ORIGINAL: Kmot
Radiators are plastic these days. My '97 Dodge Ram radiator is plastic. I figured the coolant would not harm the plastic. I normally clean engines with McKays Parts Dip, and I am sure to always remove plastic and rubber parts. But I did not think the coolant would harm it. What a surprise.
Here is what's left of it.
Not to hijack the thread, but radiators are still made of aluminum... there may be plastic reservoirs on the side of the radiator, but I assure you the fins and cores are still aluminum. Plastic is an insulator, not a conductor and would thus make a terrible heat dissipater. Also remember that there are thousands of plastics out there, so one type may be perfectly fine with antifreeze at or above boiling and one type might just fall apart by contacting room temperature antifreeze.
Anyway, it's still not cool that it busted up on you... best of luck with the repairs.