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Rear radiator people

CyberSniper

CyberSniper

1/2 ton status
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Got any pictures?

What are you doing for plumbing (diameter, composition)?

Where are you routing the plumbing?

How are you mounting the radiator?

Where are you mounting the radiator?

Which way are you mounting the radiator?

How are you moving the air and where are you directing it?



My transfer case is going to be clocked up so the room is limited on the passenger side. All brake lines and fuel lines will be routed inside the driver's side frame. Brake combination valve will be located just behind the engine crossmember on the driver's side. Exhaust will probably be a factory Y-pipe (I hope) and probably 2.5" single down the driver's side through two mufflers (I'm tired of noise). There should be plenty of room to run coolant tubes on the driver side but I don't know about the passenger side.
 
I saw one rear radiator

Only rear radiatored rig I have seen was a 1963 VW Bus that had a 283 mounted midship right behind the front seats,they put the radiator in the back where the original vw motor was,it laid almost flat,and had a electric fan like a taurus one mounted on it,and metal "scoops" on the louvers the motor used to get its air from,they used galvanived pipe and rubber hoses to connect it to the motor--it was quite the hot rod around here for quite a while,the guy used his brothers totalled 63 Impala for the motor and powerglide tranny,and he put a 9 inch ford axle in the back with leaf springs and disc brakes from a granada..he could pop a slight "wheelie" when it shifted from low into drive!,it was very quick!---he claimed it never ran hot or overheated,and I beleived him--I saw it running around here one summer all the time..:crazy:
 
No pictures.

Plumbing will be via aluminum tubing and the same size that will slip in the radiator hose.

the radiator will be mounted similarly as it is in the stock location. A brace across the top bolted down to squeeze it a bit. Sitting in a rubber cushioned track on the bottom.

The rad will be mounted in the rear above the frame rails angle slightly forward on top.

Which way? Hoses facing forward and using an aluminum radiator that was designed for a Furd so inputs and outputs are in the correct location.

Moving the air with twin electrics. Up and out.
 
Well... here is what I was thinking.

Run the water pump side down the passenger frame rail. Run the water neck side down the driver frame rail. Use mandrel bent tube from the exhaust shop for the plumbing.

I was going to mount the radiator just behind the truck cab (on a K5 frame). The radiator would be mounted vertical and perpendicular with the crankshaft. It would be mounted about 1' behind the cab. I would use two shrouded electric fans to suck air from the rear of the vehicle FORWARD. There would be a shroud (glorified box) that forced the hot air to go down underneath the vehicle. This should help keep hot air off the occupants. The problem is that since the radiator wouldn't be able to flow any air when the truck is partially submerged in water there would be no cooling. I've never overheated when my electric fans are off and I'm romping around in water but that doesn't mean I won't.

The other option is to mount the fans on the other side of the radiator and move the radiator closer to the cab. This will cause the cab to heat up. Also, you have to keep it from sucking air from under the vehicle because that air is already hot from engine and exhaust. Having the fans blowing straight back will cause whatever is in the miniature bed to be heated up (sucks to cook a cooler).
 
yeah, I am pondering doing this also. Need to clear some space up front so when I do the s-10 cab swap I dont have a "beak". Anyway, on a tube buddy it'd be no prob... but on a k5 Im not sure where I want to run the aluminum tube. The best place to run it would prolly be in the cab by the tranny hump and out the back, isolated with pieces of rubber hose on each end so vibs werent a problem. Dont really want my cooling hoses under the rig... they get torn off and your engine is gonna get hot quick. Also, I dont want to run the tube up-and-down to much, more work for the water pump which would already be working harder than a factory set up. I have windstar fans on the way for this mod... only real question now is how/where to run the tubing...

j
 
jekbrown said:
The best place to run it would prolly be in the cab by the tranny hump and out the back, isolated with pieces of rubber hose on each end so vibs werent a problem. Dont really want my cooling hoses under the rig...
Click to expand...

let me tell you from personal experience, you dont want them run in the cab. i had one let go on one of my derby cars (center of hood cut out, no windshield, rad in stock location) after the front end took a good solid hit which bent the hood up and also the frame on which the radiator was mounted, so when the hose let go, it sprayed me. fortunately i was wearing enough clothes that by the time it got to my skin the temp was bearable, and i didnt get any burns. you're not going to be in a situation near as extreme, but the hoses do corrode from the inside out. so you'd never see it until its too late. hot coolant is not your friend.
 
I did mine basically the same way as mentioned.....Mounted behind cab, Ford radiator, aluminized exhaust that fit inside of my hose, ran the feed and return down each side of the frame rail. Where the bends are, I just used hose that had the bend I needed and then went back to pipe.

My only complaint, is that at highway speeds, it gets hot....Maybe its because my fans are kinda small (4 cyl Dodge Avenger dual fan set-up), but something tells me its the low/high pressure moving around the cab that prevents the fans from pulling. It DOES NOT get hot at all on the trail, and thats during the summer with alot of crawiling.

Kind of a PIA to get all the air out of the system too.

