Cooling System

[greenmac80]

Hey all

I'm new to this!

 

I'm looking to do a very simple radiator upgrade!

I hava a KE55 standard motor.

I've been looking around and i'm thinking of a radiator out of a AE92 corolla as they are longer and thinner

than original! Also can put a second thermo on!

 

Has anyone done this?

Also how hard is it to mount a new radiator.

Also battery is in the boot

Cheers

[Redwarf]

Hey all

I'm new to this!

 

I'm looking to do a very simple radiator upgrade!

I hava a KE55 standard motor.

I've been looking around and i'm thinking of a radiator out of a AE92 corolla as they are longer and thinner

than original! Also can put a second thermo on!

 

Has anyone done this?

Also how hard is it to mount a new radiator.

Also battery is in the boot

Cheers

 

Just get a triple core KE55 one. Bolts in and will do all that is required.

 

I ran my very warm 2TG off one in QLD.

[greenmac80]

Just get a triple core KE55 one. Bolts in and will do all that is required.

 

I ran my very warm 2TG off one in QLD.

 

 

I've heard of doin g this but i'm not sure of price! How much did it set you back?

[Redwarf]

Dude, when you build a rally car, you don't keep track of the price of things, you only scare yourself after a while! :P

 

Fron memory, brand spankers re-core about $300?

 

Anyone done it more recently than me, or know a better price?

 

R

[towe001]

The radiator from the ae92 mounts up differently to the ke55.

That is the ae92 one sits on a "cradle" and has a bracket like clamp that holds it down on to the cradle. All of this is rubber mounted and the inlet and outlets are off to the sides - inlet to the right, outlet to the left. It will not be a simple job.

 

If your after something that'd be a simple upgrade, start looking at the wreckers for cars that use the same mounting style but with a bigger motor.

EG - Corona, Celica, Gemini, etc, etc.

 

But if your looking at the upgrade as to try to stop the motor from overheating go and get it professionally flushed first and if it doesn't really do anything then start looking at the upgrade with a clean coolant system.

 

If you try doing it yourself with a garden hose all you'll be doing is flushing the old coolant out and nothing else. Its an eye opener in seeing the amount of crap that gets blown out with a mix of air and water....

 

And make sure you use a new thermostat. Using none will only give you a false sense of a win in blowing the gasket around cylinders 3 and 4

[LittleRedSpirit]

Got a triple core recore quote on an ae71 radiator, wasn't much change from $500 most places.

[dfunkt]

Alloy Radiator Group Buy

[Taz_Rx]

Are you actually overheating, or do you just want to upgrade!?

 

If you are overheating, then a ke55 rad should be fine on a stock motor - Thats what they're built for!!

So you have other issues like a stuck thermostat or blocked rad.

 

I think the easiest and cheapest solution is a v6 commo rad......

 

inlet/outlets are in the same place, just need to lengthen the top hose.

Mounting is easy. All I did was drill some holes in the stone guard for the lugs on the bottom of it, and then make up some brackets to hold the top. Done!

 

Oh, and depending on exactly what type of commo its from it may or may not have a cap!! Mine didn't, thats why its on the steel pipe extension.

[greenmac80]

Are you actually overheating, or do you just want to upgrade!?

 

If you are overheating, then a ke55 rad should be fine on a stock motor - Thats what they're built for!!

So you have other issues like a stuck thermostat or blocked rad.

 

I think the easiest and cheapest solution is a v6 commo rad......

 

inlet/outlets are in the same place, just need to lengthen the top hose.

Mounting is easy. All I did was drill some holes in the stone guard for the lugs on the bottom of it, and then make up some brackets to hold the top. Done!

 

Oh, and depending on exactly what type of commo its from it may or may not have a cap!! Mine didn't, thats why its on the steel pipe extension.

Thanks heaps looks good!

At the moment my car is only a 4 speed manual! and in january i am doing a trip from adelaide to whyalla! i wish to upgrade to make sure that the car will be able to handle the trip at 100! Could you please get me some better photos of the mounting brackets you made up?

[towe001]

Pfft like what was said the standard radiator will be good enough. If your motors overheating its not cause the radiators not up to the task its cause the motor has problems - eg: blockage, timings out, etc

 

Another way to look at it is that the radiator in my dad's old '55 had about a quarter of its fins chewed out and the only times it'd start getting hot (3/4 mark is where it'd sit) is when it was towing a loaded 5x7 box trailer.....

 

Get the coolant system pro flushed first and then see how things go.

 

Which is better spending about 80 - 90 bucks to get it flushed or spend quite possibly way over $200 on a bigger radiator, then find that the coolant system was blocked up in the first place and then have the motor being undercooled, wasting fuel and damaging the motor cause it can't get up to temp....

[Taz_Rx]

^^^^^Fully agree.

 

heres a pic of the bracket, really simple. Just screws to the rad support panel with a 90o bend which bolts to the fan/shroud bolt holes.

[greenmac80]

^^^^^Fully agree.

 

heres a pic of the bracket, really simple. Just screws to the rad support panel with a 90o bend which bolts to the fan/shroud bolt holes.

 

Hey just a quick question!

Did you cut thr front of the car to allow more air flow?

and also should a thermo fan sit on the inside or outside? also

should it be pushing or pulling the air?

Mine is on the inside and its pulling the air in from the outside.....

just tryin to make sure i git it right!

[Rolla__Boy]

Why ask the question if you are going to ignore the answer.

 

It doesn't matter how far or where you are driving, if you have a standard 4K...the standard radiator will keep the car cool. If it doesn't, you have a problem with the cooling system.

 

Putting a larger radiator/getting more thermofans is a bandaid solution, meaning that it covers up the real problem.

 

If you want to make sure your car will be fine for a long trip, then make sure the standard radiator/engine fan are able to keep the engine cool, otherwise you are heading for problems.

 

When you start forcing air down their throats etc...you may need to upgrade cooling system, but wasting time and money stuffing a massive radiator in the front is not going to fix the problem with a standard engine running hot.

[Taz_Rx]

Hey just a quick question!

Did you cut thr front of the car to allow more air flow?

and also should a thermo fan sit on the inside or outside? also

should it be pushing or pulling the air?

Mine is on the inside and its pulling the air in from the outside.....

just tryin to make sure i git it right!

 

Yes, used a hole saw and drilled holes everywere rather than cutting away all of the support. Some of the front panel was already gone from the cooler.

 

With the thermo fan direct, they'l all work both ways by reversing the wires, BUT they all also have a prefer direction.

Nomally you'll get about TWICE the air flow through having it hooked up the right way.

Props or fans have a fin design that will work in reverse, but not to maximum efficiency. :lol:

[greenmac80]

Why ask the question if you are going to ignore the answer.

 

It doesn't matter how far or where you are driving, if you have a standard 4K...the standard radiator will keep the car cool. If it doesn't, you have a problem with the cooling system.

 

Putting a larger radiator/getting more thermofans is a bandaid solution, meaning that it covers up the real problem.

 

If you want to make sure your car will be fine for a long trip, then make sure the standard radiator/engine fan are able to keep the engine cool, otherwise you are heading for problems.

 

When you start forcing air down their throats etc...you may need to upgrade cooling system, but wasting time and money stuffing a massive radiator in the front is not going to fix the problem with a standard engine running hot.

The thing is....

i have had the motor rebuilt! so there isn't any problems there.

the car seems to have its good days and bad days! i don't know what i'm going to do

one suggestion was to get the cooling system professionally flushed! $90 ish

for that much i could get the bigger radiator and another fan. which would allow me to do the motor up at some other stage.

Just lookign for suggestions.