RPM WS6

iTrader: (3)

I'm sure it's not either of those. I haven't taken it apart yet, but it visually appears to be 3/8". It's not big enough for 1/2 or 5/8 inch.

The hose supplied with your new cooler might have been 11/32", which is just fractionally smaller than 3/8" and might explain why you can't get it on all the way.

NeoLoco

The hose that came with my cooler was 11/32", and fit extremely tight. The hoses on the car from the factory are 3/8". Get new 3/8" heater hose from a parts store. It will fit much better.

Xtreme57

iTrader: (6)

Just verified this

This is first on my list of things to do tomorrow morning. I just hope I don't lose too much fluid while driving.

Thanks guys.

NeoLoco

You could just bring some extra power steering fluid with you and top it off after driving some, until you get a new hose on there. Good luck.

Xtreme57

iTrader: (6)

Well, got the new hose on with little problem. That extra 1/8 of an in helps. Bled the PS system, but now my PS fluid looks something like shaken up orange juice ... Not sure what the issue is? Water mixed in with the fluid maybe?

RPM WS6

iTrader: (3)

The difference between 11/32" and 3/8" is only 1/32".

Sounds like some coolant got into the PS fluid before you removed the stock cooler.

demonspeed

iTrader: (7)

While replacing the pressure hose I searched how to flush the power steering system. Of course I came across this thread and convinced myself I should just do this mod before my "heat exchanger" craps out (and since I need to flush the system anyway).

I ordered the Derale 13200 so I can mount it to the radiator (that 13224 is pretty slick, though!). I went with an ACDelco 26347X '99 Z28 upper radiator hose. I'll post pictures once I get it installed.

PAGregSS

iTrader: (10)

I did the same thing, but used a 26" Derale heat sink cooler. Definitely won't have issues with heat with that.

wssix99

iTrader: (5)

^ This is nice and looks sturdy. I've been having a bitch of a time lately with my Perma Cool unit as any little bump and the fins bend. (Straightening them back out is not fun.)

It looks like this heat sink design is really sturdy and that Derale is also putting their finned units out with an end protector, which is really nice. I wish I had one!

PAGregSS

iTrader: (10)

I decided to go with the heat sink design because it's what a lot of the offroading guys use. Since rock crawling is a very slow pace resulting in little air flow, they use the heat sink for better cooling.

BlackBetty99SS

iTrader: (1)

So my car has a production date of 3/99 and I was looking under the hood and the upper radiator is just a one piece hose. this means my car is not equipped w the PS cooler from the factory?

RPM WS6

iTrader: (3)

Well your user name is "99SS", so I'm guessing the car is an SS. If so, then it did come from the factory with a cooler, unless it's not an original SS car. Someone might have simply removed it and replaced the hose with a non-cooler one.

BlackBetty99SS

iTrader: (1)

I see, sorry really should have been more specific. I have 2 99. One SS(rolling chassis) and the other a Z28(DD) which I was referencing. Still learning

RPM WS6

iTrader: (3)

Ah, well in that case then yes, your '99 Z28 would not have come from the factory with any power steering cooler, so it's still in it's original configuration.

senicalj4579

iTrader: (41)

I got around to doing mine along with an lt1 radiator. Thanks to ls6427 and wssix99

demonspeed

iTrader: (7)

So.... I don't know what I was thinking or looking at when I thought I would be able to easily mount the cooler on the front of the radiator (which is why I went with a Derale 13200). I had no place to route the hoses without hacking stuff up -- so down to the radiator support like everyone else does...



Due to this hasty (and unplanned) decision, I am not too proud of how I installed it. The great thing about it is I was able to reuse the stock rack-to-cooler hose. I see a lot of you getting fittings to attach the new hose to the old, but I was able route the OE hose around nicely. I did, however, use the Goodyear hose supplied with the kit to go from the cooler up to the pump (which you can see snaked up by the fan shroud; I put the old hose loom on it, too).



ACDelco '99 Z28 upper radiator hose:

RPM WS6

iTrader: (3)

Today I finally got around to deleting the factory power steering cooler. As mentioned earlier, I've opted NOT to install an aftermarket cooler, because I've had no issues with boil-over nor system failures with my factory coolerless '98, and therefore felt that for my puposes there was no requirement to install an aftermarket cooler.

I know this is not the popular option, but I thought I would post some specifics for the record. I took some temp readings with the cooler deleted and here are the results:

Car: '02 Z28 with aftermarket 17x9.5" wheels, 275/40 front tires

Temps:
- Outside air temp: 54°F
- Road surface temp (per IR gun): 80-85°F on average
- Power steering fluid temp (in reservoir, per fluid thermometer): 162°F

These readings were taken after 20+ miles of driving in city conditions, including lots of turning and some traffic plus a few curved roads.

In my application, at least at the current moderate outside temps, it does appear that the factory cooler would in fact act as a "warmer", since this car has a stock t-stat and stock fan settings allowing coolant temps to reach as high as ~220-230°F in traffic, vs. the ~160°F temps of the PS fluid.

Again, I'm not necessarily arguing against the aftermarket coolers, I just didn't feel that it was a requirement for my purposes. Moreso, I don't feel that the factory "cooler" is much of a cooler at all in daily-driver applications that use a stock t-stat and stock fan settings. Even with outside temps in the 80°F+ range, I don't believe that my PS fluid will get hotter than the 220-230°F coolant temps that I see driving around the city.

wssix99

iTrader: (5)

I'd be interested to see what you get in the heat of the summer. These temps are in line with what I got on my cooler during the summer. I've always wondered what effect the ambient temperature plays on this system but didn't want to go through the extra work to test it.


What's the temp of your radiator outlet. The 220°F thermostat temperature should match the radiator inlet temperature. The outlet should be much cooler - and this is where the stock cooler was placed. Unless those outlet temps are above 170°F, I don't think we can say that the stock design adds heat to the system. (It still sucks, though.)

RPM WS6

iTrader: (3)

I will check it again when the weather gets warmer, and drive the same route that I did for this test. I'm sure that the aftermarket coolers do a better job than the factory one, so I would expect that my temps will be higher than yours in the summer.

Low speed fans don't engage until 227°F with stock tuning, and they turned on even in today's 54°F air temp while I was in traffic for a bit. In the past, I have noted radiator outlet temp to be over 200°F at the time of low speed fan engagement at 227°F. The cooling system will heat soak quickly when you're in traffic prior to fan cut-on, and with a stock radiator you aren't going to see 170°F coolant temps even at the outlet neck if the engine coolant temp has already been allowed to reach 227°F. Until the fans turn on, or the car gets up to speed, there is very little cooling that the radiator can do. A larger capacity radiator and modified fan settings could help with this though. But in the name of research, I will again verify radiator outlet temps the next time I drive the car and remember to grab the IR gun.

In any event, I'm just glad that I was able to delete that factory cooler before it had a chance to cross-contaminate the PS and coolant and leave me with a big mess.

senicalj4579

iTrader: (41)

I almost did the same as RPM WS6 but I wanted to make sure I would not have any problems. All the talk about keeping the seals in better condition with cooler fluid is what made me add the cooler. I bet we dont even need them but hey, personal choice lol.