I can't post in the DIY section so I'll post here. If you like it feel free to put it there. Please dont turn this into a "my truck does not overheat" thread and leave comments open for those that have questions about this job. Thx
I have never done a DYI thread before so please bear with me. Before I get started I want to make a few things clear.
1) This is not a turn key system.
2) This system has only been tested on my truck.
3) If you want a turn key system that has been tested and proven on many stock trucks you should buy the V2 from TxChris.
4) If you have the ability to cut, drill, weld, be patient and have the desire to fix things yourself this may be the fix for you!
This project cost approx $700.00 SIZE]
First we will start off with designing your radiator. The first thing you want to do is pick where you want to put it. The most obvious place is right behind the front valance between the two hook brackets. There is a lot of room to work in there and it is a convenient place for plumbing later on. The only challenge you will face here is going to be air flow. If you put it here you will either have to cut your valance or put a fan on the radiator.
Once you have decided on a location you need to get your tape measure and get up in there. Measure the maximum amount of space you have to work with. Now that you have an idea of how much room you have to work with its time to make yourself a mock up.
The easiest way to do this is to go to you local home improvement store and buy some foam sheets. The are usually in the garage door section and are relatively cheap. You will stack and cut these sheets to the same dimensions as the space you measured.
Now that you have your mock up ready its time to fit it. Climb under the truck and slid it into place. Mark where it hits so you can shave it accordingly. Now that you have it fitting snugly where you want it and you have clearance on all sides you need to decide how you are going to mount it and plumb it. I use some flat bar to mock my brackets and wrote on the side of the mock up the angle and location they needed to be placed. I then took some 2” tubing and did the same for the intake and discharge pipes. For the upper mount I attached it to the bumper brackets. For the lower I made my own bracket and mounted it to the tow hooks. (keep in mind you need to leave yourself about 1-1.5” room for your rubber mounts between brackets and radiator mounts) As for the plumbing I chose to rout the lines over the bar that your splash guard attaches to. As long as your measurements are accurate your tranny lines will not be an issue.
Once you have your mock up sized properly and all your mounts and pipes located on it and set at the correct angles it is time to draw it up. I used VISIO to draft it but you could do it by hand just as easy. My drawings came up like so.
http://yfrog.com/2tradadditionasidesj
http://yfrog.com/g0radadditionafrontj
http://yfrog.com/5mradadditionabackj
Now you can take your drawings and your mock up and either go to a custom radiator shop or try to find one already made that might fit. After lots of searching I found some fork lift radiators that might have worked but they were about 350-400 and for $600 I was able to have one made exactly the way I wanted it so I went to Ron Davis and this is what they made for me. The part number is stamped on it and can be ordered using that number.
http://yfrog.com/0uimg00192201005030904j
http://yfrog.com/03img00191201005030904j
http://yfrog.com/0yimg00190201005030904j
http://yfrog.com/jbimg00189201005030903j
http://yfrog.com/86img00188201005030903j
It took about 4 weeks to make it but it was well worth the wait.
Now that you have your radiator in hand it’s time to install it!
From this point on the way you do it and what you use may change if you use a different radiator than mine or put it in a different place but the concept is the same so here goes.
First uninstall your splash guard.
Next remove the bolts that run vertically through the bumper mount. The bolts/nut assembly will have to be replaced because it is not long enough to support the radiator and the motor mount you will be using. KEEP THOSE TWO BOLTS BECAUSE YOU WILL USE THEM FOR YOUR LOWER BRACKET.
Now fit your radiator up in place and mark your holes on the upper brackets. Pull the radiator out and drill them. (it helps to drill these holes slightly larger than the bolt that will be going through it). You now need to get 2 bolts ( I think they were ½ inch) that will thread into the bumper brackets. They need to be long enough to pass through the bracket, motor mount
http://yfrog.com/5mimg00193201005030930j
and radiator mount. One challenge you will face here is being able to reach the top of the bolt while the radiator is in place. To solve this I made two square plates and drilled them. I slid the bolt through the plate and welded It together. This plate fits inside the bumper bracket and prevents the bolt from spinning allowing me to tighten the nut from the bottom. Be sure to use a lock nut not a lock washer on this because the lock washer can loosen up over time due to the flex of the motor mount.
