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This kit will plug the port in the back of the head, and plug the port in the thermostat housing. This is best installed with the head off or the engine out. Otherwise the port behind the head is hard to get to. The charm of this is that it eliminates more cooling system failure points.
http://www.akgmotorsport.com/catalog/catalog.php?category=e30%20Engine%2FDrivetrain
I’ve been debating about this for a couple of months now. It really comes down to poor options for defogging the windshield. Definitely need to replace all the hoses before one goes out on track though.
[quote=“Ranger” post=54697]This kit will plug the port in the back of the head, and plug the port in the thermostat housing. This is best installed with the head off or the engine out. Otherwise the port behind the head is hard to get to. The charm of this is that it eliminates more cooling system failure points.
http://www.akgmotorsport.com/catalog/catalog.php?category=e30%20Engine%2FDrivetrain[/quote]
Ranger, Can you be more specific “plug the port in the thermostat housing”
I’m confused as to exactly where the plug goes.
Thanks
My heating system has a hose coming from the expansion tank to the thermostat housing AND to the heater core (it is a “T” shaped hose). If I remove this hose, what do I do about the port on the expansion tank (I don’t see a third plug in the set), and how will the tank continue to operate?
Right now I have the heater core removed and have twisted the end of the “T” hose over so it hooks up to the port on the back of the head.
[quote=“PDS” post=54709][quote=“Ranger” post=54697]This kit will plug the port in the back of the head, and plug the port in the thermostat housing. This is best installed with the head off or the engine out. Otherwise the port behind the head is hard to get to. The charm of this is that it eliminates more cooling system failure points.
http://www.akgmotorsport.com/catalog/catalog.php?category=e30%20Engine%2FDrivetrain[/quote]
Ranger, Can you be more specific “plug the port in the thermostat housing”
I’m confused as to exactly where the plug goes.
Thanks[/quote]
Take a hard look at your tstat housing and where all the hoses go to. One of them goes under the intake manifold and either to the heater or to the back of the head.
IIRC, if your standing next to LF wheel looking at the tstat, the hose in question connects to it at about 4:00. It’s a pretty big hose, maybe 1" dia. Don’t confuse it with the throttle body hose.
Any discussion of hose routing needs to qualify early or late systems, because not only is the radiator different, all the hose routing along the intake side of the motor back to the head and heater is vastly different too.
Yes, but if the intent is to block off the hose at the back of the head, and at the tstat, it’s the same for early and late. If you do something more tricky than that, you might have to do something to account for early vs. late. Since I have an early, I don’t know much about late.
For blocking off the tstat I used an expandable stopper sort of thing I got at the local autoparts store. It’s like a rubber stopper with a screw in the middle that expands the size of the stopper.
In a previous iteration I made a tstat plug out of several sizes of hose stuffed into each other with some RPV. The outer layer of hose was a 2" section of the original hose to the tstat. One of the charms of having a coolant pressure switch is not having to sweat the failure of your jury rigged stopper.
I took the heater core out and just bought a 3" blower motor to connect to the defrog vents in the dash. I then just connected the two hoses that used to connect to the heater core with a fitting that allows for a temp sensor.
It’s only bad in the sense that every hose is a possible failure point. As long as you have a coolant pressure switch with a big warning light, there’s limited risk of cooking an engine due to coolant hose failure. It’s a heater hose or throttle body hose that will get you because they are the ones that are neglected.
I have removed the throttle body hoses and just ran a new line from the Tstat housing to the bung on the block. then from the back of the head to the large T-hose that connects to the over flow tank and T-stat housing. And all the lines are new, its good insurance to just replace everyting in my book.
Instead of running a line between the thermostat housing and the bung on the block, you could remove the bung, and plug both the block and the T-Stat housing. I believe the threads are M12x1.5 at the bung; use a short bolt with aluminum or copper crushwasher.
I am trying to figure out how to remove the heater core and what I need to leave to make sure the cooling system functions correctly. My car is a later model and has the reservoir on the driver’s side. The reservoir has a hose out the bottom that is a Tee hose. One end of the tee goes to the thermostat housing and the other end to the heater core and the third end to the coolant reservoir. It would appear that if I use a block off plate on the head I would then need to make sure the reservoir is connected direct to the thermostat housing. I am guessing the earlier cars do not have this Tee hose and the reservoir is not plumbed into the heater core circuit. Is my thinking correct? It appears that the AKG kit has the block off plate and a plug for a hose. Or does the plug go right in the t-stat housing? Either way I guess I don’t need the plug. I also guess based on what I have read that removing the circulating water from the rear of the head does not affect the cooling of the head?