Rob
 
yeah, i see what you're saying... but where else could it go? I can't think of anywhere under my rig that would be suitably protected from rocks/tree stumps etc. Exhaust pipes get smashed/torn off all the time wheelin... I'd rather not have all my coolant dump onto the ground on the trail. Wouldnt be THAT big a deal, but it would be annoying as hell.

As far as corrosion goes, I planned on running aluminum tube in the cab... with rubber hoses at each end to stop vibration from being an issue. Don't think aluminum corrodes in contact with anti-freeze/water. Intake, tube in the cab and radiator, all 100% aluminum. Rubber hoses connecting them all don't rust either. ;) Anyway, with the s-10 cab this isn't gonna be a problem, cause I'm gonna make a custom monster-sized tranny-hump / console and I'll just route it in its own little compartment in there. In the K5? Still not sure where would be best...

j
 
Don't think aluminum corrodes in contact with anti-freeze/water.
Click to expand...

By itself, aluminum generally won't corrode much in antifreeze/water. BUT, you've probably got an iron motor with aluminum accessories (intake, maybe waterpump), and the same antifreeze/water flowing through both. It's a textbook recipe for electrolytic corrosion. Since aluminum is further out than iron on the galvanic series chart, it will corrode before the iron does. So, hang a chunk of zinc in your rad. expansion tank, and since zinc is even further out than aluminum on the chart, it will corrode first and "take one for the team". In the boating industry they're called "sacrificial zinc anodes", and when properly maintained, they're what allow an aluminum drive unit to survive in a saltwater environment.
If you're interested, try www.overtons.com; they have all kinds of boat maintenance & repair stuff, and some of it could be handy for 'wheelers too.
 
Mine will pull air from underneath the truck. Maybe some from the sides as well via custom air ducting. I'm most concerned about getting deep in the mud and then no air flow but the side ducting should help.
 
jarheadk5 said:
In the boating industry they're called "sacrificial zinc anodes", and when properly maintained, they're what allow an aluminum drive unit to survive in a saltwater environment.
.
Click to expand...

unless of course its a Bravo 3.. :wink1: those freakin drives eat zincs like its going outta style..

that'd be a great idea tho for an auto application, big ole Detroit zinc...
 
jarheadk5 said:
By itself, aluminum generally won't corrode much in antifreeze/water. BUT, you've probably got an iron motor with aluminum accessories (intake, maybe waterpump), and the same antifreeze/water flowing through both. It's a textbook recipe for electrolytic corrosion. Since aluminum is further out than iron on the galvanic series chart, it will corrode before the iron does. So, hang a chunk of zinc in your rad. expansion tank, and since zinc is even further out than aluminum on the chart, it will corrode first and "take one for the team". In the boating industry they're called "sacrificial zinc anodes", and when properly maintained, they're what allow an aluminum drive unit to survive in a saltwater environment.
If you're interested, try www.overtons.com; they have all kinds of boat maintenance & repair stuff, and some of it could be handy for 'wheelers too.
Click to expand...

Thats funny because I just learned that last semester in first year engineering chem. Cathodic protection or something is what they called it.
 
I've seen desert/race trucks/buggies with the radiators mounted in the top of the cage in the back, with pull fans mounted on top. If you create a "shroud" on either side, maybe push and pull fans, it should cure the fwy speed problem. I'd just get some kind of industrial rubber hose and hose it all the way. flexible, moveable, zip-tieable :D Should prolly be shielded from exhaust, engine heat, regardless...obviously. :D
 
Talk about a blast from the past.

I decided that a rear radiator takes up too much room... as it is I only have a 34x39 bed. Rear radiators are for longbox trucks with room and trailer queen tube buggies.
 
What if you did this to add an extra radiator..

First.. I was reading about exhaust wrapping.. and it said that wrapping your exhaust reduces your engine compartment temps by 70-80%.

So imagine you did that.. and then used a body lift on your truck allowing more space in the engine compartment. Then mount a radiator directly above your engine in a position similar to a Hummer.. and you could louvre your entire hood and your fenders for more air flow.. and maybe use a larger radiator fan. Also, if you had some low profile air cleaner it would give you a lot more room above your engine.



This is just an idea.. I might be missing some huge engineering problem..
 
rear rad.

choppedXJ.jpg


ok! I know it's not a K5 on the out side but it was before the body rotted away . i had an old XJ body so it got graphed on to the K5 chassis .i moved my rad because I did not have enough room between the motor and the core of the cherokee . i used 1 1/4" black pipe and a bender. pipe follows outside of frame rails and enters the rear floor in the rear wheel wells the pipe then switch sides and then goes to the rad. I'm using a Summit aluminum rad. and it is turned around backwards ( ports facing foward) I found a fan out of a ford ZX2 that is 2 speed it is on the out side of the rad and blows hot air out the back of the rig. the rad is attached to the roll cage . it works great , I have a 350 and it never has got over 200 degrees ( that is when I remember to turn on the fan :doah: ) the pic above was taken this spring in mid-build , don't have any of the finished product but you can see the rad and fan setup.
 
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