Cooling System Upgrade
Existing Cooling System
After a drive, had two collapsed hoses. Led to more education and updating cooling system. Collapsed hoses were corrugated rubber with sharp bends and spiral wire inside. The rubber was worn and wire supports rusted out and collapsed, with a tip broken off. The upper hose to expansion tank had three hose/fitting sizes, and an inline fan controller tube with no connection beads. The upper hoses were oversized related to the lower hose, contributing to excess vacuum/pressure. Possibly contributed by a faulty thermo, cap, impeller corrosion, clogged radiator, etc.
The metal lower tube and expansion tank were rusty inside. Many hoses had high stress turns and lower metal tube ends were misaligned. The heater hose had an ugly pink stripe, two sized hoses glued together, and corroded metal tube ends. The many sized hose/fitting required several adapters to equate sizes on each line.
The radiator was old with bent fins, likely rust inside clogging it some, and needing a full boiling clean/flush. The fan was undersized, with no gasket or shroud,, and wired to always be on with the ignition. The water pump had rusty leak marks from the overflow hole and all over. The expansion tank out-leveraged its mount, working loose on its own and moving easily by hand. Overall, many points of failure in the existing system and not effectively cooling.
Before Photos
New Cooling System
Wanted a more confident, long-term solution. Objectives included: enhanced fan volume and sealing; same size fittings/hoses on each respective hose run; eliminate inline fan controller to reduce failure points; reduce corrosion by design; minimize hose bends, taking up angles in fittings; eliminate hose clamps with AN fittings; minimize weight with aluminum and lightweight (strong) hose, etc.
Went with a full AN (JIC) style fitting system with new aluminum radiator, water pump, expansion tank and thermostat housing, all with matching sized AN fittings customized/configured for respective upper and lower hose sizes.
Using a Fluidyne Shelby aluminum radiator. Ryan at Fluidyne was fantastic facilitating my custom solution. They welded on AN fittings, -20 upper inlet, -24 lower outlet. Second air bleed petcock on the upper pass side. Extreme 3,000 CFM fan with bung for thermal switch below radiator inlet. Nice welded fan mount and fan gasket to ensure sealing, while allowing excess air to flow through the engine bay. Bung for anti-corrosion anode on the upper pass side to protect from dissimilar metals. Sent Edelbrock high flow pump to Fluidyne to weld on a 24 AN pump inlet fitting.
Using Brown & Miller Racing Solutions (BMRS) lightweight black (Aramid) hoses and black anodized aluminum AN fittings. 20 AN crimp lock fittings and 24 AN Press-Lock fittings, all field measured and returned to BMRS for machine assembly. The fittings had angles from 30 to 120 degrees. All fittings were double swivel for max flexibility, except the 120 degree. Each assembly had at least one swivel end, so clocking wasn’t needed for hose assembly. Fitting angles and rough hose lengths were mocked up with wire on planned routes. Final measured with actual parts on site and returned for assembly. 6 AN hose/fittings from fill cap overflow port to overflow tank.
The unsealed fan motor is not for off-road or regular/heavy wet weather use. Given limited driving mainly in good weather, Ryan felt I’d be fine and improve my cooling, many of his customers have done the same. For fan wiring, it was cleanest to tie into the existing. The wiring was already in the existing harness, of adequate gauge with relay and fuse. Replaced the existing relay with a higher amp version. The fab shop’s mechanic verified the wiring solution and spec’d Duetsch connectors for tie in.
For water pump install, was going to use Permatex Ultra Black, then Ultra Grey, but ended up using high temp Hondabond. The fab shop mechanic recommended it and many online recommend it. The Edelbrock tech said any of those is adequate. Used a CSR Racing aluminum o-ring thermostat housing with 20 AN outlet. Replaced the thermostat with a Stewart/EMP 185 degree balanced high flow thermostat with pre-drilled relief holes.
Had a new aluminum expansion/recovery tank fabricated with AN fittings and weld on fill/cap fitting. It achieved the goal of same or greater capacity, using more depth and less footprint, with cap at high point of system. That freed space for engine bay access and any future updates like Accusump, power steering or brake boost, etc. It centered the tank, used dead space by curving around the pulley system, with an integrated design effect. Improved the mounting system with wider and increased bolt pattern.
The Fluidyne Shelby radiator fit like a glove. Got three slotted rubber mounting grommets from Acton Custom Enterprises, great service. These are designed to fit the single upper and dual lower mounting studs on the Fluidyne radiator, worked well by design. They isolated the radiator from vibration and electrolysis. The shop fabbed an aluminum upper radiator mount plate, with grommet fitted, and customized my existing lower mount for grommet fitment. Rerouted wiring to be out of view, no longer running over radiator mounting plate. Shortened and remounted the overflow tank. This allowed fit under the hood with a desired upright mounting position and better drain access.
The radiator mount plate, expansion and overflow tanks were powder coated 80% chrome. The color is between my silver paint and gray stripes, tying in nicely. I thought about black, but with a fair amount of space up front, seems it would feel like a big void. It now extends the mechanical/metallic feel throughout the engine bay, which I liked in this case. Replaced the old mechanical fan mounting spacer, which stuck out several inches. The new flush version freed space and enhanced visually.
Used a leak-free coolant filler kit. It initially splash up/over the open sides, so I modified it. Put the snap on plastic lid back on and cut a 2” hole in the center. That protected the outer edges from bubble/splash over, leaving a hole for air exchange. I set a small funnel in the hole for easy filling, still allowing air to escape. It worked well.
Went with Evans waterless coolant. I like the premise/properties, recognizing everything has trade-offs. I like the prospect of reducing/avoiding corrosion given the waterless, and lower pressure and lower maintenance. Used the Evans Prep to flush/scavenge the block. Let it dry using my auto vacuum in reverse mode. Used a refractometer to test for any water content, to Evans’ spec.
Some say Evans keeps the coolant system consistently in range, yet may increase engine
oil/cylinder operating temperature. Some say it doesn’t. Appears application dependent based on various factors. Again, looking for a more permanent/low-maintenance cooling system foundation, starting with the above. If I need more water side system cooling, I’ll look at adding dual pusher fans up front. If the engine
oil/cylinder temps seem high, I’ll look at adding an
oil cooler. Will see how this phase does and go from there.
After Photos
