ISO - High Temp Tape

[chuckerants]

I just took a gander at my Koyo 55mm and it has a 1" standoff from the radiator. First, WTF does it need that much room???

Second, before I start doing any cutting of the standoffs, I thought I'd try some high temp tape to tape off all of that gap.

Anyone know where and what tape I can get to do this? McMaster Carr seems to have everything, but that's a lot of stuff to wade through.

Cheap would be nice too.

TIA

[Kyp J]

I didn't use hi temp tape but as to the applicaton of any kind of tape, it is really difficult to apply if the radiator is in the car. Getting it smooth and straight down the sides is almost impossible, at least for me. If you have it on the bench, no problem.

I used black duct tape and it looked horrible after the glue started sliding. Maybe you saw it at the dyno day in May. I used aluminum Z bar and angle more recently, but only have about 5/8 " gap. I put some pics in a thread about this elsewhere. Maybe mods. Other people used various sizes of hose or possibly closed cell foam tubing like that used for water pipe insulation.

I did see some shiny aluminum tape while finding my other aluminum. It was at Home Depot near the carpet I think. Every store is different so who knows if it would be there in your store. However, it didn't look like it would conform to curved spots and was kind of expensive.

[Tom @ Fast Forward]

So far, the cleverest application I've seen is Ken's use of rubber hose to seal the gap.

[Serpico]

I used the cheapo stuff from my local hardware store and it is lifting in a few places along the top of the radiator. The real deal tape might adhere better, but I can't say for sure.

I think I'll try the rubber hose idea or something similar to fill the gap when I change my timing belt this winter.

http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/wwg/productIndex.shtml?operator=keywordSearch&search_type=keyword&QueryString=aluminum+tape

[jwalton]

I just took a gander at my Koyo 55mm and it has a 1" standoff from the radiator. First, WTF does it need that much room???

TIA

The reason the standoffs are so big is that they allow you to use the stock shrouds without any trimming. The vertical part of the shrouds that meet in the center of the radiator will just butt up against the back of the radiator. The gap that everyone always talks about sealing up is at the top and bottom of the two shrouds.

On another note, my main fan decided to try and seperate itself from the hub. A very strange failure, like it got too hot and started melting the center section until it warped out of alignment. I found out just as I was pulling into my driveway yesterday afternoon after a spirited drive. The sound of the blades banging up against the shroud and the Koyo 55 was heart-wrenching.

Does anyone know if you can buy just the fan itself (the white plastic blades) without having to buy the whole motor/shroud assembly? If not and the combined cost is on the order of a set of Spal aftermarket fans, which ones fit best on the Koyo's?

Thanks, and sorry for the hijack. It is kinda related though...

[ThomS]

Chuck When I had the KOYO55 installed out in your town when there I had a small problem with the car not getting enough air thru the radiator because of the gap. Tom went out and bought some high density foam and it is sticky on one side, we cut it and fitted it around the gap areas
at mikes place. That worked well and solved the problems. It is still in place to day and workning well.I wouldn't recommend cutting anything to get rid of the gap. The stock radiator has some of the same foam in its install from the factory.We need to pull as much air through the radiator
as possible. Side note Tom would not let me pay for the foam product.
Sounds like him right...........Custome service...........

[bmjohnson]

I agree with ThomS, weather stripping with adhesive on one side. Take a trip down to your local Lowes or Home Depot and look in the weather stripping section. Choose a thickness that is a little thicker than the gap so it is compressed a bit between the two surfaces You could also look at McMaster Carr's web site. The nice thing about McMaster Carr is they usually have a large selection and you can read about the different types for their properties and various applications. You may also want to look at how well the area is sealed between the radiator and a/c condensor. Ideally, you want a seal around the perimeter of all three units so the air has to travel through and can't be drawn from around the edges.

BJ

[chuckerants]

The HD I went to only had tape that was not nearly thick enough and it was only rated for 180F and it melted between the crank pulley and the belt and it threw the belt.

[Kyp J]

When I tried to use the foam tape it fell out and got in the pulleys too. It only clogged some grooves.

I used some weather strip glue that held it but it looked like crap. I used one strip on the radiator and one on the shroud overlapping, one over top of the other. That wouldn't work on the AC fan though where I used rubber flat material (garage door seal) and tape.

The hose idea seems best especially if you screw or pop rivet it to the shroud like one person did I think. I used metal extensions because I didn't think of the hose idea (actually I did, but a different kind of hose that probably wouldn't have worked as well as heater hose.)

[sbeck37923]

I screwed the hoses to the fan shroud and it has worked good so far. I used a few different sizes of hose to fill the different size gaps.

[chuckerants]

I screwed the hoses to the fan shroud and it has worked good so far. I used a few different sizes of hose to fill the different size gaps.

Are you using the OEM fan/Shroud? If so, I didn't think they had enough meat to be able to screw into.

[chuckerants]

I screwed the hoses to the fan shroud and it has worked good so far. I used a few different sizes of hose to fill the different size gaps.

Are you using the OEM fan/Shroud? If so, I didn't think they had enough meat to be able to screw into.

[chuckerants]

I found some 325F Aluminum Tape from McMaster Carr.

7631A21
Multipurpose Aluminum Foil Tape 2" Wide X 60 Yards Long, .005" Thick

I plan on using some heater hose to plug the gap between the rad and the OEM fans/shroud. Then using the tape to plug up the gap between the AC condensor and the rad and the condensor and the mouth of the car.

I also will be replacing the 195F T-stat with a Stant high performance 180F T-stat and installing a SPAL fan controller.

[Kyp J]

Take pictures of tape sealing of radiator gaps to car and some helpful hints as you figure out the problems you will undoubtably encounter, please. Also, what does a spal fan controller do? I could probably look it up but you already did I assume.

[chuckerants]

Take pictures of tape sealing of radiator gaps to car and some helpful hints as you figure out the problems you will undoubtably encounter, please. Also, what does a spal fan controller do? I could probably look it up but you already did I assume.

The SPAL fan controller is pre-programmed to come on at 160F and maintain 50% speed until 200F and it turns at 100%.

The OEM ECU just turns on the fan at 210F.

The SPAL unit can be programmed for use with an aftermarket temp sensor or the OEM sensor. It is programmed by pressing the LO button at the temp you want and the same for the HIGH button.

[ThomS]

Chuck this is what I did on the 05 and what Kurt did at mikes place on the yellow one. We doubled them up because they were not thick enough and it looks ok too. Tom bought black tape at some hardware store not H.D.
I found hight temp tape here but it was grey good for over 210 degrees

[sbeck37923]

Are you using the OEM fan/Shroud? If so, I didn't think they had enough meat to be able to screw into.

Yes, I am using the OEM fan housing. I drilled small holes in the housing about every 3 to 4 inches all the way around. I used very small diameter short screws around 3/8 inch long. They are a pan head screw. I stuck the screw through the hole and let the pointed end dig into the hose. The head of the screw is toward the engine and the point of the screw is toward the radiator. Do not use too long of a screw. You do not want something to poke a hole in the radiator.

[chuckerants]

Yes, I am using the OEM fan housing. I drilled small holes in the housing about every 3 to 4 inches all the way around. I used very small diameter short screws around 3/8 inch long. They are a pan head screw. I stuck the screw through the hole and let the pointed end dig into the hose. The head of the screw is toward the engine and the point of the screw is toward the radiator. Do not use too long of a screw. You do not want something to poke a hole in the radiator.

Got it.

Thanks