Thoughts from Mountune Radiator Install

[SrsBsns]

Hey Guys,

Just installed my Mountune radiator yesterday and wanted to share a basic walk through and some notes on install, just in case anyone needs help when they do theirs later.

After doing a lot of reading and video watching on Youtube to prepare, I rounded up a couple friends and blocked about 5 hours to complete the job. We finished in less than 2 hours. It's really not that bad.

Stock radiator removal:

Jack the front end up and secure the car properly. Chock the rear wheels. Grab some cardboard to put down because without a release valve on the bottom of the radiator, it's going to be a mess when you open it up. There's really no way around that.

You don't need to pull the bumper to install the radiator, but I did remove the headlights for extra clearance. It helps give you more access to the area where you'll be working.

Remove all of the necessary clips on the top over the radiator. Pretty straightforward.

The fan comes out on top. There are a couple of clips that you'll need to unhook on top and then pull the fan up out of the bottom mounts. You should be careful, but basically you just pull it over to the driver's side and up, little by little until it's clear. I didn't make any contact with the stock radiator when removing the fan. Be patient and work it up and over until it's able to slide up and out. It's tight, but it wasn't that bad to do.

The radiator comes out on the bottom. Getting it to pop out of AC condenser channel was kind of tricky but with a little wiggling, it slid out. Be careful to not make contact with the condenser or the AC lines. Again, not that hard, but good lighting and hands on the top and bottom of the car make it easier.

Install of Mountune radiator:

The piece ships with a nice blue plastic cover on it. I HIGHLY recommend leaving it on while you're installing the radiator and the fan. Just make sure to cut opposite corners to allow for the pieces to slide out easily when the radiator is in place.

Getting the new unit in isn't too bad and keeping it covered with the plastic guard gives you a lot of confidence to get it to where it needs to be. You'll need to get the top of the radiator to slot into the AC condenser and then you'll be able to get the bottom radiator mounts into place. Once you do that, connect your hoses and the clips on top and you're good to go.

I was not able to use the stock pinch clamp for the upper hose. It wouldn't fit over the neck of the Mountune radiator, so I went to Autozone and got a few hose clamps. I prefer these anyways.

From there, you'll just need to button everything up and then fill and bleed the system.

I used a bottle of water wetter and then about a 40/60 mix of coolant/water. I filled the reservoir and then ran the car. Open the bleeder valve to let the air out and then crank the heat once you get up to temp to make sure you get all the air out of the lines. Once you're getting a consistent flow of coolant out of the bleeder valve, you're pretty good.

Drive the car around and then check the fluid level and top off the coolant. Repeat as necessary.

Verdict:

After doing multiple pulls and getting stuck in some stop-and-go traffic, I only saw temps come up to about 190 max. With the stock radiator, I was over 210 regularly. With normal driving, I was around 190. With the new radiator, I'm closer to 186. Granted that it's only been on the car for about 30 hours, I'm happy so far. I'll plan a trip up to the mountains to push it and see how it does, but I'm optimistic that this will solve my cooling problems.

Sorry that I don't have pics or vids, but the process really wasn't that bad. Just take your time and make sure to keep the AC condenser and new radiator protected.

Edit: Radiator has been on the car for a year now with zero issues. The car runs consistently in the 180's and very rarely ever gets in to the upper 190's. I've taken trips up into the mountains and whereas before I'd overheat with just normal/slow driving, I can now push the car pretty hard and not worry about getting hot. I think the highest elevation I've seen is 6K and even when pushing through some twisty roads, temps were great. I can't recommend this enough for this car if you've had or are worried about cooling problems.

 

[PhoenixM3]

Hey Guys,

Just installed my Mountune radiator yesterday and wanted to share a basic walk through and some notes on install, just in case anyone needs help when they do theirs later.

After doing a lot of reading and video watching on Youtube to prepare, I rounded up a couple friends and blocked about 5 hours to complete the job. We finished in less than 2 hours. It's really not that bad.

