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Thread: 7MGE swap notes and pics

  1. #11

    Re: 7MGE swap notes and pics

    I got a chance to ride in this truck back at the Yosemite trip. Super nice 4Runner, and very well done.
    -Daniel2000 4Runner Sport | V6 | 5spd | 4x4 | Leather | 265/75-16 BFG AT/KO | OBA | BudBuilt front skid

    1990 4Runner SR5 | V6 | Auto | 2wd | 3.90 rear | Cobra CB | 265/65r17 Bridgestone Duelers H/Ts | '08 Tacoma 5 spoke rims | Has an 11:1 crawl ratio! SOLD

  2. #12

    Re: 7MGE swap notes and pics

    Saw the corax beast today, on his way through Santa Cruz, nice job and nice people.

  3. #13

    Re: 7MGE swap notes and pics

    Quote Originally Posted by mYnAmEiSmUdD
    Thank you!!! Very nice work.
    any questions, let me know . . .

    Quote Originally Posted by fustercluck
    If I promise not to talk politics while you do it, will you come and swap one in for me?
    What fun would that be without some good conversation? The real fun is in the debate, I've often had long drawn out conversations (with ex's mostly) arguing a position I didn't believe in just for fun .

    If we were coming anywhere near Utah on our cross-country trip I'd make sure to drop by, but it's not in the cards this time

    Quote Originally Posted by 4runnerchevy
    Saw the corax beast today, on his way through Santa Cruz, nice job and nice people.
    thanks much man it was too bad your beast was getting reconstructive surgery . . . I'm sure it'll be bigger and badder when it's done
    Keith '88 4runner SR5 Garage Thread

  4. #14

    Re: 7MGE swap notes and pics

    Hey Keith, I've been considering doing the swap in my 4runner and I had a few questions I wanted to ask you. Do you run air conditioning with your swap? And have you found a way to install the steering stabilizer? Thanks

  5. #15

    Re: 7MGE swap notes and pics

    Quote Originally Posted by strykersd
    Hey Keith, I've been considering doing the swap in my 4runner and I had a few questions I wanted to ask you. Do you run air conditioning with your swap? And have you found a way to install the steering stabilizer? Thanks
    No air conditioning yet, though I have had it in mind to go junkyarding for a Honda A/C compressor (correct pulley, correct outlet direction) - but then again, there's not much room in front of the radiator for an A/C condensor anyway. Supposedly a few have been able to, but it would be a real tight fit.

    No steering stabilizer either, though I can't tell the difference. If you did want to run a stabilizer it would be easy to get a Rancho or similar universal mount (the type that uses u-bolts to mount on the linkage) and just weld two tabs to the frame to mount the other end.
    Keith '88 4runner SR5 Garage Thread

  6. #16

    Re: 7MGE swap notes and pics

    Thought I'd update this thread with my final solution for cooling this swap, it is a bit overkill but hasn't given me any problems to date -

    A few months back I found a double row, dual pass Ron Davis radiator at a flea market for $25 (too good of a deal to pass up). Though I wasn't sure if I could use it, a few weeks of staring at it got me going on how to fit it into an already tight engine bay.

    (2 of the fins were previously repaired, but they look solid)


    Here's how it works. A dual-pass horizontal-flow radiator moves coolant across the top half of the radiator on the first pass, then directs the coolant across the lower portion of the radiator face for a second pass. One reason this works is because the velocity of the coolant roughly doubles when the coolant is forced to travel across half as many tubes per pass. This creates turbulence in the tubes, exposing more coolant to the radiator tube walls and improving heat transfer. It also provides a bit of a restriction to coolant flow, reducing the overall flow rate of the cooling system and allowing the coolant to spend more time in the radiator. I think one of my problems with the single core Griffin was that it flowed too fast with this engine - the coolant didn't have enough time to really cool as it passed through the radiator (but that's just speculation).


    I enlarged the radiator opening a bit so I could move the radiator as far forward as possible.

    Here it is all mocked up in its final position. I already had the lower brackets made (just a "J-hook" to cradle the bottom of the radiator), so I just needed to bend and fit the brackets to their final position.


    The top hose/inlet is a simple 1.5" neck that the hose slides on to. The lower hose/outlet though is a 3/4" NPT bung . . . so I got a copper 3/4" NPT fitting, trimmed the overall length down and soldered a "street elbow" on to it. I also tapped the bung a bit deeper so that the copper fitting would thread all the way in (no threads showing). The outlet on my fitting is now 1.25" - the stock lower radiator hose is 1.375" - so there sohould be no real restriction that I need to worry about.

    top view of it mounted with the plumbing all connected - I found a formed hose that I could cut/splice onto the stock lower radiator hose and used a universal flex hose for the top

    Home Depot pipe hanger to hold the long lower radiator hose away from anything it might rub against


    Previously I was using a 14" fan on my single core Griffin radiator. I could fit one 12" or 2 9" fans with the new setup (not enough room between the radiator and the front cross member for the 14"). I did some math on how much coverage the fans would give on the radiator:
    1x14" fan = 153 sq.in.
    1x12" fan = 113 sq.in.
    2x9" fans = 127 sq.in
    So 2x9" fans it is then - combined they pull 22 amps when they first start spinning, but settle down to 10 amps at full speed. Even though I'm stepping down in fan size I should be golden since the overall cooling capacity is increasing - won't find out till I have to pull the trailer again, but I can say that with this radiator the fans don't cycle on nearly as much.

    Keith '88 4runner SR5 Garage Thread

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