custom cooling and pcv project pics

[90lxfoxbody]

i've been upgrading the cooling system on my car lately and also added new valve covers, so at the same time i beefed up my pcv system a bit. i got a really nice all aluminum all welded radiator off ebay for $223 delivered. the rad has gone up in price $20 since i bought mine, but it's still a good deal. i bought a black magic #175 electric fan kit also. i've heard alot of debate about the black magic, but i got a return option with the one i bought and so far it has worked great. it has worked like a charm so far. it took a little time to figure out the best temp setting for the fan, but after some trial and error i have it working nicely. i bought a nice oil cooler off ebay for $45 shipped. the funny part about the oil cooler is that even though it is a well built part, the retail price was almost $700.00 bucks, and i got one new off ebay for $45. and to add insult to injury, since i bought mine i checked the price again, and it now shows a retail price of over $900.00! the cooler is made by a company that tailors to the import crowd, and it's just plain sick how they overcharge people. that's 20 times what i paid for mine. i got a good deal at $45 but no way is this thing worth a fraction of what they are charging. i guess if the import crowd is foolish enough to pay that kind of money there will always be someone there to rob them the link to the oil cooler is below. note their "sale" price. wow, what nice guys they are to offer it at such a bargain. sheesh, can you say 'no vaseline'.

http://store.chromeauto.com/ev1100.html

i don't have a web page to link pics from so i'll just add more pictures as replies. i'm definitely not an experienced mechanic, but everything turned out very nicely. i've had the rad and fan in for about two months now and so far the combination works great.

 

[90lxfoxbody]

more progress

this is the oil cooler with brackets that i fabricated for it. i bought the aluminum at home depot and cut it, marked the holes then held it in place with clamps and twisted it with channel locks. it's not the most professional looking thing in the world, but it works. the oil cooler kit came with some great steel braided lines, but they had the high pressure fittings pressed onto the end and they were way too long for me to use. i didn't want to ruin them by cutting them, so i put them on ebay to recoup some of my expenses. with the cooler and lines my oil capacity is right at 6.5 quarts. i also ditched my typical tried and true FL1A filter for a shoter FL300 filter, to allow for clearance with the sandwich adapter.

 

[90lxfoxbody]

more pics

this is a pic of the oil cooler mounted in place. i was lucky enough to have plenty of clearance between the rad and the cooler. given the difference in size between the rad and the cooler i doubt any hot air radiating off the cooler would reduce the rad's cooling efficiency. plus this rad really works great. i also took my tfs intake off recently and repainted it, and added new trick flow valve covers and the trick flow oil fill kit. i ran an inline filter between the oil filler neck and the throttle body, and i installed an air/oil seperator. i encountered an idle problem with the seperator installed, so i temporarily removed it until i can figure out where i went wrong. i believe i need to use a shorter length of hose between the seperator and the pcv valve / intake. i also may have had the flow from the seperator backwards. the seperator is marked with an arrow as to indicate the direction of air flow, but i am not certain if the air should be flowing from the pcv valve to the intake or vice versa. i have a friend back home who has used the inline filter to the throttle body trick for years, and he swears it prolongs the life of his plugs and keeps them much cleaner.

 

[90lxfoxbody]

more pics

while i was working on the car i noticed this, a pin hole in the hose that goes from the water pump to the raditaor. it's a good thing i found it when i did. i have a long road trip coming up soon, and this could've stranded my big ugly a$$ on the side of the interstate. the last picture is of spongepimp regulatin' his ho's.

 

[90lxfoxbody]

hmm, edit that. hydrocodone has me a bit loopy. the hose with the leak was the one from the water pump to the heater core, not the radiator. and while i was working i had this guy helping me out by watching my back.