Before you bolt your radiator up in place for the last time you need to install your degas fitting and hose. Here is what I used.
http://yfrog.com/juimg00197201005060940j
http://yfrog.com/2gimg00208201005101246j
So with your fitting and degas line installed slide your radiator back up in there for the last time and bolt it in place. Now its time for the lower bracket.
This is the piece that required the most fabrication. First I made 2 L shaped brackets. The were designed to bolt to the outside of the tow hook mounts then come below and attach to the lower radiator bracket. You can use these just like this if you want but I decided to add a lower joining piece to protect the radiator as well as support it from flex of the frame. Here are pics of my end result.
http://yfrog.com/85img00216201005101511j
http://yfrog.com/61img00214201005101350j
http://yfrog.com/75img00212201005101343j
http://yfrog.com/1nradlowerbracketj
This is where those two bolts you saved from before come in. They will be use to attach the bracket to the side of the tow hook support. The ones you remove will not be long enough. I gain used ½ inch bolts with lock washers long enough to pass through both brackets as well as motor mounts to mount the brace to the radiator. I have purposely not put hole locations with measurements due to the fact that all of our trucks are a little different and will likely require slightly different holes. For the best results mark and drill them yourself. This should conclude your mounting of the radiator. Now on to plumbing.
Start draining your system. While this takes place you can hook up your degas line. To do this you will have to make an adapter to splice into your current degas line system. The factory hose is ½ (I think) and the one on your radiator is ¼”. This is what I made to make the splice.
http://yfrog.com/2rimg00215201005101417j
This line is very important to purge air out of the system. Do not cap that fitting and skip this step.
The degas line goes from the bottom of your overflow tank to the top of your radiator on the passenger side. I ran my blue line in front of the coolers zip tying it to the holes on the back of the bumper then up to the degas on the pass side. This keeps the hose out of the way of any moving parts.
By now your system should be mostly empty it is time to work on your lower radiator hose. The first thing I did was cut the lower radiator hose in the middle. By the middle I mean roughly centered to the radiator. (watch out because there will be fluid left in the hose when you cut it)
http://yfrog.com/1rimg00218201005101512j
http://yfrog.com/jbimg00217201005101511j
Once the hose is cut take you 2 12” 90’s
http://yfrog.com/4vimg00204201005100926j
and slide them in place. Take a look at how you want to plumb it and start trimming. This is a pic of how I did it.
http://yfrog.com/89img00220201005101607j
http://yfrog.com/jcimg00219201005101606j
The key here is to plumb it so that none of your hoses have any kinks in them. For me the easiest way to accomplish this was to plumb it in a chris cross fashion rather than go from right port to right port then left to left.
To join the 4 hose ends I had Ron davis make me some flanged pipes at 18” then I cut and spliced them to size (approx 8” end to end)
http://yfrog.com/2mimg00199201005060941j
Now its time to tighten you hose clamps and fill it with fluid.
Be sure to carry 2 gallons of coolant and water, my system continued to purge for a day or so till it was finally full. Overall I think it added a little over a gallon to the system.
Here is the part you have to address from the beginning, that is air flow. The two most obvious options are to whether put a fan on it or cut your valance to open up air flow. I chose the latter due to the fact that the truck only gets hot at speed and I like to keep things as simple as possible. If you put a fan on it be sure to check you clearance before mounting it, from the looks a pusher fan will be your only option and that will have to be shorter than the radiator is in order to fit. If you choose to cut your valance I would suggest pitting some sort of screen in it to protect your radiator from debris. I am having a friend at Lake Pleasant Collision make a billet insert for mine so it looks clean.
