nazar Posted January 30, 2006 Share Posted January 30, 2006 Finally got around to it. I ran 4 thin, long bolts through the radiator core and tied in the front with a 19" plate connecting them, will this be ok? It makes for a clean install and really hugs the fan shroud tightly against the radiator. Its a JTR aluminum radiator with their mounting brackets which worked out really well and look very clean. and the R230 lsd with the arizona mustache bar. My cv's will be here tomorow and the half shafts and adapter from MM towards the end of the week The flywheel is on its way and I already have the centerforce clutch, so most likely the tranny will go in this weekend(I will try to keep the motor in the car and just throw the tranny in from the bottom using a lift, seems that the motor has enough play to angle down and access all tranny bolts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavyZ Posted January 30, 2006 Share Posted January 30, 2006 Hats off to you, Nazar. You have been working and making some great progress. Nice bunch of parts BTW... Your mounting of the fan should be OK, but I personally hate to put anything through the core, even if it seems OK to do so. I know, I know, the fan it supposed to be mounted this way, yaddah yaddah. I suppose what I'd rather see is a fan mounted by brackets. Truthfully, though, you should be OK so long as there is no undue stress on the core. Great work in a short period of time. It looks like you worked out the engine mounting scenario (fiasco?) and all by now. Davy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
80LS1T Posted January 30, 2006 Share Posted January 30, 2006 Yeah I dont know about the fan mounting either. I dont like the idea of the fan moving around causing those bolts to rub on the core. Running bolts through the core support was probably not the best idea. Ive seen plastic zip tie things used before but not bolts. Otherwise it looks like your making progress! Guy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nazar Posted January 30, 2006 Author Share Posted January 30, 2006 the only reason i thought it would be ok is because the bolts tie into a long plate on the other side that should distribute the load throughout the whole radiator core, up and down, its just just a bolt on the other side, its a whole plate that spans the heighth of the core. Hmm...i guess i could make brackets, but it would never fit so cleanly and tightly as it does now...We'll see I guess Still lots of work to do. Throughout the week Im gonna strip all the suspension pieces and hottank them to get them nice and clean and then powder coat them all black before reinstalling them with all new urathane bushings. Hoping to have the rear end completely done by next week(q45, cv's, halfshaft, stub axles and adapter. Im gonna send the harness out as well to get modified Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pop N Wood Posted January 30, 2006 Share Posted January 30, 2006 Bolts might make the aluminum core corrode. Use aluminum or something plastic if possible. But like said above, a few good potholes and I am afraid the up and down rattling will wear a pinhole in that thin, pressureized aluminum core. Oh, and by the way terrific progress. Your swap is quickly becoming one of my favorites. I am looking at an LS1 swap, and from the looks of things, your entire LT1 swap will be cheaper than what I am looking to pay for an engine and tranny alone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaleMX Posted January 30, 2006 Share Posted January 30, 2006 I did the same but used rubber tubing as an isolator. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nazar Posted January 30, 2006 Author Share Posted January 30, 2006 cool, ill probably pull the bolts out and wrap them in something then. When i was screwin them down, my flathead sliped and put a small dent in one of the core rows, im not sure how fragile they are and how far the water jackets come out, it didnt puncture through, but a tiny dent, guess ill just have to wait and see, lol...i hate radiators, never liked the concept,too fragile and weird... Cant wait to hear this thing fire up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikelly Posted January 30, 2006 Share Posted January 30, 2006 Just go down to the autoparts store and get a hayden fan mounting kit. It comes with rubber isolators and their plastic Zip tie-like holders. I've used those on ALL my electric fans over the years with ZERO issues. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nazar Posted January 30, 2006 Author Share Posted January 30, 2006 QUESTION: My fan, spal black magic 150 i think it is, has a temp sensor built onto it that reads the radiator. Should i wire it up for it to use its own sensor as it is, or wire it to where the lt1 ecu controls the fans just like in a stock z28??? Also, they say to place the fan on so that the sensor is on the side where the hot water enters. I believe the lt1 is reverse flow, and it fills the radiator up from the passenger side on the bottom, and fills it up, flows to the top and comes out on the drivers side at the top correct??? Because my sensor is placed on the passenger side currently. