I am doing the swap because of cost issues. Clutch and fan would run me $180, the v6 rad is going to run me $40. I already have an electric fan and planned to buy a v6 rad, so if I put 100 in a controller and extra wire. Then the efan saves me money

 

The E fan works for me because I converted my AC from r12 to r132 by simply replacing the refrigerant fill adapters. Now the system is not as efficient in traffic so I installed the electric fan and wired it to the AC relay so that it is always on when the AC is running. The system has been dependable except for the time a "mechanic" forgot to plug it in when he was done working on the motor. Drove it home with no problem but was not too happy when I saw that and some other bone head things that he forgot.

As far as cooling goes I like being able to accurately control the engine temp. and it is very easy to know if there is a fan problem because I can observe the fan coming on or not. My experience with the stock radiator is that they do a great job of cooling the engine. The only time that my fan comes on is when the truck is hardly moving.

 

I just checked on Summit. Lots of different brands of fan control kits -- Painless, Derale, Hayden (the cheapest) so that's a good route to go. Your truck's a manual? Then it should work okay.

 

No, not a chance. The main problem is the steering gear box is in the way, the 3.4 rad is much wider. The only way would be to locate the rad somewhere besides the front of the engine. Some desert racers relocate behind the rear window.

 

I followed the instuctions here (I have a similar dccontroller): http://www.dccontrol.com/fk55.pdf

The advantage to the cool side of the radiator is it allows the natural air flow to do the work first, then if that isn't enough your fan will finsh the job. The air flow at higher speeds is (or should be) considerable and in cooler or moderate climates may be all that is needed.

You could have problems with that location if your controller doesn't have enough range of temp adjustment to adjust to the cool side so ultimately you might have to follow the directions for the controller you use.

 

22re manual, no AC

 

Thanks man that is really helpful I may even go with there controller thought the summit variable speed on seems very temping, but I will install my probe toward the bottom of the rad

 

Agreed,
The stock radiator is sufficient and will fit everything you have and save you some money and time. I have an aluminum radiator that works fine, but someone else may have an opinion on brass. I think that the aluminum is cheaper because my priorities when I bought it were that i wanted it fast and cheap.

 

Isnt the DC variable speed? The only reason I dont have one of theirs is that in my experience their customer service sucks.
Top of the radiator is the cool side.

 

http://www.google.com/products/catal...ed=0CDsQ8wIwAg

This is what I use. You don't want one that goes into the fins of the radiator. Sure they work,but they can't be that accurate,and we've had a few people bring they're radiator in to have a tube repaired because the probe eventually rubbed a hole in the side of the tubes.

 

I had noticed a few like this but where did you thread it into;. Did you just drill and tape a hole?

 

Well that would work if the rad that the previous owner install hadn't been repaired and had block sealant ran thru it. The guy that owned this truck before me was a complete . But it's mine now and why not go with the slightly larger 3.0 rad

 

they might be but the only one I could find on their site was $144, and I could buy a Flex-a-lite for a little under $100

 

The top hose flows from the engine to rad (hot) and the lower hose is the return (cooler) to the engine.

I found DC to be very helpful with my questions and service was great, but I know there have been times that he has been so swamped he actually had to stop taking orders and almost shut down to catch up. So I'm sure customer service seemed bad during those times. Its bound to happen when you have a quality product, hand made and in high demand. The alternative is mass production in China

 

That FK55 is the one I'd choose if I was buying another one. But yeah its a higher end product, so it will cost more.

 

it seems like a great and straight forward install but I don't have that kinda money to invest. I found a MR Gasket one that should work for me

 

Just get the spal,trust me. High quality,good price,and all the ones me and my friends have been using still work flawlessly. As far as where to put the sender......You need to to find a spot on the motor to adapt in to,or do what I do. The kit comes with a stainless steel threaded adapter bung (hehe,bung). I took that to the parts store and matched it up with a brass one so I could silver solder it into the tank on my radiator,so that means you need a copper/brass radiator to do that,none of that plastic/aluminum crap. I work at a radiator shop and do this stuff every day so I know what I'm doing so if you go this route take it to a good radiator repair shop to have it done. It could also be soft soldered (lead solder) in ,but silver soldered is much stronger and you don't have to worry about the solder deteriorating over time and leaking (or failing all the way and come out).

 

I like it when I can work "bung" into a conversation in mixed company.

 

Or petcock Working at a radiator shop the past 12 years you'd think it would be easy to get over those words by now. Every time a customer explains " I need a new bung with a new petcock in it" It's still hard for me to keep a straight face.

 

since you work at a shop and i cant find a decent rad at the yards around here. How much would a v6 rad with the thread in cost me?