Builds Another Prado in Montana (2 Viewers)

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I picked up the bumpers locally from another Mud member, I wasn't really in the market (yet) but he made me a deal I couldn't pass up. They are both ARB, the front is for the HD models and doesn't bolt straight up, the frame is too short. The plan is to extend the front of the frame by about 3.5", which should give ample room to add a couple of extra bolt holes to the bumper. The rear is an odd one, I have only been able to find a couple of photos of it online and haven't been able to look it up in any of ARB's worldwide catalogues. I really like how it looks though.

It took a while to track down that number when I ordered it. I ended up calling arb directly to get it. They had us stock at the time (2018) when I ordered it. The number is 5612010. It's not listed anywhere in the catalog. But if you take it to an arb dealer they should be able to order it.
 
New look on the front end! Still have to properly bolt it on, there are just three bolts per side instead of five. I also need to get a roller fairlead for the winch. Overall very happy with the way it turned out though.
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Looks fantastic. I want same bar and was wondering how you did the frame mods. Post pics if you have. Good work.
 
I actually didn't end up making the frame mods like I thought I would need to. With the side wings trimmed off (mine were when I got the bumper) it fits on the first set of bolt holes in the frame. There is an additional ~3.5 inches of frame space in the bumper channels but no extra holes, so I didn't bother. I had initially thought about trimming more off the inside top edge of the bumper where it meets the fenders to get it tucked in closer to the front of the vehicle, but I would only be able to gain about an inch and it would require cutting out the lower cross brace to clear the winch. Here are some photos:

Here you can see the extra space for the longer frame of the HD 70-series:
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Here is where the side wings were trimmed:
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Here is the outside of the frame. The channels in the bumper are about 1/4" taller than the frame, so I want to shim the bumper on the top to push it up; it sits a little low as is.
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The extra quarter inch will help gain a little height on the bar over the headlights.
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If you want any other specific photos let me know!
 
After putting in the little coolant bleed hose from the back of the cylinder head I have been experiencing some overheating issues. I asked around on some of the TDI forums and came to the conclusion that I needed to re-plumb my radiator hoses so they went to the correct locations. It took several trips to various parts stores to get all the parts I needed, but I was finally able to tear into it. This is just a temporary solution until I can take it all apart and make new metal pipes, since cobbling together bits of hose isn't exactly the best way.

You wouldn't think it would take several days to accumulate these few things, but most of them weren't in stock anywhere.
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Here's what I came up with. The upper radiator hose now goes to the outlet on the back of the cylinder head, and the little bleed hose exits at the top of the system near the fill cap.
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The lower radiator hose is plumbed to the thermostat housing via a crazy bunch of spliced hoses.
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I took it on a long test drive and there is definitely an improvement, though it still runs hotter than I'd like it to. When time permits I will rebuild the whole system and try to copy the factory VW setup as closely as possible. I think part of the issue is that I currently only have one 5/8" hose supplying circulation to the thermostat, so it probably doesn't open as soon or as fully as it should.
 
After putting in the little coolant bleed hose from the back of the cylinder head I have been experiencing some overheating issues. I asked around on some of the TDI forums and came to the conclusion that I needed to re-plumb my radiator hoses so they went to the correct locations. It took several trips to various parts stores to get all the parts I needed, but I was finally able to tear into it. This is just a temporary solution until I can take it all apart and make new metal pipes, since cobbling together bits of hose isn't exactly the best way.

You wouldn't think it would take several days to accumulate these few things, but most of them weren't in stock anywhere.




Here's what I came up with. The upper radiator hose now goes to the outlet on the back of the cylinder head, and the little bleed hose exits at the top of the system near the fill

The lower radiator hose is plumbed to the thermostat housing via a crazy bunch of spliced hoses.


I took it on a long test drive and there is definitely an improvement, though it still runs hotter than I'd like it to. When time permits I will rebuild the whole system and try to copy the factory VW setup as closely as possible. I think part of the issue is that I currently only have one 5/8" hose supplying circulation to the thermostat, so it probably doesn't open as soon or as fully as it should.

When you say HOT what is too hot?
 
When you say HOT what is too hot?
I was having consistent spikes up above 210ºF, sometimes as much as 215ºF. After swapping the radiator hoses it ran 200-207ºF on the highway, which is still higher than what it ran originally.
 
It was only 55 degrees F here today. But I put 120 miles on and my engine temp did not go above 194 F. This was at about 60 mph. Hope that helps with a baseline.
 