Stock radiator removal:

Jack the front end up and secure the car properly. Chock the rear wheels. Grab some cardboard to put down because without a release valve on the bottom of the radiator, it's going to be a mess when you open it up. There's really no way around that.

You don't need to pull the bumper to install the radiator, but I did remove the headlights for extra clearance. It helps give you more access to the area where you'll be working.

Remove all of the necessary clips on the top over the radiator. Pretty straightforward.

The fan comes out on top. There are a couple of clips that you'll need to unhook on top and then pull the fan up out of the bottom mounts. You should be careful, but basically you just pull it over to the driver's side and up, little by little until it's clear. I didn't make any contact with the stock radiator when removing the fan. Be patient and work it up and over until it's able to slide up and out. It's tight, but it wasn't that bad to do.

The radiator comes out on the bottom. Getting it to pop out of AC condenser channel was kind of tricky but with a little wiggling, it slid out. Be careful to not make contact with the condenser or the AC lines. Again, not that hard, but good lighting and hands on the top and bottom of the car make it easier.

Install of Mountune radiator:

The piece ships with a nice blue plastic cover on it. I HIGHLY recommend leaving it on while you're installing the radiator and the fan. Just make sure to cut opposite corners to allow for the pieces to slide out easily when the radiator is in place.

Getting the new unit in isn't too bad and keeping it covered with the plastic guard gives you a lot of confidence to get it to where it needs to be. You'll need to get the top of the radiator to slot into the AC condenser and then you'll be able to get the bottom radiator mounts into place. Once you do that, connect your hoses and the clips on top and you're good to go.

I was not able to use the stock pinch clamp for the upper hose. It wouldn't fit over the neck of the Mountune radiator, so I went to Autozone and got a few hose clamps. I prefer these anyways.

From there, you'll just need to button everything up and then fill and bleed the system.

I used a bottle of water wetter and then about a 40/60 mix of coolant/water. I filled the reservoir and then ran the car. Open the bleeder valve to let the air out and then crank the heat once you get up to temp to make sure you get all the air out of the lines. Once you're getting a consistent flow of coolant out of the bleeder valve, you're pretty good.

Drive the car around and then check the fluid level and top off the coolant. Repeat as necessary.

Verdict:

After doing multiple pulls and getting stuck in some stop-and-go traffic, I only saw temps come up to about 190 max. With the stock radiator, I was over 210 regularly. With normal driving, I was around 190. With the new radiator, I'm closer to 186. Granted that it's only been on the car for about 30 hours, I'm happy so far. I'll plan a trip up to the mountains to push it and see how it does, but I'm optimistic that this will solve my cooling problems.

Sorry that I don't have pics or vids, but the process really wasn't that bad. Just take your time and make sure to keep the AC condenser and new radiator protected.

Nice writeup, thanks for taking the time to share you tips/advice.

 

[Dpro]

Ya only reason we pulled the whole bumper on mine when I did it was I was also doing my intercooler so why not. Good job man great radiator.,

 

[SrsBsns]

Ya only reason we pulled the whole bumper on mine when I did it was I was also doing my intercooler so why not. Good job man great radiator.,

Yeah, I kept watching the install video for the Mishimoto and was thinking that I'd have to follow those instructions. But the Mountune fits pretty neatly without being a total PITA.

 

[Dpro]

Yeah, I kept watching the install video for the Mishimoto and was thinking that I'd have to follow those instructions. But the Mountune fits pretty neatly without being a total PITA.

It did not seem like a Pita when I did it either. It actually went pretty fast. It was really nice to actually be able to mount the shroud and radiator on the support and then put it back on the car. Lol
Though ya if not for the intercooler I probably would have done what you did.

 

[scooter123]

Per the Ford Service manual the fan shroud should come out the bottom and the radiator comes out the top. I suspect that following the Ford procedure may provide for a bit more clearance.

However it is good to know there is an alternate in the event whoever wrote the manual was a complete idiot. BTW having worked on the automotive supply side since 1982 I have to say I am NOT at all impressed with today's "engineers". So it's very possible this section of the Service Manual was done by someone fresh out of college who doesn't even know what a Ratchet is. So alternate approaches are a GOOD thing.

