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front radiator in beetle and coolant lines

Posted: Tue Jan 17, 2012 5:33 am
by poomwah
where would be the best place to run them and what would you use?
obviously , the easiest way would be just run them underneath, but that would defeat the benefit of the nice smooth pan under the baja
running them through the cabin would make the interior super hot in the summer I imagine.
what's left? running them through the heater channnels?

Re: front radiator in beetle and coolant lines

Posted: Tue Jan 17, 2012 8:26 am
by Ol'fogasaurus
I am not the biggest fan of running coolant into or though the passenger compartment any more than you have to but on the plus side you would/could have access for heater and defroster applications that way. If you go to water cooled engine then the heater channels would not be necessary as a heat transfer source so they could be used as a protective hard tube cover and you could insulate under them and make them removable for maintenance. You could even tap into them for a rear window defroster using also. And talk about heated seats... whoof!

Lee

Re: front radiator in beetle and coolant lines

Posted: Tue Jan 17, 2012 8:49 am
by ambrynmc
Ol'fogasaurus wrote: And talk about heated seats... whoof!

Lee
Now you're talking

Re: front radiator in beetle and coolant lines

Posted: Tue Jan 17, 2012 11:20 am
by 56SemaRag
I am probably going to run mine in the heater channels, but may run them externally to take advantage of the heat dissipation. Mine are going to be made of thick wall aluminum with hose sections for transitions. For the heater core I ran them in the tunnel in bendable aluminum and sleeved with heater hose to retain and insulate the heat.
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Re: front radiator in beetle and coolant lines

Posted: Tue Jan 17, 2012 1:40 pm
by Buggin_74
Underneath definately has it's advantages.

Even in summer my fans only come on if I completely stop and no heat actually radiates inside the car.

My cars fairly low and travels shitty roads too, I've not had any dramas in all these years with mine tucked into the floor pan body bolt channels

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Re: front radiator in beetle and coolant lines

Posted: Tue Jan 17, 2012 1:43 pm
by ambrynmc
FYI, the best pricing I've found so far for aluminum tubing is here http://www.globaltecheng.com/default.asp

**REMEMBER**

Tubing is measured Actual Outside Diameter.
Example-1.5" 14 gauge aluminum tubing is actually 1.5" OD with a 1.334" ID based on wall thickness (1.5' - .083" - .083" = 1.334")

Pipe is measured Nominal Inside Diameter.
Example-1.5" Schedule 10 aluminum pipe is 1.682" ID with a 1.9" OD (actual ID is based on wall thickness (1.9" -.109" - .109"= 1.682)

I don't know if that made this worse or better....

Anyway, I'm with 56semaRag and Buggin_74, I plan to run pipe/tube under vehicle to gain free cooling. I was planning to attach using the body/pan washers. Thinking maybe slotting the washer so I can loop a stainless hose clamp through the washer side lip....

Still plotting though.

Re: front radiator in beetle and coolant lines

Posted: Tue Jan 17, 2012 2:28 pm
by RottenRawb
56SemaRag wrote:I am probably going to run mine in the heater channels, but may run them externally to take advantage of the heat dissipation. Mine are going to be made of thick wall aluminum with hose sections for transitions. For the heater core I ran them in the tunnel in bendable aluminum and sleeved with heater hose to retain and insulate the heat.
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Trying to figure these pics out. Is this front and rear heater connections??

Re: front radiator in beetle and coolant lines

Posted: Tue Jan 17, 2012 2:33 pm
by RottenRawb
Buggin_74 wrote:Underneath definately has it's advantages.

Even in summer my fans only come on if I completely stop and no heat actually radiates inside the car.

My cars fairly low and travels shitty roads too, I've not had any dramas in all these years with mine tucked into the floor pan body bolt channels

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this is essentially how I am going to run mine also for the same reasons. I do not have to worry about how low they are because I am not running my car low. With my 19" touareg wheels and tires, I can't even get that low :roll: .

Re: front radiator in beetle and coolant lines

Posted: Tue Jan 17, 2012 2:59 pm
by 56SemaRag
Trying to figure these pics out. Is this front and rear heater connections??
The two near the Napoleons hat are the inlet and outlets that are going to the heater core. The ones near the transmission horns are the right side coolant (inlet ) and fuel (inlet). The left horn will house the other set of outlets.

Re: front radiator in beetle and coolant lines

Posted: Tue Jan 17, 2012 4:35 pm
by Ol'fogasaurus
Buggin_74, you nestled that in there very nicely. My complements on the bending and fitting job!

Lee

Re: front radiator in beetle and coolant lines

Posted: Tue Jan 17, 2012 6:48 pm
by 56SemaRag
ambrynmc wrote: I was planning to attach using the body/pan washers. Thinking maybe slotting the washer so I can loop a stainless hose clamp through the washer side lip....

Still plotting though.
I am going to try these when running the paired main coolant and intercooler fluid lines together. The weldstud simply needs a tack anywhere you want to put it and an all metal self locking nut will hold the clamps firmly in place. No holes or drilling through into the body never have to worry about them working themselves loose.
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Re: front radiator in beetle and coolant lines

Posted: Tue Jan 17, 2012 7:31 pm
by poomwah
Buggin_74 wrote:Underneath definately has it's advantages.

Even in summer my fans only come on if I completely stop and no heat actually radiates inside the car.

My cars fairly low and travels shitty roads too, I've not had any dramas in all these years with mine tucked into the floor pan body bolt channels

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wow, those tuck up underneath a LOT better than I had ever imagined. I can't see those being a problem.
Now I'm excited :]
could you post some pics of them toward the radiator and toward the engine please?
What size lines should I run, so I can figure out what this is going to cost

Re: front radiator in beetle and coolant lines

Posted: Thu Jan 19, 2012 5:11 pm
by Buggin_74
I used 1.5"/38mm stainless steel lines.
that's same size as the stock subaru uses so it was a no brainer.

You could probably go a bit smaller and cut down the amount of coolant but I reckon that's why mine works so well as it has alot of back up coolant.

I thought I had some better pics of the front but cant find them.
It's in a super so it comes under the bulk head then goes up the firewall over top of all the suspension into the wheel well.

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the rear just goes straight to the water pump on the right hand side

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And up to the header tank on the left.

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Re: front radiator in beetle and coolant lines

Posted: Thu Jan 19, 2012 7:02 pm
by RottenRawb
love that last picture, and I know its a longshot but do you have the measurements on that? getting my pipe this weekend.

Re: front radiator in beetle and coolant lines

Posted: Fri Jan 20, 2012 4:04 am
by GS guy
That does look good Buggin_74.
Can you provide some specifics on the radiator you used? Overall size? Fan size? # of cores (single core/dual core?) It looks like a standard OEM radiator from some vehicle in your pics. Sure fits nicely into your Super!
Thanks,
Jeff