custom xj cooling tank

G

greentowtruck

NAXJA Forum User

Location

North West Washington State

• Jun 13, 2004

• #1

well i am new to the forum and just bought my first xj, a 1990 pioneer with the 4.0 and a 5 speed. It had a leaky cooling bottle when i got it so i custom built an aluminum tank for it out of 1/8 inch with a aluminum radiator fill neck.
I have been running it for about a week now and seems to work fine with a 13 pound standard radiator cap. temp seems pretty steady at about 200 degrees. just wondering if anybody else has tried something like this

 

old_man

NAXJA Forum User

Location

Loveland, Colorado

• Jun 13, 2004

• #2

Sounds nice. I just went with a 3row GDI and an open system when I converted to the 4.7L stroker. The aluminum tank would probably be a big seller if someone started making them commercially. It's a heck of a lot easier than doing the conversion and its a first class solution

Got any pix?

 

RichP

NAXJA Forum User

Location

Effort, Pa

• Jun 13, 2004

• #3

Summit racing sells them, eagle did his a couple of years ago, pricey if I remember correclty, $80 seems to ring a bell and you need a couple of fittings too.

 

BrettM

NAXJA Forum User

Location

michifornia

• Jun 13, 2004

• #4

there is an aluminum bottle that takes a radiator cap that many people have used, I think it's made by Moroso, if I remember right. do a search and you may find it, with a part number.

a better, and more popular modification is to go with the 91(?) and newer open style cooling system

 

G

greentowtruck

NAXJA Forum User

Location

North West Washington State

• Jun 13, 2004

• #5

Well if i started producing them comercially they probably would be around $80 but the way i made it it goes right into the factory location with the rubber strap. I would have to check on the cost of the aluminum for the tank but the fill neck cost me $22 although i could probably get a better deal in larger quantitys

 

BrettM

NAXJA Forum User

Location

michifornia

• Jun 13, 2004

• #6

I think the other one was about $60 and not custom fit for an XJ. sounds like a decent idea, especially if you got it down to the $60 range.

 

BrettM

NAXJA Forum User

Location

michifornia

• Jun 13, 2004

• #7

oh, and what thickness aluminum are you using?

 

G

greentowtruck

NAXJA Forum User

Location

North West Washington State

• Jun 13, 2004

• #8

I am using 1/8" thick or .125" depending on how you like your numbers but give me a few days and I'll see what i can do on pricing

 

Eagle

Lifetime NAXJA Member

NAXJA Member

Location

Terra Firma

• Jun 13, 2004

• #9

I've got the Moroso tank, and a couple of other people have also done this. Somebody posted a pic of their installation awhile ago. Don't recall who -- maybe MaXJohnson?

 

J

Jeep

NAXJA Forum User

Location

North Texas

• Jun 13, 2004

• #10

What's the difference between an open and closed system? And which one cools better?

 

BrettM

NAXJA Forum User

Location

michifornia

• Jun 13, 2004

• #11

closed system has a pressure tank mounted by the firewall. there may be some applications where closed is better, but for XJs the open system, which I believe came in 91 and on, is much better.

 

J

Jeep

NAXJA Forum User

Location

North Texas

• Jun 13, 2004

• #12

Thanks Brett for the info. Here in TX cooling is a big deal :sunshine: