opinion. Not sure how this compares to the original radiator.

For $2700 of my dollars, I expected an equal or better quality radiator and oil cooler compared to the original.. Not sure how durable these very soft flanges are going to be. The edge and hole prep is not good. Looks like the edges were cut with a band saw and the holes were drilled with a worn out bit. The paint is horrible and most of it will likely fall off in short order.

Both oil cooler and the radiator are marked as an oil cooler with different part numbers. Minor issue I know but …..

YMMV, this is just my opinion and I call it as I see it.
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This is discouraging to see. I'm disappointed to read this, sorry you're having to deal with it.

I am doing an ACI on 12is with a couple hundred hours on the original setup with no leaks. I have been thinking through the conversation with the owner on this subject. He seems like the type to not care about the cost and to say that if there is an SB it should be done. This news doesn't make that discussion any easier.
 
I just received a notification from FedEx of a package being overnighted from Van’s. Weight and dimensions are appropriate for the 12iS radiator that’s been backordered for nearly a year. I’ll be putting it (and the original oil cooler, along with all mounting hardware) in a classified post, since I’ve already bought and installed the upgraded cowl-mounted kit. Kind of humorous that they’re overnighting it across the country now that I don’t need it. 😖
 
jsalley said:
I just received a notification from FedEx of a package being overnighted from Van’s. Weight and dimensions are appropriate for the 12iS radiator that’s been backordered for nearly a year. I’ll be putting it (and the original oil cooler, along with all mounting hardware) in a classified post, since I’ve already bought and installed the upgraded cowl-mounted kit. Kind of humorous that they’re overnighting it across the country now that I don’t need it. 😖
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Crazy isn't it? :rolleyes: :unsure:
 
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