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danno74Z Posted January 30, 2006 Share Posted January 30, 2006 Nazar, IMO I would let the computer control the fan like it did when it was in the original car. Then you can program the computer to when you want the fan to come on and off with an edit program. If you don't let the computer control the fan cycle you may pop the check engine light - don't know for sure. The fan you purchased can also be used on non-computerized engines, so in that case, you would use the sensor that came with the fan. Either way you go you should eliminate one of the systems as I don't think you should run both at the same time. Danno74Z Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bartman Posted January 30, 2006 Share Posted January 30, 2006 QUESTION: My fan' date=' spal black magic 150 i think it is, has a temp sensor built onto it that reads the radiator. Should i wire it up for it to use its own sensor as it is, or wire it to where the lt1 ecu controls the fans just like in a stock z28??? [/quote']If you can edit the temperatures use the PCM, if you can't the default temperatures are too high (at least I think so). I'm using a toggle switch for mine...but I will probably switch to letting the computer control it in the future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nazar Posted January 30, 2006 Author Share Posted January 30, 2006 I just send out my harness to lt1350 to get edited, he is a cool guy, for the money, its worth it after i spoke to him They go through the whole harness, replace up to 4 bad plugs(which i may have as it has a few burns on the harness from the fire the donor car was in), then they reloom it, run all the wires i need to plug into the datsun, also leads for electric gauges, also an obd port and even a check engine light, also wires for fuel pump and fan with relays, not bad at all. Not bad for the money, and it will be done next week. If i can control this flexalite fan with the computer somehow, I will, not sure how to wire it though as its setup to run on its own, im sure i'll figure it out. So, can someone confirm which way the water flows on the lt1 pump? In on the passanger side bottom, out on the driver side top?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bartman Posted January 30, 2006 Share Posted January 30, 2006 So, can someone confirm which way the water flows on the lt1 pump? In on the passanger side bottom, out on the driver side top??Yes LT1's are reverse flow, cooling the heads first...but I think your description is backwards.Here's a good link that talks about the LT1 : http://www.theherd.com/articles/lt1_cool.html "All of this means that the thermostat housing is the INLET (opposite of most engines), while the water pump is the OUTLET. The water pump (outlet) on the engine runs to the top left (inlet) of the radiator. The lower right (outlet) of the radiator runs to the thermostat housing (inlet) on the engine." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wheelman Posted January 30, 2006 Share Posted January 30, 2006 Bartman is correct, the coolent goes through the heads first and then the block but comes from the engine to the radiator the same as a standard flow setup. The radiator fills from the top and goes back to the engine from the bottom. This is part of the reason you can't use a normal thermostat on these engines, it ends up backwards and won't flow at all. As far as controlling the fan from the PCM goes I don't think it matters as long as the thermo-switch is set to the correct temp. You will want to program the fan(s) in the PCM so they won't come on otherwise it will throw a code. I also don't like the idea of running anything through the radiator to mount the fan, thats why I made some brackets that attach the fan to the upper and lower radiator mounts. Those plates you ran the bolts through, how wide are they and did you put one on each side (left and right or top and bottom)? I think this is a very bad idea, covers up some of the radiator and you need all of it, especially if your engine is modified. Wheelman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nazar Posted January 30, 2006 Author Share Posted January 30, 2006 2 strips going up and down, no more than 1" wide. Plus they are parallel to the border of the fan, meaning they arent really covering any flow because the flow stops anyway when it hits the borders of the fan shroud, if that makes sense I can make brackets, but it wont look as clean nor will it suck up the shroud as tight to the radiator...hmmm...I have time so i'll think about it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tannji Posted January 31, 2006 Share Posted January 31, 2006 If you use brackets, sleeve up some Nylon threaded retainers to go thru the radiator, that should work fine, and are cheap to replace when and if they fail. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.