Questions for those that have built a runner - coolant lines,exhaust mounting

[SixStar]

And before everyone jumps down my throat about searching.... try it. Given a million combinations of what I'm asking about using common vernacular I was unable to yield and useful results.

Coolant lines. Specifically the two on the radiator and the one left over on the surge tank (that box on the engine)

What is the proper course of action here?

Normally on the WRX the fitting by the pressure only cap on the radiator goes to a T where one side goes to the overflow tank and the other goes to the overflow fitting on the surge tank. You also have a line running from the fitting on the RH side of the rad to the fitting on the surge. Since the overflow has now been moved to the rear of the car and is attached to the overflow fitting under the pressure/vac cap there isn't an overflow on the rad. We ran the car for about 5 minutes with the spare fittings on the rad and surge plugged and it overheated instantly and puked all the coolant into the over flow.

Pictures for clarification.

Extra fitting from the radiator that normally went to the surge tank.
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Extra fitting from the rad that normally goes to a T and then to the surge and to the overflow. Note, we attached a spare overflow we had here just to see if that might help the overheating situation and it did not.
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Surge tank with one fitting (the overflow fitting under the press/vac cap leading to the relocated overflow and the other fitting that used to connect to the rad plugged.
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Clear as mud?


Ok, on to the exhaust. This car is using the parts supplied and we can't quite sus out how the included hanger is supposed to attach to anything. The U-bolt hanger is about the right size to attach to the stubby exhaust exit provided but is way too far away from anything to mount it.

30193

Again, sorry if this has been discussed, I really don't have the time to read all the build threads or posts these days so I'm sure I'm out of many loops! :D

Thanks, Keith

[AZPete]

I'm in the same boat - overheating and goofy exhaust. Thanks for asking, Keith.

[SixStar]

We dug a bit and the nipple from the rad goes to the nipple on the surge tank. We bought 15' of 5/16" line to finish this out.

From what I can tell we will also just have to run two coolant catch cans or do a stellar job plugging up the over pressure port on the rad. The early model WRX rads didn't even have a cap on the rad.

As for the exhaust I think we will just have to make a custom hanger for it. That's WAY too much weight hanging on the turbo.

[freds]

Ok, on to the exhaust. This car is using the parts supplied and we can't quite sus out how the included hanger is supposed to attach to anything. The U-bolt hanger is about the right size to attach to the stubby exhaust exit provided but is way too far away from anything to mount it.

30193

Again, sorry if this has been discussed, I really don't have the time to read all the build threads or posts these days so I'm sure I'm out of many loops! :D

Thanks, Keith[/QUOTE]

My solution using 3/16 flat bar
fred

3019430195

[Bill Waters]

Sixstar - I think most if not all of your questions are covered by Brando, Wayne et al in Brando's build thread - toward the latter part, I recall. What most will have to do is to have a conventional overflow tank at the front with a single hose going from the nipple on the radiator fill inlet but with a two way cap (i.e., allows pressure /fluid out under high temp., then allows vacuum when radiator cools to pull coolant back into the radiator. At the back near the engine will be a degas tank (the stock "surge" tank) properly plumbed, including one line to an overflow tank. This degas tank has a two-way radiator cap on it. Wayne's post in Brando's thread shows this explicitly. It also shows how to install and set up a line for the system to burp itself and prevent airlock. HTH.

Bill

[Mechie3]

Some of us put a nipple on the coolant crossover hose that goes to the port on the header tank to bleed the system.

[RM1SepEx]

Some of us put a nipple on the coolant crossover hose that goes to the port on the header tank to bleed the system. yup, photos in our threads too...

[metalmaker12]

Covered like a year ago in our early threads.

[freds]

My solution using 3/16 steel flat bar:

3019630197

[AZPete]

Thanks guys, I found it. For others looking, there's a full description of the cooling system degas/bleed setup on Page 7 of Brando's Build Thread.
(Yes, Keith, it's tough to find specific topics.)

[SixStar]

My time is VERY precious these days and digging through dozens of build threads just isn't something I'm willing to invest my time into. I know that sounds conceited but it's just the honest truth.

Time and again there are serious holes in the build manual and while most of the time we can come up with a solution on our own this was one that I wasn't willing to just try things and risk destroying a brand new engine and turbo on.

Thanks so much for the leads and pointers on what others have done!!!

Special thanks to AZPete!

[SixStar]

Well after chasing a clutch bleed issue to a faulty line on the stainless kit we purchased, we finally got the car up and running.

Cooling system is in dire need of a better solution. Within 5 minutes of idling the engine overheated and the fans turned on. We're getting zero flow in the large lines and a massive over pressure on the small air bleed line. Going to try somethings today.

EDIT: Our try things worked out. No need to drill and tap the crossover. We have flow through the lines at ~180 when the T-stat opens and fans come on at 205 which is close enough to stock to keep me happy.






So to sum up this thread:

You will need 15' of 5/16" line to connect the steam port on the rad to the fitting on the surge tank. This is not included with the kit and can be purchased at any auto parts store. Also, bleeding the coolant system in a multi step process that will require a helper and jacking the car up and making a huge mess but you DO NOT need to modify the existing cooling system on the car.

Second, you will need to fabricate a bracket for the exhaust. We have not yet, it's on the To Do list.

[Goldwing]

I'm not at the exhaust yet, but did work on my cooling system the last few days. I took Wayne's tap solution, but used a separate VW VR6 connector to add 2 burp/steam ports at the highest location up front (radiator inlet) and in the rear (the engine coolant outlet) and plumbed both of those to the radiator steam port leading to the rear engine mounted coolant tank. I have pics on page 3 of my build thread. I haven't tested any of this yet, just took Wayne and others' thoughts to create a self- burping system I don't have to worry about after initial burping. I think plenty of air bubbles will be coming from every ridge in the flexible line the first few weeks of driving. Having something in place to remove the air and prevent air locks sounded worth it to me. In summary, I did the 15' of burp line like you did, but tied the two other mentioned locations into that line as well.

For the exhaust (almost exclusively a street car), I'm planning a custom setup (not FFR's). I'm using the bellmouth from my downpipe fed right into a cat, through a donut to turn it back up and turn it outboard into a Corvette C6 muffler mounted diagonally towards the rear right corner. For hangers, I planned a hard hanger on the tranny using something like the 3/16" bar mentioned above and supporting the rear end of the muffler via a donut hanger extending from a cantilevered square tube mounted in the rearmost transverse frame tube. Whether or not any of this works will be determined as the welding goes. It's just the initial plan.

[gwarden]

Covered like a year ago in our early threads.

Have you tried searching through threads that are a mile long?

[RM1SepEx]

Have you tried searching through threads that are a mile long?

yes we have, and even though it may be posted in our own threads we have to wade through them just like you do to find the actual posting... have a beer, watch the football game or baseball playoffs and search away... sorry we don't have the free time either