Gratz you have hopefully solved your cooling issue!
I have never done a DYI thread before so please bear with me. Before I get started I want to make a few things clear.
1) This is not a turn key system.
2) This system has only been tested on my truck.
3) If you want a turn key system that has been tested and proven on many stock trucks you should buy the V2 from TxChris.
4) If you have the ability to cut, drill, weld, be patient and have the desire to fix things yourself this may be the fix for you!
This project cost approx $700.00 SIZE]
First we will start off with designing your radiator. The first thing you want to do is pick where you want to put it. The most obvious place is right behind the front valance between the two hook brackets. There is a lot of room to work in there and it is a convenient place for plumbing later on. The only challenge you will face here is going to be air flow. If you put it here you will either have to cut your valance or put a fan on the radiator.
Once you have decided on a location you need to get your tape measure and get up in there. Measure the maximum amount of space you have to work with. Now that you have an idea of how much room you have to work with its time to make yourself a mock up.
The easiest way to do this is to go to you local home improvement store and buy some foam sheets. The are usually in the garage door section and are relatively cheap. You will stack and cut these sheets to the same dimensions as the space you measured.
Now that you have your mock up ready its time to fit it. Climb under the truck and slid it into place. Mark where it hits so you can shave it accordingly. Now that you have it fitting snugly where you want it and you have clearance on all sides you need to decide how you are going to mount it and plumb it. I use some flat bar to mock my brackets and wrote on the side of the mock up the angle and location they needed to be placed. I then took some 2” tubing and did the same for the intake and discharge pipes. For the upper mount I attached it to the bumper brackets. For the lower I made my own bracket and mounted it to the tow hooks. (keep in mind you need to leave yourself about 1-1.5” room for your rubber mounts between brackets and radiator mounts) As for the plumbing I chose to rout the lines over the bar that your splash guard attaches to. As long as your measurements are accurate your tranny lines will not be an issue.
Once you have your mock up sized properly and all your mounts and pipes located on it and set at the correct angles it is time to draw it up. I used VISIO to draft it but you could do it by hand just as easy. My drawings came up like so.
http://yfrog.com/2tradadditionasidesj
http://yfrog.com/g0radadditionafrontj
http://yfrog.com/5mradadditionabackj
Now you can take your drawings and your mock up and either go to a custom radiator shop or try to find one already made that might fit. After lots of searching I found some fork lift radiators that might have worked but they were about 350-400 and for $600 I was able to have one made exactly the way I wanted it so I went to Ron Davis and this is what they made for me. The part number is stamped on it and can be ordered using that number.
http://yfrog.com/0uimg00192201005030904j
http://yfrog.com/03img00191201005030904j
http://yfrog.com/0yimg00190201005030904j
http://yfrog.com/jbimg00189201005030903j
http://yfrog.com/86img00188201005030903j
It took about 4 weeks to make it but it was well worth the wait.
Now that you have your radiator in hand it’s time to install it!
From this point on the way you do it and what you use may change if you use a different radiator than mine or put it in a different place but the concept is the same so here goes.
First uninstall your splash guard.
Next remove the bolts that run vertically through the bumper mount. The bolts/nut assembly will have to be replaced because it is not long enough to support the radiator and the motor mount you will be using. KEEP THOSE TWO BOLTS BECAUSE YOU WILL USE THEM FOR YOUR LOWER BRACKET.
Now fit your radiator up in place and mark your holes on the upper brackets. Pull the radiator out and drill them. (it helps to drill these holes slightly larger than the bolt that will be going through it). You now need to get 2 bolts ( I think they were ½ inch) that will thread into the bumper brackets. They need to be long enough to pass through the bracket, motor mount
http://yfrog.com/5mimg00193201005030930j
and radiator mount. One challenge you will face here is being able to reach the top of the bolt while the radiator is in place. To solve this I made two square plates and drilled them. I slid the bolt through the plate and welded It together. This plate fits inside the bumper bracket and prevents the bolt from spinning allowing me to tighten the nut from the bottom. Be sure to use a lock nut not a lock washer on this because the lock washer can loosen up over time due to the flex of the motor mount.