Next, if I choose to bypass the throttle body heating system can those be plugged like fishMan says or does the coolant still need to circulate following that path? And how do you plug the end at the thermostat housing?
Someone please let me know if I am on the right track.
Michael
I have a late model as well. I used the plug to cap the end of the hose that would normally go to the now removed fitting at the end of the head. What you end up with is the factory t-hose going from the thermostat housing to the expansion tank per factory and the third end just plugged.
To Ranger’s point - I still have section of hose that could be a failure point and serves no purpose.
Michael,
The previous owner of my car simply plugged the thermostat housing with a bolt; it looks a bit funky because he used a long bolt and left a washer on it, but does not leak. I have not blocked off the coolant port at the end of my head and simply connect the factory hose between the plastic resevoir, thermostat housing and then straight to the nipple bolted to the head (skipping the previous loop with heater core installed). I would prefer to block off the head with the AKG plate, but don’t see the advantage if you just plug the tee hose instead of connecting to the head. I think a plugged hose would be less realiable than the hose to head connection. If I can find a hose to replace the tee hose, I will block off the head and connect the hose between the resevoir and thermostat housing.
Bottom line, this setup worked well for me last season and I never overheated.
[quote=“ilateapex” post=54929]I am trying to figure out how to remove the heater core and what I need to leave to make sure the cooling system functions correctly. My car is a later model and has the reservoir on the driver’s side. The reservoir has a hose out the bottom that is a Tee hose. One end of the tee goes to the thermostat housing and the other end to the heater core and the third end to the coolant reservoir. It would appear that if I use a block off plate on the head I would then need to make sure the reservoir is connected direct to the thermostat housing. I am guessing the earlier cars do not have this Tee hose and the reservoir is not plumbed into the heater core circuit. Is my thinking correct? It appears that the AKG kit has the block off plate and a plug for a hose. Or does the plug go right in the t-stat housing? Either way I guess I don’t need the plug. I also guess based on what I have read that removing the circulating water from the rear of the head does not affect the cooling of the head?
Next, if I choose to bypass the throttle body heating system can those be plugged like fishMan says or does the coolant still need to circulate following that path? And how do you plug the end at the thermostat housing?
Someone please let me know if I am on the right track.
Michael[/quote]
I have an early model so I can’t help with the late model uniqueisms. It sounds tho like you could just run a hose from the reservior to the tstat body and be done with it.
Cooling of the head won’t suffer by blocking off the coolant port at the rear of the head.
Re. throttle body to tstat hose. Coolant does not need to circulate via this path. Use your imagination re. blocking off the tstat port to the throttle body. I think I took an inch of hose thin enough to put in the port, put a screw in the hose, and then stuffed it in with some RPV. I bet that you could find an expandable stopper of the right dia. if you looked around. If you’re leary of your handiwork, use that anxeity to spur you into installing the coolant pressure switch.
I have been working on this this weekend. I fabricated a block off plate for the back of the head and was able to install it without much trouble. I tried to install some standard heater hose from the reservoir to the thermostat housing and I just could not get it to route the way I wanted. I decided to try and cut one leg of the Tee hose off and plug it and finally got the stuff to do it but on the way home I figured out the simplest way to do it as that is just cut the Tee out and install a 90 with two hose clamps. So that is what I am going to do.
I removed the heater core and all duct and such. Everything removed under hood and under dash including the carpet I could not get out during the build weighed 19 lbs. That is not counting the water that was in the system.
Now for the question. Do most of you patch the big hole where the fan was or leave it open for airflow into the cabin? It is not in the fire wall and I plan to patch the few little holes in it but it is behind the firewall. Air enters the vents right behind the hood and then can go through the hole under the dash.
I am also going to fab an aluminum panel to replace where the HVAC controls were and remount my switches and fire pull. There were mounted where the radio was but now I have a lot more room.
Thanks for any input.
Michael
Great Lakes SE30 Series Director
You can’t have any holes in the fire wall. If you put the blower motor cover back on in the engine bay, that should be fine.