Afternoon guys,

Just want to get some thoughts on this radiator fitment. The radiator I have has the outlets on the passenger side and the lower barb interferes with the intercooler pipe coming down from the turbo. I can’t move the pipe because then there will be fitment issues with the frame. I can’t reweld the inlet/outlet to the driver side because the end tank on that side is too small. I’d like to run this radiator if possible as I’ve set it up with a good shroud and dual fans already and there are limited choices for driver side inlet/outlet radiators as it is. My only real option, if sticking with this radiator, is to run it slightly offset towards the driver side.

my question is, how much of an issue would it be that the intercooler end tank blocks a small section of the radiator core and the radiator end tank blocks a small section of the intercooler core? I can’t offset the intercooler with it because the intercooler fits within the tubular front end and is a tight fit as it is.

I appreciate any input you guys have, and if you have questions or are curious about the build, ask away.

thanks!

 

It's not going to be an issue to offset it, especially since it looks like you have room to run a puller fan in there. Get it to where it fits and run with it.

 

I have a shroud on the radiator with dual 10” 1300cfm puller fans. Thanks for the input, so the marginal blocking of the core isn’t a huge deal? It’s a 3 row crossflow radiator and I guess theres only really 2-3 inches of the core blocked by the intercooler. It definitely helps having the dedicated trans cooler mounted to the side and not in the radiator stack.

 

Yeah, mine has pusher fans, so half my core is blocked by the fans themselves and I have no issues with cooling.

 

I'm running a Ford OE fan. Hottest my car ever got was in bumper to bumper traffic, got to 204F. Usually cruises in the hottest part of the summer in the mid 190s.

Kurt Urban, Jay Blanchard and others told me to it would good if I could tin up some block offs on the sides so that air is forced through the intercooler if that makes sense. I have a long list of fabrication items for my car, some day I'll drop it off with a buddy and pay him a suitcase of money.

 

ok gotcha, so even though the intercooler and radiator are offset, have block offs in the air gaps between them so the fan draws air through both the intercooler and radiator rather than from the air gap between them? Makes sense thanks

 

The amount of air the is funneled through and not allowed around I think is a big player. Friend pointed out to my with my project when extending the radiator cap to build a shroud eventually. Pointed out that I have something that causes resistance and the air wants to choose the path of least resistance, so while getting some airflow through, especially with pushers, if it can be funneled more directly through the radiator with no escape around, cooling probably be better than it already is.

 

It looks like you can angle that intercooler pipe towards the motor? Would that open enough space to connect the lower radiator hose? You would have to cut the center of the U pipe and weld in a straight section if so.

 

unfortunately the lower radiator bung is directly in line with the horizontal section of the intercooler pipe so even if I were to extend the horizontal section to push the vertical section further towards the driver side, it would still block the lower radiator port. If I were to do that and reweld the lower radiator mounts higher I might be able to have the lower radiator port clear over the top of the horizontal section but then the issue I run into is the vertical section of the intercooler pipe blocking the thermostat housing and if I were to be able to get a hose on the thermostat housing bung, I’d be forced to route the hose behind the vertical intercooler pipe towards the passenger side and it would be touching the hotside up-pipe going to the turbo. Fun stuff lol

im trying to source a 16 ORB to 1-1/2” hose barb 45 or 90 degree fitting for the lower radiator port to be able to slide the radiator as far towards the driver side as I can before that fitting hits the intercooler pipe. I thought about removing the u-bend pipe connecting the vertical intercooler pipe to the driver side of the intercooler, cutting 2-ish inches off and putting it back on to move the vertical pipe a couple inches towards the driver side, but then the intercooler pipe touches the v band clamp for the turbo up-pipe.

this is as far centered as I can get the radiator in its current orientation with a 16 orb to 1-1/2” straight hose barb on the lower radiator port.



the only other option I can think of is to run a 16orb to 24an adapter in the lower radiator port then 24an 90 or 45 degree fitting and 24an hose to the thermostat housing but I’m not sure that’s even going to be any less bulky.

the easiest solution would be to run the radiator offset but now that I’m looking at it mocked up, it seems like it would have to be offset pretty far

 

In picture #2 it looks like you could angle that vertical section of charge pipe down towards the pass side to line up with the forward section going to IC? Could be done with tubing bends or silicone elbows. Can also make any Shape lower rad hose with hose elbows and tubing. A better pic of the area in question would help

 

I’ll snap a better pic when I get home but you can kind of see what I’m working with in this pic. The intercooler pipe has to run in the space between the wastegate dump tube and the crossover/turbo up-pipe. The turbo up-pipe slopes slightly towards the front of the car as it comes down so if I were to swing the intercooler pipe towards the passenger side of the car it would make the intercooler pipe sit against the v-band clamp which would heat up the intercooler pipe as well as quickly wear through it.

 

Another idea based on what I can see in the pics , what about clocking the comp housing so the discharge is pointing on an angle down and to the pass side on the outside of that chassis tube , maybe a 45° coupler there and tube would line up with the intercooler tube at the bottom and be well away from the rad outlet. Hard to work from pics , trying to help

 

What size AN lines are you using for the coolant system John?
I want to do AN fittings for mine but am deathly afraid of it impacting the cooling efficiency.

 

I didn’t think of that to tell you the truth, not a bad idea. If I did that, I’d have to see how wide the compressor outlet is because it would have to be pretty much horizontal facing the fender which is its widest point which might create a clearance issue with the frame unless I can angle it downwards a bit. Then it looks like I’ll need a 90 degree, a straight, and another 90 degree or 45 degree. It’s worth mocking up, thanks for the idea!

here’s some more pics of the setup. I was able to massage the wastegate dump a bit to fit a swivel thermostat housing. The turbo drain is hanging, I’ve yet to route it.

 

Good pics , I'm sure there's a way to move that charge pipe. I haven't thought of anything else yet

 

your idea was money thanks again. I feel dumb for not seeing it myself



looks like I can even get away with just doing a single 90 or 45 coupler

 

Nice, that's a solid fix and it looks cleaner.

 

Looking good 🍻

 

Looking at the pic in post 11 I believe that you are going to have trouble controlling boost that wastegate placement that has no priority at all. Depending on drive pressure and desired boost level you might be OK. Hopefully some others will chime in on this subject. You can try it as is but it going be easier to change up now than when it's all put together

 

-16an for both Vern. They suggest bigger for the bottom one but it has not been an issue for me. On cool days my fan never comes on. In heavy traffic it cycles.

Back to OP, I don't think having it offset is an issue, more about having air velocity going through two cores. To ramble on, fan settings take a bit of trial and error assuming they are strong enough. Generally people who pick OE fans like that they are 3500+ CFM. That said with my Ford fan, too late and the whole system can't catch up if you know what I mean. I also learned this second time around of having a turbo setup tuners will run more idle and cruise timing than NA, "turbo combos burn lazy." I think I'm +5 timing in both instances on E85. Again trial and error.

Also do I spy a looped water pump hose? Better to get Jaywire's block off, it also helps a lot.



Got that section welded up now