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Mod Motor Cooling System
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<blockquote data-quote="SlowSVT" data-source="post: 14856243" data-attributes="member: 20202"><p>Let's pick-up where we left off at the radiator output.</p><p></p><p>I didn't like the factory thermostat housing. The hose coming off the rad takes a sharp 90 degree then necks down from a 1 3/4" line down to a 1 1/2" line all while doing this thru a jogged bend :xpl:</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]642685[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>This set-up has the hoses routing in a path that is not very direct and is fairly restrictive. Looking down on the output side of the housing you can see how the thermostat itself shrouds the flow when it is open having to take a 90 degree turn. Note the casting flash on the ID, sharp edges abound! :nonono:</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]642686[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>Looking at where the water is exiting out the rad and where it's going to in the engine this all can be done with a more of a straight shot out of the radiator and into the FRPP water inlet with just 1 casual 90 degree bend. That was not going to happen with the OE housing so I set off to make my own. I went to a wrecking yard in search of an external "stand-alone" thermostat housing. I shopped the Ford isle to keep it in the family and came upon this beauty out of a 2001 V6 Mercury Cougar.</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]642687[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>Comparing the Cougar you can see the body is a larger diameter/plenum then the Cobra housing which is better from a flow perspective having more plenum. It still has that nasty 90 degree outlet plus the hose size this accepts was still 1 1/2" but nothing a hacksaw can't fix. </p><p></p><p>This is the form factor I wanted</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]642688[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p></p><p>Here is the finished result</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]642689[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]642690[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]642691[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]642692[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>There are now 2" hose connections at both ends. The long boss is recessed for a temp sending unit to keep it out of the slip stream. The short one is a drain port. As you can see the bend is now a short 45 degrees and is gradual. The thermostat now has fairly clear path for the coolant.</p><p></p><p>One thing I noticed was the poppet valve on the thermostat was pretty shrouded by the housing when open. Here is an image to illustrate this</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]642693[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]642694[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>The thermostat is the biggest choke point in the engine and for good reason, it regulates the flow thru the engine with an opening of 2 1/4 sq. in. at full open. I've heard of people removing them completely in a road race car which might make sense but not something I would recommend in a street car as it may cause problems as there is nothing to regulate the heat and flow where demand can vari wildly.</p><p></p><p>To unshroud the thermostat I back cut behind the wall away from the valve when it is open to providing a wider path for the coolant to traverse after passing thru the housing. This is a actually a very critical point there is so little space for that torrent of coolant to squeeze thru. </p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]642695[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]642696[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>As stated the Cougar housing having a larger diameter housing allowed for a lot more relieving then the Cobra housing.</p><p></p><p></p><p>One thing I maintained on this whole system was the fat 1 1/2" coolant bypass line between the crossover and the thermostat. Some of the aftermarket set-up I've seen use a rather small nipple which won't allow the coolant to recirculate as vigorously thru the engine. When your warming-up the engine the area next to the combustion chamber will get very hot very quickly while the block will still be stone cold. Best to have an engine heat evenly so the onrush of the volume a large bypass provides will do a better job of this than having a skinny bypass hose. Ford put that big line in there for a reason!</p><p></p><p>The long thin nipple connects to the expansion tank</p><p></p><p>Here is an overall view of the system. The 2" line into the water inlet has been replaced by a mandrel bent 90 degree aluminum tube which will throw more heat off the coolant before entering the engine and won't collapse from the suction from the water pump.</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]642697[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>I love the lack of bends in this system. The pump will have a much less restrictions to work against in the whole cooling circuit which actually means it will be working harder moving more liquid but the thermostat will ultimately still limit the pump output which is OK by me. </p><p></p><p>Oil coolers next</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="SlowSVT, post: 14856243, member: 20202"] Let's pick-up where we left off at the radiator output. I didn't like the factory thermostat housing. The hose coming off the rad takes a sharp 90 degree then necks down from a 1 3/4" line down to a 1 1/2" line all while doing this thru a jogged bend :xpl: [ATTACH=full]642685[/ATTACH] This set-up has the hoses routing in a path that is not very direct and is fairly restrictive. Looking down on the output side of the housing you can see how the thermostat itself shrouds the flow when it is open having to take a 90 degree turn. Note the casting flash on the ID, sharp edges abound! :nonono: [ATTACH=full]642686[/ATTACH] Looking at where the water is exiting out the rad and where it's going to in the engine this all can be done with a more of a straight shot out of the radiator and into the FRPP water inlet with just 1 casual 90 degree bend. That was not going to happen with the OE housing so I set off to make my own. I went to a wrecking yard in search of an external "stand-alone" thermostat housing. I shopped the Ford isle to keep it in the family and came upon this beauty out of a 2001 V6 Mercury Cougar. [ATTACH=full]642687[/ATTACH] Comparing the Cougar you can see the body is a larger diameter/plenum then the Cobra housing which is better from a flow perspective having more plenum. It still has that nasty 90 degree outlet plus the hose size this accepts was still 1 1/2" but nothing a hacksaw can't fix. This is the form factor I wanted [ATTACH=full]642688[/ATTACH] Here is the finished result [ATTACH=full]642689[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]642690[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]642691[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]642692[/ATTACH] There are now 2" hose connections at both ends. The long boss is recessed for a temp sending unit to keep it out of the slip stream. The short one is a drain port. As you can see the bend is now a short 45 degrees and is gradual. The thermostat now has fairly clear path for the coolant. One thing I noticed was the poppet valve on the thermostat was pretty shrouded by the housing when open. Here is an image to illustrate this [ATTACH=full]642693[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]642694[/ATTACH] The thermostat is the biggest choke point in the engine and for good reason, it regulates the flow thru the engine with an opening of 2 1/4 sq. in. at full open. I've heard of people removing them completely in a road race car which might make sense but not something I would recommend in a street car as it may cause problems as there is nothing to regulate the heat and flow where demand can vari wildly. To unshroud the thermostat I back cut behind the wall away from the valve when it is open to providing a wider path for the coolant to traverse after passing thru the housing. This is a actually a very critical point there is so little space for that torrent of coolant to squeeze thru. [ATTACH=full]642695[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]642696[/ATTACH] As stated the Cougar housing having a larger diameter housing allowed for a lot more relieving then the Cobra housing. One thing I maintained on this whole system was the fat 1 1/2" coolant bypass line between the crossover and the thermostat. Some of the aftermarket set-up I've seen use a rather small nipple which won't allow the coolant to recirculate as vigorously thru the engine. When your warming-up the engine the area next to the combustion chamber will get very hot very quickly while the block will still be stone cold. Best to have an engine heat evenly so the onrush of the volume a large bypass provides will do a better job of this than having a skinny bypass hose. Ford put that big line in there for a reason! The long thin nipple connects to the expansion tank Here is an overall view of the system. The 2" line into the water inlet has been replaced by a mandrel bent 90 degree aluminum tube which will throw more heat off the coolant before entering the engine and won't collapse from the suction from the water pump. [ATTACH=full]642697[/ATTACH] I love the lack of bends in this system. The pump will have a much less restrictions to work against in the whole cooling circuit which actually means it will be working harder moving more liquid but the thermostat will ultimately still limit the pump output which is OK by me. Oil coolers next [/QUOTE]
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