I’ve been asked by a few forum members about my tank separation mod, and especially why I now say that you don’t need a new IC "circulation" tank like the one I had fabbed and installed.

First - - Let’s look at the stock “surge” tank. In the picture below you can see three of the cambers. These chambers are separated by a wall on all four sides (there are three more chambers on the backside) with one small 1/4” diameter hole on the bottom of each wall for the fluid to interconnect. There is no way you could circulate fluid through this tank. This tank is used for nothing more then a place for the coolant (engine & IC) to expand into when it gets hot, and to draw coolant from when the coolant cools down and to add fluid to the system when needed. (Has anyone lost any coolant yet?) This is explained pretty well in the maintenance manual

SurgeTank.jpg

I chose to fab a “circulation” tank for my system with the idea that I could “ICE” down the coolant to provide some colder-then-ambient air temps. This idea failed because the HE would warm the chilled coolant up very quickly. (But the bling-bling still looks good with the rest of the engine polishing I had done)

What I did learn from all this is that the IC coolant is going to equalize somewhere between the outside air temp at the HE and the intake air temp at the IC once the engine coolant is no longer a factor. Just removing the engine coolant out of the factor - - droped my IC coolant temps by 50+ degrees and dropped my IAT's by 25 – 30 Deg. This gives me back some timing. And that’s what I’d like to share with you.

Also – the HE and IC are only so efficient at transferring heat. In my case the IC coolant stays about 25deg above ambient outside temp. My IC coolant never seems to get hotter then that – I can stick my finger in my IC coolant at anytime without issue. Also my IAT gauge now reads about 35-40 deg above ambient OAT when cruzing and will jump another 25-35 deg above that when I’m boosting hard – then come back down when off the boost.

So to save you money, time, re-routing a ton of hoses, installing a smaller battery or giving up valuable trunk space, you can do this the easy way and get the same results.

 

Parts List
www.meziere.com

28oz Expansion Tank 2” X 3” X 10” PN# WE100(B, C, R or S) $108.00
B=Blue C = Chrome R= Red S = Black U = Polished

16LB Radiator Cap PN# WCC00116C (Chrome) $29.15
You can buy any 16LB radiator cap at any automotive store for less.

Port Fitting PN# WPM34U 3/4 inch barb – with o-ring $18.65
Fitting on the bottom of the tank to connect to the radiator hose. Custom for this tank.

Plug PN# XRP-993203 1/4” NPT PLUG allen type $2.00
You can get this at any hardware store

Hose Fitting No PN# 3/4” barb to 1/4” NPT $3.00
I special ordered a polished one - but brass is available at any hardware store

Hose Fitting No PN# 3/8 or a 3/16” barb to 1/4” NPT $???
This is for the vent tube at the filler neck – I purchased an aluminum one from Kragen
Pick a size to fit the overflow hose of your choice.

Fitting Cap 7/8" - Something to cap off the hose fitting on the stock surge tank where the radiator hose connected.

Hose Clamp - for radiator hose at bottom of new tank. (see pic)

Mounting hardware ( 2 bolts, washers, nylon nuts) There are two options to mount this tank as explained later – once you decide how you want to mount yours will decide what type of hardware to use.

At this point you must decide if you want to drain all the coolant form your radiator and intercooler – or just pinch off the radiator hose going to the expansion tank.

The first thing you can do is mount the new tank before you drain or remove any hoses.
This way if you are unsure or….???

In the picture below you can see that I mounted the tank just below the radiator support beam to ensure the hood would close – but the filler neck is (and must be) higher then the radiator.
You can also see I fit it with the Radiator cap on, and you can see the where the 1/4 inch NPT Plug is used.

TankClearance.jpg

Tank_Shroud.jpg

In the above picture (looking straight down) you can see that I mounted the tank as close as I could get to the fan lip to ensure the intake snorkel (on the left) would clear the tank.

I used some masking tape on the shroud behind the tank to make my mark. I had a very small pencil but you could use a scratch awl. You can see one of the mounting holes in the picture below. You have your choice to run a allen bolt thru the tank (like I did) and use a washer/ nylon nut on the back side of the shroud – or you can bolt from the back side of the shroud into the back of the header tank. The backside of the header tank has a threaded flange with a larger diameter thread then the size required to mount with a bolt from the front. Actually it’s pretty trick. The ultra trick mount would be to use two nut-serts on the shroud so you don’t need to access the back should you need to remove the tank and radiator shroud for any reason.

RadiatorTank.jpg

back_side.jpg

For the above picture – I slid the radiator shroud out just enough for you to see the mounting hardware from the backside - and that you can access the hardware - - if needed to remove the tank and be able to pull the fan out.



Continued....

 

Bottom_View.jpg

Here is a picture looking up from the bottom of the tank – this is were the 3/4 Port fitting attaches. The hose you see is the same one that connected to the stock surge tank. (see picture #1) You must trim this hose or it will kink when you try and connect it to the new tank.

Also – as you will see – the hose end was flared to make it slip onto the factory surge tank port. It will be to big if you tried to connect it to the new tank – but once you trim it – no problem. No need to disconnect the other end of the hose at the radiator.

