While sourcing a replacement radiator for overheating P38 diesel I notice that some have two brass fittings in the bottom, tank which mine does not have. I cannot find any reference to them in the catalogue. Can anyone shed any light on them??? Can they be fitted as a replacement to the "standard" 1999 radiator??
Cheers, Mike

From memory it is for an oil cooler of some sort.

Not seen th p38 one specifically, but a lot of cars have the autobox cooler integrated into the rad end tanks.

Petrol p38 have a separate autobox cooler, but perhaps they've integrated it in the diesel to save space or similar.

There's been discussion about this before with the diesel radiators and it appears there is a difference between early and late. Because of the intercooler there is less options for oil cooler, AC condenser and transmission cooler so one (no idea which) is incorporated into the radiator. General opinion seems to be that if you don't need the inbuilt cooler and can't get one without, you just don't connect it.

That's correct. Later diesels have the oil cooler in front of the front left hand side wheel. The brass fittings are left unconnected and don't require blanking off either.

Diesels came with either a manual gearbox or an auto box. The cooler for the manual box was integrated into a section of the radiator near the bottom. The cooler for auto box models is under the LHS front wing. I think the very, very early ones (1995/96?) had no cooler under the wing. The gearbox does clearly overheat and later models ... from 1999 I think, then also had a fan fitted.
Engine oil coolers are separate and situated behind the radiator along with the turbo intercooler.
I am not aware there is an early and late radiator for the diesel. I think it is just two different types i.e. manual and auto.
The diesel radiator water connections, in and out, are all at the top unlike the petrol rads.
Aftermarket rads for the diesel now all seem to be for the manual gearbox car. These can be fitted to the auto box cars but the section for the gearbox is just left unconnected. That is probably what you can see.
I have actually got an alloy rad on mine and has been left disconnected. Been like that for 10 years+.
Not sure about OEM rads, whether they still do both types.