CSI thermo housing

After waiting a month and a half, I finally
received my swivel head thermo housing from
CSI performance Products.
This piece is definitely worth a look for
anybody who is in the build process. It is
anodized aluminum, available in a variety
of colors, and costs $125USD, but will save
a lot of time and effort for those with
space constraints between engine and bulkhead. From the flange to the longest point of the 360 degree swivel head, it is only 2 1/2". As it is adjustable 360 degrees,
hoses should be a whole lot easier to find or
adapt to fit. It seals by means of an O-ring
instead of a gasket, and mounts with recessed
Allen bolts. It is not only pretty to look at, but very functional as well. Mine is
blue, Part#9111B. 1 1/2" outlet. www.csiperformance.com They have other parts
that look worthwhile, on their website.

Bill

[ August 06, 2002: Message edited by: Bill Bayard ]

Pic of Bill's "Swivel-Head" (thermo housing, of course !).

Bill, why did it take so long to get?? I bought one from Jegs (might have been Summit) several months ago and it came toot sweet.

I really needed one of these because of how I route the coolant with an inverted mandrel bent U. It takes the coolant straight down beside the water pump and in front of the passenger side head and in between the alternator brackets. I had to lower the U enough to allow the L fitting I put in the apex (has a line going to a bleeder valve that is the highest point in the system and then on to my header tank) to clear the cross bar of the roll bar. This had me into the curve of the U and in order to get a fairly straight joint, I needed to be able to swivel the outlet. The CSI piece worked perfectly: I agree that they are very nice pieces.

If anyone thinks of using an inverted U like I did, don't consider doing it without a bleeder of some sort on top of the apex. Preferably, it should be a full time bleed as vapor will trap here and lock the coolant system. I am told this was a major problem with Maseratis in the past.

Lynn, probably a stupid question, but I have heard of "full time bleeds" from others but have never understood why such an arrangement doesn't simply de-pressurise the whole cooling system.

I had planned to put bleed valves on the 2 highest points of the cooling system - in the top of the radiator & on a "T-Piece" on the water temp sensor outlet on the intake manifold. The theory was that I would only need to use them to bleed air out when filling the system. I am not sure I understand where any extra air could come from (provided the header tank was kept part full).

Any light that you can shed on this would be greatly appreciated.

Kind Regards,

Peter D.

Peter, The system is not depressurized because the bleeds go to the header tank which has a pressure cap and they are small lines. You will always get some steam and/or vapor created even if it is just after the engine is shut down. (Ever own a water bed? They have to be burped about once a quarter. Boyles law and all that you know.) It will find its way to the high points of the system where it can vapor lock the circulation. Therefore bleeds from the top of the radiator and the top of the inverted U bend to get the vapor into the header tank where it will be on top. The theory is that it will then be purged out of the header tank, as the pressure builds, down the overflow line into the bottom of the reservoir. The vapor escapes since the reservoir is not sealed, but when the system cools down, only liquid coolant is drawn back into the header tank/coolant system from the reservoir. As you can see this type system should be self maintaining from a trapped gases point of view, or so it says here in fine print. My header tank is a bit of a swirl pot as has been mentioned in other threads because the inputs from the nipple on the thermo housing and bleeds come in tangent to the side. The return to the water pump comes off the bottom while the overflow is under the cap. I bought a rather inexpensive reservoir system that holds 2 quarts so I have plenty of room and coolant in it. There are, of course, more expensive and prettier tanks to do this, but mine is not ugly and is very functional. Esthetics are great, but I'll take functionality any day.