Before you bolt your radiator up in place for the last time you need to install your degas fitting and hose. Here is what I used.
http://yfrog.com/juimg00197201005060940j
http://yfrog.com/2gimg00208201005101246j
So with your fitting and degas line installed slide your radiator back up in there for the last time and bolt it in place. Now its time for the lower bracket.
This is the piece that required the most fabrication. First I made 2 L shaped brackets. The were designed to bolt to the outside of the tow hook mounts then come below and attach to the lower radiator bracket. You can use these just like this if you want but I decided to add a lower joining piece to protect the radiator as well as support it from flex of the frame. Here are pics of my end result.
http://yfrog.com/85img00216201005101511j
http://yfrog.com/61img00214201005101350j
http://yfrog.com/75img00212201005101343j
http://yfrog.com/1nradlowerbracketj
This is where those two bolts you saved from before come in. They will be use to attach the bracket to the side of the tow hook support. The ones you remove will not be long enough. I gain used ½ inch bolts with lock washers long enough to pass through both brackets as well as motor mounts to mount the brace to the radiator. I have purposely not put hole locations with measurements due to the fact that all of our trucks are a little different and will likely require slightly different holes. For the best results mark and drill them yourself. This should conclude your mounting of the radiator. Now on to plumbing.
Start draining your system. While this takes place you can hook up your degas line. To do this you will have to make an adapter to splice into your current degas line system. The factory hose is ½ (I think) and the one on your radiator is ¼”. This is what I made to make the splice.
http://yfrog.com/2rimg00215201005101417j
This line is very important to purge air out of the system. Do not cap that fitting and skip this step.
The degas line goes from the bottom of your overflow tank to the top of your radiator on the passenger side. I ran my blue line in front of the coolers zip tying it to the holes on the back of the bumper then up to the degas on the pass side. This keeps the hose out of the way of any moving parts.
By now your system should be mostly empty it is time to work on your lower radiator hose. The first thing I did was cut the lower radiator hose in the middle. By the middle I mean roughly centered to the radiator. (watch out because there will be fluid left in the hose when you cut it)
http://yfrog.com/1rimg00218201005101512j
http://yfrog.com/jbimg00217201005101511j
Once the hose is cut take you 2 12” 90’s
http://yfrog.com/4vimg00204201005100926j
and slide them in place. Take a look at how you want to plumb it and start trimming. This is a pic of how I did it.
http://yfrog.com/89img00220201005101607j
http://yfrog.com/jcimg00219201005101606j
The key here is to plumb it so that none of your hoses have any kinks in them. For me the easiest way to accomplish this was to plumb it in a chris cross fashion rather than go from right port to right port then left to left.
To join the 4 hose ends I had Ron davis make me some flanged pipes at 18” then I cut and spliced them to size (approx 8” end to end)
http://yfrog.com/2mimg00199201005060941j
Now its time to tighten you hose clamps and fill it with fluid.
Be sure to carry 2 gallons of coolant and water, my system continued to purge for a day or so till it was finally full. Overall I think it added a little over a gallon to the system.
Here is the part you have to address from the beginning, that is air flow. The two most obvious options are to whether put a fan on it or cut your valance to open up air flow. I chose the latter due to the fact that the truck only gets hot at speed and I like to keep things as simple as possible. If you put a fan on it be sure to check you clearance before mounting it, from the looks a pusher fan will be your only option and that will have to be shorter than the radiator is in order to fit. If you choose to cut your valance I would suggest pitting some sort of screen in it to protect your radiator from debris. I am having a friend at Lake Pleasant Collision make a billet insert for mine so it looks clean.
Gratz you have hopefully solved your cooling issue!
