Radiator mounting do's and don'ts

[Wheels]

Hey guys... i'm getting ready to mount my radiator and have some questions. i would have searched, but when i click on search, nothing happens. so, the basica questions i have are listed below:

1. when the radiator was on the 4 wheeler... the fan was on the back side. does the radiator have to stay the same way? or can i mount it the opposite way with the fan on the front?

2. I might have enough room to mount it just below and in front of the engine... is this recommended? or should i stay away from mounting it lower than the engine? I think Protodie mounted the radiator on his little 450 buggy behind the seat without issue, i just don't know if it's below the engine or not.

3. If i mount it above the engine... does it matter about lean angle?


these questions are somewhat goofy, i know... i just don't know much about engines and cooling. any help would be appreciated.

[K-fab]

Weird. Search is working for me. Could this be a cookie problem?

The fans are generally directional, so you'd have to put a pusher fan (pushes air through radiator) on it in place of a puller like it is now. (pulls air through) I don't know if you could pull the fan off the end of the motor, flip it over and then run the motor the opposite direction to make it a pusher or not.

Most rads w/cooling fans from mfgs don't have any sort of shrouding around them. It's usually just a fan on a mount against the rad body. If you're able, make a shroud that encloses the back of the radiator to the fan (fan has to be large enough to allow for good airflow when it's not running). The fan needs to be set off the rad body a couple of inches.

As long as you have air flow, you can put it anywhere you want. Usually they're not really happy behind bodywork and/or the seat, but if it has a good fan (which will run a lot w/o good airflow to the rad), you can do it. Not recommended, though. If you can duct or direct air from the outside of the car down on to the rad, that can work.

The more vertical the better, but you can lay them over pretty far as long as they have fans. The ones on the Briggs cars are laying over more than 45 degrees. One of the Briggs has a secondary radiator that's mounted 90 degrees to airflow and I have a scoop that directs air over it - works just fine.

It's pretty much all about making sure that you get the best airflow through it.

[Wheels]

yeah, i didn't think to check my settings. i'll check and try the search function again.

ok, so i have a pull fan... good to know. i will have to see what i can do with the blades... whether or not i can flip it. i was honestly thinking it was a push and that it meant the radiator was getting fresh air from both sides. lol like my signature says... learning something new everyday.

the radiator came with shrouds on it off to the side... which is good. i will probably stick to the above the engine mounting just so i don't run into any over heating issues. I'll be going slow in the woods, so i need all the airflow i can get i guess.

Thanks for all the information K-fab.

[Wheels]

aw crap... i completely missed the 'cooling' section. Kfab, please move this thread. as a matter of fact... can you delete it?

[K-fab]

I can delete, but why? I just moved it instead.

[BajaInspired]

Good thing you didn't delete it. Now I have to remember to think push/pull if I decide to use a radiator other than the stock one.

[Wheels]

K-fab, i asked for this to be deleted b/c i'm sure all of my questions would have been answered if i was looking in the correct location. but, it doesn't have to be deleted.

Baja, i'm glad this thread helped ya.

[biker]

As long as the radiator cap is above the engine you should be good. If the cap is below the top out going hose it wont let the trapped air out. You got to get that air out or it wont cool right.

[Odyknuck]

Just reverse the polarity on the fan to make it run the opposite direction. Yu really want the fan to pull thru the radiator as it is much more efficient.

[Glamisman]

There are inline radiator/surge tanks so you can mount your radiator lower and run the coolant lines to the cap/tank.

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/mo...FY17fgodaGQA4w