I'm noticing, as I'm re-fitting my GReddy FMIC kit, the location of the stock overlflow tank and how It Is obstructing fresh air flow to both the Intercooler and the Rad.

It sits b'n the Intercooler and the Rad with the overflow tank blocking almost exactly a quarter of the air path to the Intercooler particularily. Rather than to relocate It or retrofit another stock one, as they vary In location on our cars, I'd like to know If their are others who have replaced them with aftermarket ones. I'm looking to mount It to passengerside of the Rad. Pics? Ideas?

 

Find an early model (86 or so). The bottle is on the drivers side tower.

They bolt up tp later models.

 

86 Overflow on an S5 with FMIC

 

Yeah, exactly what I am trying to avoid. It'll Interfere with my Intercooler piping. I know I've seen an aftermarket aluminum overflow tank fitted on someones Rx on this board. I can't remember who though.

Thanks for your response.

 

Just pick up something like this


You could mount it vertically in the same area as the charcoal canister(if youve removed it)
Or mount it along in the area where the airbox used to be.. in a kind of downward angle. Just make sure to plumb it correctly

 

does it not need to be like the stock one: a tube for overflow?

 

those are puke tanks and are completely useless as a RECOVERY tank. That is what you need, not an overflow tank, a recovery tank. Unless there is a pickup tube in there which I HIGHLY doubt and it is vented which I HIGHLY doubt, it is completely useless. You COULD use it by plumbing the overflow into the bottom and venting the top. This way when the cooling system cools and creates vacuum, it pulls coolant back into the system, and not air.

 

Wait, where are they on the later models? I guess all the FC's I've seen in person have been 86's or 87's...never noticed it anywhere else.

 

My 88 has it on the front lower left area in front of the radiator on the support.

 

i too would like some ideas....

 

If you do proper shielding on the tank and the exhaust, you could put it back left by the firewall where the charcoal canister used to be. You'd need a little more rubber tubing. But that idea is probably out if you still have cruise control.

 

Something a bit like this?

 

damn you aaron.... every time I see that engine bay I get jealous!

 

My '88 GXL had this type of overflow tank so I just continued using It on my '87 TII.

I like your Idea kungfuroy. Are you using this?

Aaron, what'cha got there? I can't say I noticed that on your car before. This Is what I like. A nice polished aluminum tank!

I noticed this unit on GReddy's site. It's a Radiator Breather Tank. Would this serve the same principle?

 

That is NOT an overflow tank or a recovery tank, that is an expansion tank and it performs an entirly different function than an overflow tank or a recovery tank.

People really need to learn what each individual thing does before you post crap up as fact - just about every post in this thread has contained gross innacuracies.

Here we have what appears to be an overflow tank.

How can I tell? Without knowing if there is a pick-up tube that extends to the bottom, I can't. However I can tell that it isn't vented that that isn't a very good sign. You see as the coolant expands, it pushed past the radiator cap into the line and eventually into A tank. Once the cooling system starts to cool it creates a vacuum. The radiator cap now opens again and begins pulling something back into the cooling system. If there is no pick up tube, it will pull air which is bad which is why this is generally a RECOVERY tank or puke tank. Just collect the schmeg and drain it out the bottom.... verrrrry elegant.

What we have here - Help me out Aaron - you pic isn't showing up.

is virtually identical to what I did with one small change - Aaron correct me if I'm wrong here but it looks like you plumbed the radiator overflow line into the bottom of that tank so that when vacuum is present, it's pulling on the liquid. This is how I plumbed mine. The only difference is that my vent on the top was connected to a tube that ran down the car. If that overflows (& I am assuming that the vent on the top is open) it's just going to spray **** everywhere. However, this is a RECOVERY tank becuase it allows the cooling system to RECOVER the coolant.

This now is an expansion tank

or the FD guys know it as an AST or Air Seperation Tank. This soul purpose of this little guy is to catch and expel air from the cooling system. It works like this - you plumb those two center nipples (although in all honesty you only need one - this is FD specific and expensive garbage at that) to the highest point in the cooling system on the pressure side of the T-stat. This way coolant is forced from the highest point where air likes to collect an forced into the expansion tank and just by looking at the orientation of the tubes you can see that it is meant to swirl. The swirling is optional. Also notice how it is pointed towards what looks like a radiator expansion fitting.... hmmmmmmm
Then we have the fitting on the bottom. This is to be plumbed into the lower radiator hose or "vacuum" side of the cooling system. What it does is constantly circulate coolant from the highest point on the MOTOR/RAD into the expansion tank (which must be the ultimate highest point in the cooling system) and than back into the cooling system via the lower radiator hose. When the system gets hot it EXPANDS in the EXPANTION tank becuase that's where the air is and purges the air and the excess coolant into the RECOVERY tank where the air is out of the cooling system alltogether becuase remember a proper recovery tank will only allow coolant back into the cooling system, not air.

Any questions PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE for the love of all that is FC please ask them before you start posting falsities as facts....

 

Dude, it's not that big of a deal, you drill a couple of holes.... run some tubes and BAM! recovery tank! All it takes is some ingenuity, damn I've seen a freakin plastic water bottle on here all ghetto rigged up to work as one before

 

like this one???


--joe

 

Hey Joe - yeah we were discussing that in your project thread. Unless there is a pickup to pull the coolant from the bottom it won't function like a recovery tank, it will become basically a puke tank becuase the coolant will get in there, but won't automatically get out.

 

Yeah dude it is pretty simple but the problem is people don't know how they work, they mount them, plumb a line and can't figure out why there is always a shitton of air in thier cooling system. Proof is the fact that out of 4 pics posted, not one was a recovery tank. One was MADE into a recovery tank.

 

yeah that is a older picture after that disscussion i replumbed it to feed the bottom and vent out the top

 

Why do you think I said "Just make sure to plumb it correctly"?

If people cant figure out how they work, it is a different issue.
It doesnt need to say 'Radiator recovery/overflow tank' on the label to do the same purpose. Hell, Ive seen classic restoration cars using a bag like device with no venting. The thing just just expands and contracts through the process.

 

But you never said how to plumb it correctly and most people get it wrong. You need a standalone - just make sure to wire it up correctly

The issue is most people don't know what one is. Proof - a puke tank and an expansion tank were posted as solutions. Plumb them up per the manufacters instructions and they won't work. The issue isn't which one to buy, the issue is how to properly plumb it.

Recovery tanks need to be vented or have zero pressure. Those bladder sacks provide the same thing, they expand but don't build any pressure.

 

It started life as a generic Summit Racing catch can that I had hanging around the house for years. One day I was at the hydraulic shop getting some metering oil lines and saw some tanks they had around with sight glasses. I asked if they could do that to any tank, and the rest is history. I think the can cost about $30, and the hydraulic shop charged $15-$20 for the materials.

That's exactly how mine is set up, minus the vent at the top. I should add the top vent because there have been a few times where the system has "burped" thus spreading coolant around the immediate area. Plus a vent tube would make it far easier to fill.

 

I dont babysit, I dont hold people's hands. Like I said before, if someone doesnt know how it works, that is a totally different issue from the question asked.
You assuming he doesnt know how it works isnt fair.
But to tickle the brains of the uniniated I broke out my MaD Tyt MSpaint Skillaz to show how one would use the item I brought up, as an overflow tank/recovery tank

 

care to post the instructions that actually came with that tank? I bet they are completely backwards from what you posted

Why can't most people ever admit when they're wrong? Fine you don't babysit instead you post bad information - admit fault. Assuming he doesn't know how it works while unfair is probably a better thing to do than telling someone to buy the wrong product but covering youself by saying, just plumb it right.