If you don’t feel you can pinch this hose above the radiator while you trim and mount the hose to the new tank, then you should completely drain the coolant system.

Either way – once everything is reconnected – and new fluid is added to both systems – it will take some time to let everything flow and settle, so take your time and adjust coolant levels.

I found that when the engine is completely cold – the fluid level in the new tank should be about 1/2 way. If you fill more then that – once the engine coolant gets hot and expands, it will spill out the over flow vent at the filler neck (it happened to me) But by trial and error – about 1/2 full with a cold engine does the trick.

I should add the the vent tube on the aluminum IC line should now connect to the black vent barb on the stock surge tank.

I also need to add that you will need to cap off the hose fitting on the factory surge tank where the radator hose once connected. (see picture 1)

There you go – If you have any questions feel free to ask.

 

Brian,

Is this a mod I should add for daily driving?

Thanks,

Alex

 

If your an aggressive driver like me - Yes

If your pretty much a mellow driver - No

Save your $$ for another mod

 

I guess I will be adding it.

 

Brian,

great Write-Up and Pics! Thank you very much for sharing your experience!!

I have a question about the stock surge tank:

The tank is used for nothing more then a place to expand into when it gets hot and to draw coolant from when the coolant cools down and to add fluid to the system. Is any (hotter) fluid draw back into the IC-System while boosting hard? Or is the fluid draw back in the IC-System after driving when you have shut the engine down and everything cools down?

Thanks.
Bruno

 

Excellent job on this and your other modifications, BrianBrave.

You’re a true asset to the forum.

 

The two systems are expanding and cooling at different times when driving. With the engine coolant drawing back into the radiator (cooling) after shut down. But the IC coolant is heating up and cooling down (somewhat) as the SC spins up and down while you drive.

Plus with the current setup, there is nothing to stop the hotter coolant from "heat soaking" to the cooler coolant; heat only needs the liquid as its travel medium.

 

Hi Brian I think my age is showing, but could you do a one line diagram of the modified hose locations so i can compare it to the original oem setup ? Thanks again for your input and knowledge of the SRT6, and for sharing it with the forum. ILLCYA !!!

 

No problem - love the challange!

Tell me if these diagrams help

Factorydiagram.jpg

Modifieddiagram.jpg

BBdiagram.jpg

 

Thanks Brian,nice one line diagrams. I'm going to add this to my to do list.Thanks again. ILLCYA !

 

Glad to help out!


Actuall the diagrams have a way of showing it in simple way that pictures and parts list can't.

 

Great job on the write-up and diagrams. I wish i knew how to make diagrams like that and type words with arrows over downloaded pics.

What program do you use?

One more thing...based on your pics its hard to tell if those running the Needwings intake will be able to fit the resevior the way you have described without issue. Your SL55 plastic tubes probably flex more. What are your thoughts?

It appears the pn# on the tank should be WE100 not WE1100. Also, im not seeing XRP-993203 on the website. Correct me if im wrong but the only parts you really need to get off the website are WE100 and WPM34U, the rest you can get at the local hardware/autoparts store.

 

When I look up WPM34U on the JEGS website it shows me a billet water pump. Do you have another PN?

Thanks,
MikeR


Sorry, I was in JEGS. Your numbers are for Meziere's.

 

At home I'll use Visio for editing pictures or MS PowerPoint if I'm making an Adobe document for a forum member. At work I use a CAD program.

I think the NW intake uses a radiator hose to fit thru the support opening. I'm pretty sure that fancy mandrel bent pipe will clear without modification. If not the owner can always upgrade to a true dual 3" CAI with the SL55.....



I corrected the tank part number - Thanks. The port fittings you might need to call Meziere direct to order.

 

If putting the best times down at the track is of no concern, I would agree also.

 

Ordered my parts, should be here Friday.

 

Brian how long were the allen bolts you used? ordering my parts tomorrow
also what procedure did you do after the intall was complete to clear out all the air from the two systems?

 

If I recall they were about 2-1/2" inches. Best to take the tank to a hardware store and put a bolt thru, add about 2 or 3 flat washers (for the thickness of the plastic shroud) then a large flat washer for the backside to keep the plastic from stressing (see pick) and then enough for the nylon lock nut. Should be easy to mock up at the HW Store.

I drained my entire coolant system to install the tank(s), Johnson Pump, LET HE, heat wrapped the IC etc...

I also wired my Johnson to energize when the key is on - so when I was done - I filled the Intercooler tank first with 50/50 and turned the key on and just let her flow. I had also pulled my Injector rail to wrap the IC so I had the extra duty of checking for fuel leaks and adding coolant but it was pretty easy.

What you can do if you have 12V battery is make a couple of wires with alligator clips (or possibly make the wires long enough to reach the car battery)and connect them up to your IC Pump and make it run until all the air bleeds out of the system.

Then just fill the new radiator tank as normal; taking your time and keep adding coolant mix to the tank - do no overfill - a little less then half way when stable. Remeber once the engine warms up and the thermostat opens, you'll need to keep adding coolant - your engine will warm up quick.

I would keep an eye out and see how MikeR does his - he has a good eye for improving on things. Like the trick brackets he made for the SL55 intake.

Good Luck. And enjoy some of that timing your going to get back.