 

[SrsBsns]

Per the Ford Service manual the fan shroud should come out the bottom and the radiator comes out the top. I suspect that following the Ford procedure may provide for a bit more clearance.

However it is good to know there is an alternate in the event whoever wrote the manual was a complete idiot. BTW having worked on the automotive supply side since 1982 I have to say I am NOT at all impressed with today's "engineers". So it's very possible this section of the Service Manual was done by someone fresh out of college who doesn't even know what a Ratchet is. So alternate approaches are a GOOD thing.

That's funny. When I was working on it, it didn't seem like there was enough room to get the fan out from the bottom but I could see how it might work. There just seemed like fewer things to get stuck on when you bring it out from the top.

With the radiator, there is the AC bracket behind the radiator on top that would make taking it out the top a little more tricky. You'd have to squeeze it in between that bracket and the shroud covering the radiator and I could see that that would be pretty tight.

I agree with you on the "engineers" write ups too. I like to read those first, but there is so much good information in communities like these that can often save you some headache.

 

[Fusion Works]

Do you already have the 180deg T-stat?

 

[SrsBsns]

I have the stock thermostat. But while waiting for the car to warm up, I felt the upper hose start to get warm once I crossed over 180'.

 

[TyphoonFiST]

Wish There were pics to go along with this....Hmm...I got an Idea! Just have to find the time as I am essential now here in Mn.

 

[Booster]

@SrsBsns thanks for this write up. Even though I was there helping @Dpro with the install I was mostly working on the intercooler and not paying attention to the rad stuff. Did a 150 mile loop yesterday at elevation in the heat with long uphills and was reminded of this cars cooling problems - regularly seeing 220-225 coolant/oil temps.

I just ordered mine. Mountune is running a sale making the decision that much easier.

 

[SrsBsns]

This is the video I referenced. It does a pretty good job of showing you what to expect.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=425V-9pa1E0


If you read the write up and watch the video, you should have no problem doing the job. I wish I would have taken pictures as well, but really, it was very straight forward. Much moreso than I thought, especially after expecting to have to follow the Mishimoto install where you have to pull the front clip.

 

[scooter123]

Having installed the Mountune radiator in my FiST there a couple of items learned from actually doing it. BTW, I had access to a service lift and that made it much easier to do everything from the bottom.

Tip one is to remove the Airbox, doing so adds critical clearance for removing the fan shroud and radiator. Also make it much easier to do the install. In my case I had previously installed the Mountune Induction package with the ST200 style air box and it was rather easy to pop loose and remove. If you have the stock airbox you can expect a huge PITA getting it out of the car and it would be a good idea to have the Mountune Intake kit on hand to install after the radiator is in place.

Tip Two is before you do anything put a small wire tie around the bracket in front of the hood release cable and the cable to cinch it into the cable retainer. Snug it up tight and you wont ever find that you bumped that hood latch cable out of the retainer.

Tip Three. Make sure to switch the AC OFF and put the temperature setting on HI before you start. You need to insure that the heater is fully in service during the radiator fill and the burping procedure does have enough run time to insure the thermostat opens up. Yeah, you may feel a bit of heat at the end but that's a good thing, it means the heater core is filled completely.

Tip Four. There is a small overflow port in the coolant resevior that has an opening in the cap retention snout. It's a small slot around the periphery at about 11:00 o'clock. This vent will prevent some vacuum filler systems from building a vacuum. The solution for this is to pop the reservoir loose and place a small square of electrical tap on the little exit stub on the bottom of the reservoir. Once that is done you'll build vaccum quickly and when you open the fill valve that fluid will get sucked into the cooling system in about 8 - 10 seconds. Yeah, vacuum filling really is that fast. After that and it's 6 burping cycles to get the system filled near perfectly. BTW, in my case after a 45 minute drive and an hour for the car to cool down I had to add about 4 ounces to top the system up. Haven't had to touch it since.

