Rear Coolant Lines Question

[Dave Forster]

Now that the engine is back in with the modified water pump, I am able to measure the distance between the RCR-supplied straight solid coolant line running down the side of the car, and the water pump. On the driver's side, the distance is a little over 48". I was originally thinking I would run a single flexible coolant line, but I can't find any longer than 4 feet.

What are you guys doing in this area? Is there a source for longer flexible lines?Two flexible lines with a solid straight in between? Bite the bullet and find someone who will build up a custom set of solid pipes? Any other options?

I'm starting to feel like the coolant lines between the engine and radiator are a bit Mickey-Mouse, with multiple rubber connectors, solid lines and flexible lines. . .

 

[Fran Hall RCR]

We do offer solid welded coolant tubes Dave...

As others will attest they are quite time consuming to make

 

[Dave Nugent]

What's the coolant tube diameter?

 

[Fran Hall RCR]

1 1/2"

 

[Dave Nugent]

Would this coolant hose work?

Gates 28324 Gates Green Stripe Wire Inserted Coolant Hose - Free Shipping on All Orders @ JEGS

 

[Fran Hall RCR]

The Gates hose is good but its very stiff and unyielding....

 

[Howard Jones]

Dave you will need to make a couple of 90 degree short radius turns at least. That hose will not turn that tight. It is however very good quality hose and you could use it for the small connecting sections necessary.

Call Fran and find out more about his pre welded system. He has everything right at hand and can just send along the system ready for install. I spent weeks making mine and as long doing Mesa's special system. Even a pro will require a day or two.

You will have plenty to do, why not just get this piece done up front. If I had to do it again I would. Have a look at my system for a basic idea. By the way I don't like the idea of burying hose inside the sidepods where it can't be repaired or in the front wheel wells where it can be cut by road swarf.

 

[Jack]

I used Howard's as a guide for fabricating mine. It took me several days to make and pressure test the welds, etc. Get it from Fran and save the aggravation.

 

[Michael Fling]

I am having the RCR one piece pipes altered. I am having a 45 degree bend welded where the tube enters the front trunk space. Then this will connect the tube to the radiator:

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/sum-390124/overview/

I just received my ring gear. Hip Hip…. Hooooray! So, the coolant tube mod for the engine compartment is on hold until the engine gets replaced. The passenger side is going to have 2 90 degrees so that there is only a short hose from the tube to the water pump. Th derivers side will have a 45.

 

[mahlon]

How much are the pre-formed tubes from rcr?

 

[Dave Forster]

I was quoted $1,500.

As an alternative, I have a MIG welder, but am not very good at it. I might get a roll of stainless wire and tack weld the pipes on the car and then take them to someone who knows what they are doing for the final welding.

 

[Jack]

Not a bad idea. You may source everything needed from:
Tube Bending & Fabrication - Columbia River Mandrel Bending

They will bead the ends for you too.

 

[Howard Jones]

As I built mine I mocked them up and then duct taped it all together for a trial fit. A good duct tap job will work fine for taking it to a welder to have them made for you. All the fitting of pieces is the expensive (time consuming) part. If you get someone local he may want to do the tacking himself, have you test fit the pieces, and then finish it.

Remember, stainless MUST be back gassed, ALWAYS! Don't create a mess for your pro welder to fix $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$.

The Columba place is where I got my tubing, good source.

Here's a good time to buy a chop saw. You will pay for it in the first two hours and have it later for exhaust work. Your will find that tools are cheep, it's the labor that costs a arm and a leg.

 

[Dave Forster]

Thanks for the tips on Columbia - I was searching online for a good supplier and otherwise coming up empty.

What is "back-gassed" and is it needed for just tack-welding?

 

[Alex]

I was quoted $1,500.

As an alternative, I have a MIG welder, but am not very good at it. I might get a roll of stainless wire and tack weld the pipes on the car and then take them to someone who knows what they are doing for the final welding.

I ended up paying $350 plus 3 hours (or so) of my time just to get 2 stainless pipes mandrel bent for the front area (I was concerned about having a rubber union right right behind the wheel where crap gets kicked at it, although Cam's hasn't failed so it probably is okay to do that ). i would gladly pay 1500 for a full set of of welded up pipes (although I'm just as happy with my cobbled together union of rubber and stainless pipes.

that green striped tube you linked is very good but 0 flexibility; it's better off to use that as a coupler between pipes rather than as your "pipe"

 

[mark b.]

I'm curious, why are people not using aluminum tubing with the blue silicon connectors which can be found in 90 & 45 and maybe 30 degree bends? Okay, maybe not the 30's. I've had these guys make some stuff.

http://www.hrpworld.com/store/default/cooling-system/coolant-hoses-tubes-fittings.html

 

[Howard Jones]

I would be remiss to tell you that you don't need to fill the inside of a stainless steel tube with Argon when you weld it. Especially when you are going to take it to a pro to finish the job.

If I did that I am certain that the "pro" I know would ask me within a minute, who did this? Then when I told him he would shake his head and say, Well if that's the way you what it then.....whatever........... Mark it, cut it apart, and redo it right.

Gas Shielding is Critical for Stainless Steel Welds

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOycjfEfMmI]Cotati Exhaust Part 3: Welding stainless steel tubing for exhaust systems - YouTube[/ame]

However, in this second video the guy does tack it together without purging the tubing but he is using a TIG machine and keeping the tack VERY small to the point of not penetrating to the inside of the tubing much at all. If you can do that then I guess it would be ok. I wouldn't do it with a flux core MIG at all and very carefully with a argon gas shielded filler wire MIG machine if I had to.

You are going to spend good money to build a set of water pipes, and I think you can mark the fit with a sharpie across the joint. Cover just the mark with a small square of clear tape, and then wrap the joint with duct tap to hold it all together. When your welder gets ready to preliminarily tack the pieces together he can remove the duct tap tack it on the back side of your mark, remove the little piece of clear tape and tack it again with properly purged tubing. Then you can check it and bring it back for a finish up.

Lastly, the water system on a mid engine car is a funny thing. They can be a real nightmare to get to work sometimes. They are long, have lots of turns, pump up hill for the most part, and can be hard to bleed of air. Every restriction you add unnecessarily makes the whole thing more complex. I made mine with nice smooth welds on the inside of the tubing and kept all the turns nice smooth radiuses and no tight turns. We'll see how it all works later but I feel that I have applied all that I learned from my GT40 build to the best of my ability.

The engine coolant system is a real bitch to fix later, unlike things like seat location. It's at the top of my list of do it right the first time things.

 

[Troy Truglio]

Burns Stainless LLC - Welding Article Part 3

Solar Flux B can be used.

 

[Dave Forster]

Thanks for all the info! I will check with my welder before tacking anything up to see what method he prefers.

 

[Dave Forster]

My welder says tacking without back-gassing is fine.

I'm about to start tacking pipes together, but someone pointed out that running solid pipes up to within a few inches of the engine and radiator will make a long piece that is not very flexible, making it susceptible to potential fatigue cracking from vibration or any flex in the body relative to the pipe.

An alternative would be to run the solid pipes up to a point inside each front wheel, where they could be connected to the stainless flex lines up to the radiator.

What do you guys think? Solid all the way, or keep the solid portions a bit shorter?