Power steering cooler upgrade

bjowett · 08-17-04, 07:27 PM

Project number 5 million. Every once in a while somebody on here needs to rebuild their PS pump. A heavy rig using big tahres and slow trail speeds is probably the culprit. That silly little tube just dosn't get enough airflow down there. All that heat probably eats up a few of those high pressure hoses, too.

Soooo, a real cooler is in order for my rig. It will be placed up in the airflow of the vehicle's fan. While rumaging through the local yard, I found several Toyota cars which use this ND oil cooler....

It is a nice mini me version of the transmission cooler. Corollas of late 80's FX16 and Alltrac vintage use them. It also has the proper hose size connections.... should be large enough to cool, but not so big it will obstruct too much air flow to the radiator.

If anyone has suggestions, please throw em' out there.

RavenTai · 08-17-04, 07:35 PM

I have read that that stacked design is preferred over single tube designs for flow, there should be room below the horns for it

landtank · 08-17-04, 07:50 PM

Why not skip the mod and just use Synthetic fluid?

bjowett · 08-17-04, 07:57 PM

I already have Red Line Synthetic Dexron II in there. Of corse it will help, it did on my 4-Runner, but I still managed to over heat that system. Coola is betta... to a point.

Texican · 08-17-04, 08:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by landtank

Why not skip the mod and just use Synthetic fluid?

Synthetic fluid will still get so hot it will destroy the pump.....won't foam like dino fluid though.
Butch

flintknapper · 08-17-04, 08:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bjowett

Project number 5 million. Every once in a while somebody on here needs to rebuild their PS pump. A heavy rig using big tahres and slow trail speeds is probably the culprit. That silly little tube just dosn't get enough airflow down there. All that heat probably eats up a few of those high pressure hoses, too.

Soooo, a real cooler is in order for my rig. It will be placed up in the airflow of the vehicle's fan. While rumaging through the local yard, I found several Toyota cars which use this ND oil cooler....

It is a nice mini me version of the transmission cooler. Corollas of late 80's FX16 and Alltrac vintage use them. It also has the proper hose size connections.... should be large enough to cool, but not so big it will obstruct too much air flow to the radiator.

If anyone has suggestions, please throw em' out there.

I was just looking at mine yesterday and thinking about adding a cooler as well. I just finished adding one to a full size bronco I own and the Land Cruiser set up is very similar.
Both vehicles have a certain amount of steel tubing that is supposed to dissipate heat. I left the factory tubing in place on the bronco but cut it at the 180 deg. bend and attached the hoses to the cooler there. It made a very neat and factory looking installation as well as adding fluid volume to the system. Heat is what ruins the fluid just as in the transmission.

Junk · 08-17-04, 08:49 PM

Talk to Photoman, he was working some thing. Was looking at mine today since the front bumper and grill are off.

BigMac · 08-17-04, 10:33 PM

What are the dimensions of that cooler? Looks like an excellent mod. What did it cost?
Thanks, BigMac

bjowett · 08-18-04, 03:20 PM

I paid $5 for it. Not sure what Toyota wants?

The core is about 9" x 5.25", minus brackets and hose fittings. There are 8 tubes in the core and they are about 8" long each. 8 x 8 = 64". The stock cooling tube is roughly that same length from the two points where it passes between the frame and radiator support.

The oil cooler is a much better heat exchanger, throw in the fan's airflow and it looks like it was meant to be.

stayalert · 08-08-05, 06:25 AM

Nice.....A year later and I'm of the mind to add a cooler. My stock cooler is pissing fluid. a compression bandage of hose and clamps got me home from a ~2weeks of camping in Maine....Anybody else done up similar mods? At ~$300 I can't see replacing the stock loop type cooler. It will just rust away again in my environment. Sorry Cdan (not that I'm worried about your pups going hungry)
Rob M Concord, MA

RavenTai · 08-08-05, 03:47 PM

I looked for one in a junkyard and could not find one, there were many corolla’s there.

bjowett · 08-08-05, 05:17 PM

High performance and high load Corollas are the only versions with the cooler. To reiterate, FX16 hatchbacks and Alltrac wagons...

A similar cooler also exists on some automatic equiped trucks and 4-Runners of earlier vintage... mid 80's to mid 90's(?). It sits under the truck and is used to cool the transfer case.

landtank · 08-08-05, 06:03 PM

Next time you stumble accross one Brian pick me up one, I'll give ya $10.00 for it

. We don't have graveyard junk yards out east.

bjowett · 08-08-05, 06:09 PM

I see em' quite frequently... I'll grab several and keep em' on hand for folks.

landtank · 08-08-05, 06:38 PM

awesome, let me know please. That baby should round out my hydraulic winch install nicely.

Thanks

RavenTai · 08-08-05, 07:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bjowett

High performance and high load Corollas are the only versions with the cooler. To reiterate, FX16 hatchbacks and Alltrac wagons...

A similar cooler also exists on some automatic equiped trucks and 4-Runners of earlier vintage... mid 80's to mid 90's(?). It sits under the truck and is used to cool the transfer case.

I see did not realize FX16 and alltrac were kinds of Corolla's, thought they were other vehicles.