 

[New_Daily]

Having installed the Mountune radiator in my FiST there a couple of items learned from actually doing it. BTW, I had access to a service lift and that made it much easier to do everything from the bottom.

Tip one is to remove the Airbox, doing so adds critical clearance for removing the fan shroud and radiator. Also make it much easier to do the install. In my case I had previously installed the Mountune Induction package with the ST200 style air box and it was rather easy to pop loose and remove. If you have the stock airbox you can expect a huge PITA getting it out of the car and it would be a good idea to have the Mountune Intake kit on hand to install after the radiator is in place.

Tip Two is before you do anything put a small wire tie around the bracket in front of the hood release cable and the cable to cinch it into the cable retainer. Snug it up tight and you wont ever find that you bumped that hood latch cable out of the retainer.

Tip Three. Make sure to switch the AC OFF and put the temperature setting on HI before you start. You need to insure that the heater is fully in service during the radiator fill and the burping procedure does have enough run time to insure the thermostat opens up. Yeah, you may feel a bit of heat at the end but that's a good thing, it means the heater core is filled completely.

Tip Four. There is a small overflow port in the coolant resevior that has an opening in the cap retention snout. It's a small slot around the periphery at about 11:00 o'clock. This vent will prevent some vacuum filler systems from building a vacuum. The solution for this is to pop the reservoir loose and place a small square of electrical tap on the little exit stub on the bottom of the reservoir. Once that is done you'll build vaccum quickly and when you open the fill valve that fluid will get sucked into the cooling system in about 8 - 10 seconds. Yeah, vacuum filling really is that fast. After that and it's 6 burping cycles to get the system filled near perfectly. BTW, in my case after a 45 minute drive and an hour for the car to cool down I had to add about 4 ounces to top the system up. Haven't had to touch it since.

Do you have a pro tip on what to use at the purge valve to not have the coolant that comes out just piss all over the place? I used a tupperware wedged in there but it wasn't a great solution. I've only done 2 burping cycles and got steady flow out of the valve but I'm thinking I may need to do a few more.

 

[SrsBsns]

Do you have a pro tip on what to use at the purge valve to not have the coolant that comes out just piss all over the place? I used a tupperware wedged in there but it wasn't a great solution. I've only done 2 burping cycles and got steady flow out of the valve but I'm thinking I may need to do a few more.

I just cut the top off a waterbottle and got it as close to straight up and down as I could. Between opening and closing the valve, I would empty it if it was getting full. That helped to keep things clean.

 

[DaleFredriks]

I've got 1 gallon of motorcraft concentrated,1 gallon of distilled and a 16 oz bottle of rislone Super Coolant, how much of each should I do to get around the 40/60 water/coolant mix? Should I empty the water in it then fill the remainder with coolant, then add the additive once I've done my first test drive?

 

[SrsBsns]

I would pre-mix it before adding it to the system to make sure you get the right ratio. That's what I did.

Pour 40% of your water into a different container. Fill the jug back up with coolant and you've got your mix. You can start with adding the super coolant.

If you need more than the gallon, you can just mix more and add it as necessary.

 

[TyphoonFiST]

50/50 that shit....or if you wanna be Technical 68/32 but thats almost impossible without the measuring tools to be precise. Pour half antifreeze concentrate into a clean bottle and the fill up with Distilled water. I would dump the additive in first then fill it up and bleed the system of air. Also have a Antifreeze tester on hand to test the mix....it should read -34 which is a standard in Automotive service.

Sent from my SM-N975U1 using Tapatalk

 

[haste]

60% water and 40% coolant will net you approx -15F protection. no reason to use more coolant than necessary. the more water, the better heat transfer you will get.

 

[M-Sport fan]

60% water and 40% coolant will net you approx -25F protection. no reason to use more coolant than necessary. the more water, the better heat transfer you will get.

View attachment 32024

Right now, according to the grossly inaccurate Prestone 'bulb' coolant tester thing (the one with the red arrow pointer in it), I am good to 0*F.

Does that translate to a 70% water, 30% coolant mixture according to the above chart, or am I reading it totally wrong?