It was only 55 degrees F here today. But I put 120 miles on and my engine temp did not go above 194 F. This was at about 60 mph. Hope that helps with a baseline.
Definitely. Before I touched any part of the cooling system, even with the radiator inlet and outlet the wrong way around I could do hours at highway speed without going over 198ºF. Where is your temperature sensor? I have the factory VW sensor in the flange on the cylinder head but that isn't hooked up to a gauge; my Auber gauge controls the fan and is partway along the upper radiator hose.
 
I replaced the rear water outlet(on the back of the head) with the metal one. Then I tapped in the temp sensor. I can get you some pics later today. I will try to take a couple of my water plumbing as well.
 
I replaced the rear water outlet(on the back of the head) with the metal one. Then I tapped in the temp sensor. I can get you some pics later today. I will try to take a couple of my water plumbing as well.
I actually have one of the metal ones as well, it came on the engine but I swapped it out for the plastic one because it gained me a bit of clearance on the firewall. When I remake my steel radiator pipes I will put a tapped hole as close to the back of the cylinder head as possible.
 
A package arrived today, and I wasted no time getting its contents installed:
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I was having consistent spikes up above 210ºF, sometimes as much as 215ºF. After swapping the radiator hoses it ran 200-207ºF on the highway, which is still higher than what it ran originally.
if thats the computer reading its a little warm but not bad. Mine runs 194 max of 198 in the summer in stop and go or towing a load. I would suggest you look at your oil temp The #1 heat sink these small VWs in heavy swaps can benefit from is oil cooling and oil volume. I am running and automatic radiator in my dakota with a manual trans and use the internal trans cooler circuit in the radiator for oil cooling and extra capacity. added about a quart and a half extra volume.
 
if thats the computer reading its a little warm but not bad. Mine runs 194 max of 198 in the summer in stop and go or towing a load. I would suggest you look at your oil temp The #1 heat sink these small VWs in heavy swaps can benefit from is oil cooling and oil volume. I am running and automatic radiator in my dakota with a manual trans and use the internal trans cooler circuit in the radiator for oil cooling and extra capacity. added about a quart and a half extra volume.

I'm definitely planning an external secondary oil cooler for the near future. The extra cooling and oil capacity is a must for a small engine that gets worked as hard as this. I assume you are running an electric fan? Does it cycle on much? I'd love to get mine to run those sorts of temps again, hopefully getting my injectors properly calibrated and balanced will cool EGT's and thereby water temps. As an aside, what kind of exhaust temps do you see under heavy load (pulling hills, hard acceleration)?
 
I'm definitely planning an external secondary oil cooler for the near future. The extra cooling and oil capacity is a must for a small engine that gets worked as hard as this. I assume you are running an electric fan? Does it cycle on much? I'd love to get mine to run those sorts of temps again, hopefully getting my injectors properly calibrated and balanced will cool EGT's and thereby water temps. As an aside, what kind of exhaust temps do you see under heavy load (pulling hills, hard acceleration)?
I only run the stock dakota electric aux fan. in stock form it only comes on with the AC running or if the temps reached a very high point (230?) for the original v8. I have tapped that relay with a temp prob trigger on the radiator outlet set to about 180 The only time I see it come on is with ac on, as it should, or coming off the interstate and getting stopped at a light and its got to be 95+ out.
 
That's great to know. I currently have my temperature sensor partway along the upper radiator hose, so it sees pretty much the hottest coolant. That is what also controls the electric fan, so it comes on all the time. Looks like I need to get a separate sensor in the lower rad hose for the fan controller. It's great to hear from other people who have TDI's in larger vehicles, I know mine is capable of running much cooler and better than it is right now, I just need to figure out the recipe!
 
Installed another accessory today, this time on the rear bumper instead of the front:
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I had to get new mounting hardware since the old bolts were too short and the hardware it came with was SAE. I opted for grade 10.9 Metric, since it specified Grade 8 SAE. I don't plan on doing much towing but it is nice to have the option; mostly I wanted to replace the factory recovery point since it didn't fit anymore.
 
Bit of a throwback here, in February my brothers came to visit and explore some mines in the area. We ended up choosing the coldest couple of days of the winter to go tromp through the snow looking for holes in the ground, but it was a great time regardless. It also provided a good opportunity to test out the Prado in some deeper snow using all 4 tire chains. We didn't get many photos, but @SnowVersion cut together a short video:
 
Another piece of the cooling system puzzle fell into place the other night. I was driving back from town with the coolant hovering around 200-207ºF, and suddenly it jumped to 264º! Needless to say I immediately looked for a spot to pull over and check things out, and when I looked back at the gauge it was reading 973ºF. I gave it a couple of gentle smacks and the reading dropped back to 188ºF, and since then the coolant temperature hasn't gone over 196º. I checked all the connections on the back of the gauge, but nothing was loose or faulty, so I'm not sure what was going on, but it would appear I don't actually have a cooling problem. So relieved!
 

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