[geezer101]

Something to take note of here in regards to engines failing from overheating. I have a hard time finding a viable used radiator in yards. They all fail in the same place - the forward facing section of the top radiator tank where the hose is connected. If you go into a yard and you're looking for a radiator, check this place for a crack in the plastic tank. This happens as a result of the coolant level not being maintained and the radiator inlet being bombarded with steam and hot air instead of cycling coolant. The plastic becomes stressed and loses it's integrity, then cracks. If you want your radiator to last (and your engine...) check your coolant levels in the radiator and overflow tank regularly. The hardest part about this is actually getting air trapped in the cooling system out. I have deleted the coolant feed into the throttle body which has eliminated the highest point in coolant circulation (this is where air is going to be trapped) I ended up undoing the upper radiator mounts and tilting the radiator so the radiator cap end was higher than the radiator inlet, then topped up the coolant (or in my case demineralised water) The small amount of air still in the system would be purged out into the overflow tank once the engine had reached peak operating temperature. As posted previously, I've removed the thermostat and so far it's not experiencing any issues. I am considering getting a complete thermostat manifold and modifying it by grinding out the seat where the thermostat plunger restricts coolant into the the thermostat housing. This will increase the volume of coolant passing through and may improve efficiency (well, theoretically...) I'm thinking about adding the oil cooler for the power steering as well. I have a big OEM transmission cooler from a Mitsubishi that would do the job. Just have to find a good place to mount it

 

[geezer101]

I had a peek behind the front bumper today to figure out where I can potentially install my power steering cooler core. I may have to cut the aluminium cooling tube to slide rubber hoses onto it as a transfer point rather than try to run full length hoses from the connector pipes under the power steering reservoir. I also have been wondering what the redundant 2 pin connector taped down to the lower front frame brace does. It's a single 2 pin plug so it rules out lighting (I have the factory accessory driving lights) It's been a mystery since I noticed it way back...

 

[geezer101]

*something I forgot to mention about my upgrades. The front strut tower brace I'm using is actually for the XD ELantra. The XD Elantra is 20mm wider from front strut tower to tower and as this (cheap) strut tower brace has threaded ends, it has enough adjustment in it to fit the J2/J3 Lantra and the RD1/RD2 Tiburon. The mounting brackets don't bolt on as the inside edge fouls on the strut tower reinforcing lip but with a bit of grinding on the mounting bracket it will bolt down correctly instead of trying to sit on that raised lip. These braces are going for $55ish USD on ebay right now. The vendors no longer offer shipping to Australia though. [email protected] The GK Tiburon strut braces don't fit either of the older model vehicles.

 

[geezer101]

This week will be the acid test for the cooling system. Daytime temperatures are going to hit 40 C at the end of the week. I'm not planning on working during these days so my drive time will be limited. It has been warm and the temp gauge still hasn't exceeded 1/3 of the gauge reading. I had some spare time yesterday and got around to giving the wagon a quick hose down and chamois. Nice to be able to see out of the front windscreen glass for once lol. The glare from the dirty glass has been murder...

 

[geezer101]

Celebrating 1500 views today! 😎 And it's mad hot (current outside temp is 41 C) Cooling system is still holding up well without the thermostat. A small drop in the coolant overflow level but nothing to get worried about.

 

[geezer101]

Engine temps have been constant. Today's weather was significantly cooler and the ambient air temps make a noticeable improvement in performance and fuel economy. Still haven't got around to remodelling my CAI yet.

 

[geezer101]

Ok I have learned something today. A PVC intake may not be a great idea. Regardless of heat exposure the PVC may break down over time and release chlorides into the intake air stream and this is bad. The chlorides can damage sensors and chlorine and fuel are a disastrous combination to start off with (ends up as a highly corrosive mixture) The alternative would be using ABS pipe. I am going to try and either source ABS or even use spray paint to seal the inner walls of the CAI when I get to it...

*edit - I think we are talking parts per million of vapour potentially making it's way into the intake air stream. I 'doubt' it would be enough to cause actual damage unless the PVC was exposed to enough heat that it would start to break down and release chlorides. I'm going to use PVC anyway at my own peril and I am not going to endorse this as a risk free DIY cold air intake project. I'll finish this thing off at some point - and post pics.

 

[geezer101]

I picked up a power steering cooler line from the UPI yard today for $20. Plan is to cut the loop out of the middle section and fit hoses/clamps to the remaining hard lines for the power steering cooler core. This job is going to be a pain. I have to remove the radiator and drain the PS reservoir for access and installation. The power steering line I got out of a wrecked wagon was a mess too (surface of the hard line is crusty and where it wasn't crusty it was drowning in power steering fluid)

 

[geezer101]

...and I finally got around to checking rear springs. The OD of the springs is 140mm and spring coil thickness is 10mm. Nothing on another Hyundai I checked is a similar OD. I did find a rear spring on a Mitsubishi 380 (Galant in the rest of the world where Mitsubishi was being honest) that has a 140mm OD spring and 12mm thick coil but they are seated springs and not captive in a strut assembly. The spring while installed was 270mm and the wagon rear spring was 250mm(?) I would have to cut the reduced end off the spring to work in a strut assembly. Problems are obvious - may sit too low, might not stay seated or remain captive in the strut, ride might be harder than I want (not likely that I'll find them too hard though)

 

[geezer101]

This weeks' temperatures have been much milder. Mid 20.0 C's at the most. The temperature gauge will hit about 1/3 max at the warmest part of the day but at night will sit just below 1/4. I had to top up the coolant reservoir after the hot weather last time I posted but it's still behaving. If I'm coming down the freeway at night the gauge will hover above the minimum temp mark and the heater will just be able to push out some heat. It's been running like a champ

 

[geezer101]

*2K views as of last night

 

[geezer101]

...and now grating coming from the rear drivers side brake as of this morning. Grrr. It doesn't feel like it was that long ago I did the disc brake swap but I really work the wagon hard. Looks like I'll have to spend a day with it off the road and lock down all of the loose ends I've been unable to get onto (power steering cooler, CAI - and now a brake check) Other than that it's been running great. Fuel is damned expensive so I have to wait til the price gets into the low cycle before I can fill the tank with 95. I hate running it on regular now

 

[geezer101]

Another member asked about upgrades for their Lantra and I had posted in their thread the mods I had done to mine. One of the cheapest ones to do is replace the dash backlighting. Improved backlighting has a big impact visually and isn't that hard to DIY LED swap. I've swapped the instrument backlighting and warning lights, parking and side marker lights all with LED's. Thing to note is LED's are polarity sensitive so they will only work when installed correctly. Installing them the wrong way around leaves them inoperable but won't damage them so it's only a matter of removing the LED wedge and rotating it 180 degrees. Most of the replaceable bulbs are T10 wedges but there are a few T5's in the instrument cluster IIRC..

 

[ulyssesmeads]

great