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Machining Radiator Hose Tee Piece

I will be making a stainless steel one to replace it later on, but for now it will do.

MAZDA 3 Home made Cold Air Intake

Mazda3 1.6L. Ived constructed this CAI using radiator hose(2.5" inside diam., commonly used on trucks), 2.5" aluminum pipe (which would ...

Field violence in the 81 2WD Shortbed Toyota Pickup

closely, you can see on the very second lap around the track, the coolant radiator hose explodes off, and a cloud of smoke comes out for a second ...

BMW Build – Spring Overhaul [Part 2]

Well you saw part 1 – here’s part 2!  Part 3 will be coming sometime next week and will be the last build update before the race season starts.

Wednesday April 14:

Wednesday night I tackled the cooling system.  My goal was to bypass the heater core so that it could be removed.  First I had to take the intake manifold off the car.  This involved disconnecting the fuel rail, the MAF, throttle body, and various electrical plugs and vacuum hoses.  Once the manifold was out, I could access the coolant lines that ran into the firewall.  I then disconnected all the lines and removed the heater core valve.  i was then left with two hoses – one leading from the back of the engine to the valve, and the other leading from back of the thermostat to the valve.  You would think to just connect the two and be done with it, but it that configuration, it would allow hot coolant to recirculate through the engine without first going through the rad.  That’s why bimmerworld makes an aluminium block off plate with a gasket to plug the hole on the engine.  The other hose was terminated using a steel plug and cap from Home Depot – I was hoping to find a brass plug, but they didn’t have one so I had to be a bit more creative.  Seemed to have worked!  Once the coolant lines were all set, I reinstalled the intake and went inside the car to attempt to remove the heater core.  After removing the cluster and dash, several bolts and lots of broken plastic later, the core was out!  All that is left to complete the project is to install some sheetmetal to plug the hole in the firewall and a bit of silicone to keep the water out!  Another successful night, and one step closer to being ready for the spring!

April 17-18 weekend:

Saturday I wasn’t able to work until the evening because I was writting my Professional Engineering exam.  Once that was over, it was time to get my hands dirty!  I started wiring up the electric fan.  Following the instructions and a DIY on bimmerforums, I completed the wiring (successfully I hope).  I haven’t tested it yet as the cooling system is still empty, but hopefully it will work.  I also started working on a dash panel to close up the hole where my radio and vents were.  I also heard some bad news from UUC this weekend – their subframe bushings were backordered so I cancelled my order and purchased the Powerflex race bushings from Bimmerworld.  I also purchased some Autometer gauges from Summit Racing: oil temperature and pressure, and coolant temperature.

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