im doin this swap, and its gotta be a super duper low budget swap. i was thinkin about having a custom radiator made, due to space issues, but i was standin in my garage, staring into space, when i see this ford probe intercooler. its aluminum, the spigots are a 1/4 inch too big, but thats no big deal. i filled it with water and it holds about 1/3 more water than a legacy radiator. and most inportantly it fits where i need it to go.

 

i know intercoolers are built a bit differently than radiators, so i hope it will cool off my 2.7, with the help of a front mount oil cooler =].

Please let me know how this works and post pics if you can. I have been noodling around the same idea.

 

I want a wide "radiator" that fits under my hood line but is not as tall as stock. Then I could cut into my front end and create a better approach angle for off roading.

 

Thanks.

My Intercooler is stamped "Tokiko Radiators" or something like that :shrug:

The only thing that I would be concerned about it is how well it "flows". Air can go through tight places easier than water.

 

I would suggest that either you have a radiator show do a flow test on it, or at least you do a simple shade-tree flow test: With radiator/intercoler on end so that one tank is on the ground (under the rest of the cooler), temporarily plug the bottom tank's out let and fill the cooler from the other outlet (just fill... do not force). When the cooler is full (water spilling out top outlet), uncovr the bottom outlet and see how quickly the water rushes out and finishes emptying. Sluggish draining = poor flow.

 

Shop flow test is a whole lot better. And too bad it isn't a copper intercooler.

ya, its got alot larger ports than a radiator, if anything else, im worried about it flowing too fast, and not giving the coolant a chance to exchange enough heat.

the er27 has two rad caps, one on the radiator, and one on the intake, right after the thermostat.

i know i can fill it through the rad cap, on the manifold, but does it need an overflow? im sure it does. im thinking i could plum in a cap, on a t, off one of the hoses, kinda like some saturns did. or drill a hole in the manifold, that the cap can bleed off coolant as it heats up.

 

??? i think ???

Radiator/intercooler doesn't need its own overflow. The overflow is a pressure/volume release thing. As long as you have one in the system it should be good.

 

Regarding flow, I was thinking more about the core/tube restriction, not the inlet/outlet. No such thing as flowing too fast. Only worry is ability to effectively transfer heat. In fact, there are advantages to flowing much faster than standard... more consistant temps, less stress on pump.

cool, thats what i mean, everything on the thing is larger diameter than a radiator, including the cross runners, ahd the fins. its about half the size of the length and width of the legacy unit. its either this, or cut out two of my 4 head lights. which might look cool with a huge wide radiator in there. but i will most likely use what i already own.

Another option (maybe not for you, but someone, someday) is to go down to your local friendly radiator shop (wouldn't suggest a national chain, but a mom and pop) with your required dimensions, and see what is available to fit. 30 years ago (and I assume today, still) they had catalogs that listed radiator cores, and sometimes complete units, by their dimensions. Lots of these shops are starving out due to oem aluminum crap (can't be repaired, only suitable for beer cans), and are willing to spend some time in order to make a sale.

 

A good radiator man (or woman) can do amazing things with standardized parts.

 

Oh... and copper, copper, copper!

 

Pat

ya, i wish i couldjust run my ea81 copper oem one, it was brand new in 2002. but the ends dont fit. and its way too wide.

well, i'll never get to test this out. i stuck a legacy radiator up there after alot of cutting.