Curran · 08-08-05, 08:23 PM

As usual Brian, this is cool out of the norm thinking. I like it.

4x4CPOSEADOG · 08-08-05, 08:38 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by bjowett
High performance and high load Corollas are the only versions with the cooler. To reiterate, FX16 hatchbacks and Alltrac wagons...

Are these coolers installed on a 4WD Tercel? One of the junkyard here has a 4WD Tercel and wondering if they were installed.

Also an alternative for this cooler is a 2nd Gen 4Runner t-case cooler. This kind of cooler is kinda good for the power steering.

bjowett · 08-08-05, 08:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RavenTai

I see did not realize FX16 and alltrac were kinds of Corolla's, thought they were other vehicles.

Ahhhh, well, we'll let it slip this time...

Tercels don't have them. I'll try to put a list together of available coolers and what Toyota's have them.

RavenTai · 08-08-05, 09:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bjowett

Ahhhh, well, we'll let it slip this time...

Well Corolla's are not exactly my type of vehicle, not much for any front wheel drive / transverse mount econo boxs so I do not pay them much attention.

landtank · 08-21-05, 06:35 PM

Well there is one small junk yard in NH that allows browsing. They had maybe 30 Toyotas total and 2 of them had the coolers in them. Both where some kind of small 4 wheel drive buggy, 1 sedan and one station wagon. 10 bucks for the cooler with it's supply lines. I got the lines incase I need to fab up some sort of tube assembly to get that thing installed.

Nice tip Brian, thanks

stayalert · 08-23-05, 07:40 AM

Update on mine....I didn't want to wait (I was operating with a "pressure bandage" on my stock leaking cooler) to have myself or someone (Thanks for the kind offer!) source a used cooler so I bought and installed a B&M auto tranny cooler. I got it new for $53 from Summitracing.com. Seems to work perfectly. I hardmounted it below the horns with some space between the a/c condenser and the cooler. I used a dremel to cut the stock lines above and behind the frame cross member and ran hose from there. Anywhere there was contact or potential for rubbing I sleeved the hose in another hose for wear protection.

Summit shipped incredibly fast and threw in a baseball hat as well.....

Rob M

bjowett · 08-23-05, 07:47 AM

LT, you are welcome... hope it serves you well.

Pics Rob, pics!

slambson · 08-23-05, 08:40 AM

My Mitsubishi/Chrylser has a very similar looking one with the only exception being the in and out are banjo fittings both on top. You could simply cut the hard line going in and have the same setup. These came on the starions/Conquests during the mid-80's, probably on alot of turbocharged mitsus. Might be slighly larger but definately the same design and manufacturer.

stayalert · 08-23-05, 08:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bjowett

LT, you are welcome... hope it serves you well.

Pics Rob, pics!

Grrr. meant to do that this weekend...Will do tonight....

stayalert · 08-24-05, 07:18 AM

For ~50$ I got the B&M 70268 from Summit racing. (summitracing.com) cut out (with a dremel) my stock cooler, installed the B&M cooler, topped up the fluid and Bob's yer uncle.....
The black box below and to the right is a radar detector that came with the car when I bought it (used)

I primed and painted the bracketry that I used so it would be a few years before they looked like the bracket for the radar detector.

I tied in to the facory lines in a location that maintained the stock mounting of those lines (exceprt for the last mount (see mangled mount along frame rail?)

I have a front reciever hitch (the steel "beam" visible in the photos.) it didn't pose much additional challenge for routing of lines.

Where lines were or could be subject to wear I ran them hose in hose for chafing protection.

The hard mounting (as opposed to zip tie type mounting) that I did allows for about an inch of air space between the cooler and the a/C condenser. This is preferable for cooling efficiency

I'm hoping this will be an acceptable solution, it seems to work flawlessley. I'm bracing myself for ccriticism (constructive or otherwise bring it on.)

Rob M

1st photo shows patch that held fine for a week or so 'til I got roundtoit

stayalert · 08-24-05, 07:20 AM

A couple more showing connections to remains of fact. piping and hose protection.

Thw white thing in the photo on the left is the rad drain petcock if someone is still searching for that

bjowett · 08-24-05, 07:53 AM

Looks good to me...!

Rookie2 · 08-24-05, 11:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stayalert

For ~50$ I got the B&M 70268 from Summit racing. (summitracing.com) cut out (with a dremel) my stock cooler,

What do you mean by this? There is no stock PS cooler, that's why you're adding one... right??

stayalert · 08-24-05, 11:46 AM

I mean:
There is a stock cooler - it is a pipe that loops back and forth a couple of times below & to the front of the front frame cross member. My stock cooler rusted and I have been visually inspecting it to determine what to do and when. When I was in Maine for ~2 weeks on a camping vacation the stock cooler developed a pinhole that resulted in pissing out the power steering fluid. I'm lead to believe the stock cooler is available but was also lead to believe that it is expensive. My solution was to band aid the thing to get it home and then put in the B & M cooler as shown above. I believe that in my environment (New England/road salt) this is an improvement. It would also seem to be an improvement as the cooler is now in the airflow induced by the fan.

cheers.

I should prolly add that my truck is a '94