I've done a few searches, came up with one picture of a heatexchanger I/C system. I have also done some reading and it has been said that the only ties between the S/C cooling system and the engine (radiator) cooling system were the over flow tube's. I've found that there is a hose from the lower end of the radiator to the bottom of the overflow reservior, there is also a tee in one of the S/C cooling system hose's that also connect's to the reservior. I'm looking into separating the two systems and from what I can tell so far it would be easiest to install a separate reservior for the S/C cooling system. I know L.E.T. has a larger heat exchanger in the works, but I'm not so sure it will make any difference in the cooling effect other than just adding more volume. If they are making it taller from what I can tell there will be no air hitting the top of it. If they are making it thicker, they could be eliminating the space behind it witch will not let air flow thru it as well therefore not cooling as well. I have a few questions for some expert's. Any advice or input would be greatly appreciated.

1- With both the engine & S/C cooling systems connected to the resevior, are either one pulling coolant from it?
2- If I separate the S/C cooling system, how many quarts should the new reservior hold?
3-Could someone that belongs to a MB board post up the difference between the SRT6 & the SLK32 system's (pic's would help)?
4- What is the electrical connector for on the bottom of the OEM resevior?
5- Does anyone know if the S/C hose's or system go anywhere besides the pic posted below?
6- Is this pic of a SRT6 or a SLK32 system?
7- If the SLK32 S/C cooling system is separated from the engine cooling system, where is the resevior located?

 

I think they're the same on both cars. The electrical connector is for low coolant level sensor. This is ours from the repair manual. Don't know if it helps or not.

 

Quote:

1- With both the engine & S/C cooling systems connected to the resevior, are either one pulling coolant from it?

1. The reservior is only there to provide coolant should either system loose some (i.e. - small leak or over heat which pushes some out of the system). Probably regular day to day cycling will push some into the reservior also. This is normal for most automotive cooling systems. As the system reaches running temperature, some coolant flows into the reservior. When the engine cools down, some of the fluid is pulled back into the cooling system. This helps remove air from the system, which can cause 'hot spots' in the engine cooling passages.

2. Many on the MB forums have found that they can improve the cooling of the S/C system by separating the systems and adding about a 1 to 2 gallon reservior. HDDP is doing this for his SRT6 transplant into his '04.

Quote:

3-Could someone that belongs to a MB board post up the difference between the SRT6 & the SLK32 system's (pic's would help)?

3. Can't help you here...

4. Most likely (without actually going out and looking) this is a low coolant sensor. This let's you know your coolant is low without ever actually having the level in the engine become low. It tells you that you need to top off the reservior and to have the system checked for leaks or other problems as the coolant level should never change.

5. That picture looks VERY accurate as to the plumbing of the S/C system. Thanks for posting it!

6. Most likely this is a MB picture as most of the driveline pictures/illustrations I've seen have been lifted from the MB documentation anyway.

Quote:

7- If the SLK32 S/C cooling system is separated from the engine cooling system, where is the resevior located?

7. It's not as far as I know. I believe it's the same system as the SLK 32 AMG setup, which is notorious for heat soak.

Hope that helps...

 

Thanks for posting the drawing robby363, that will help a lot. I kind of figured that the electrical connector was a low coolant level sensor, it's nice to have someone else confirm it though. I've worked on cars since I was 14 years old, of course older cars, these Xfire's are totally different than even some of the newer cars I've worked on so I don't take anything for granted.

Thanks for your input too Jody, I'm guessing the guy's with the 1 to 2 gallon S/C reservior's are putting them somewhere else than under the hood. Only 2 place's I can see to put a second one, but neither place would hold more than a few quarts. I recall a thread where someone had installed a smaller battery, I'm guessing that might be my best bet. There just isn't much room under the hood to add anything. Hell, they couldn't even fit the washer fluid
reservoir under the hood, they put it between the inner & outter fender .

 

One guy bought a 2 gallon aluminum reservior and put it in the cargo area in the spot for the first aid kit.

He also used very insulating and durable hose. I don't have the link, but it was posted in a thread here on the forums. It was a link to the MB forums I believe.

I am considering this modification myself for later this year.

Cheers!

 

I've been looking at the Braille & Odyssey compact batteries. I was looking on the MB board where a guy had pic's of his Odyssey battery sitting on top fo his OEM battery. I think the battery was 3.5" thick 7" wide & 7"tall, he was planning on installing a S/C reservior in the OEM battery holder with it. I was looking at a site they posted, I think the battery was about $130. Sounds like a good idea, but my wife will go off on me for buying a $130 to $150 battery to replace a perfectly good one .
[EDIT] Odyssey
PC 680 Specs:
* 680 cranking amps for 5 seconds
* 595 cranking amps for 10 seconds
* 525 cranking amps for 20 seconds
* 17 amp hours
* Short circuit current over 1800A
* 25 minute reserve capacity with 25amp load
* Female brass terminal w/M6 SS bolt
* Length 7 1/16"
* Width 3"
* Height 6 9/16"
* Weighs less than 15 lbs

Odyssey design:

* 2 year full warranty
* Rugged Drycell sealed design
* Military grade
* Vibration resistant
* 60% more starting power
* Deep discharge reserve power
* 2 year storage life
* 8-12 year design life
* Can be mounted flat or upright

 

One thing I was considering doing was to get a reservior with two fittings on the bottom and plumbing it where the pump would be sucking out of the reservior thru the heatexchanger, then from the pump to the inner cooler and the output from the inner cooler back into the reservior to be recycled. I would like to do it that way so you would have more volume of coolant passing through the system thus more time to cool down, rather than it just being makeup coolant. But I do have some concern about air getting into the system plumbing it that way. Hopefully HDDP or someone that would know more about how a sealed system would react to plumbing it that way will chime in here with some input. What's your thought's on doing it this way MMZ_TimeLord?

 

Very few cars I've ever worked on had a problem with air getting stuck in the system. I've also worked with water cooling systems for computers in the past which have VERY similar components and function.

Usually if there is air in the system, it's because there was a high point in the system (above the fill level). That being said, these are close systems which should force the air to move along the path with the volume and pressure we will be running in the SRT6. I suspect there won't be much chance of air getting caught in the system. If everything is lower than the Intercooler itself, it should be fine as that is the 'high point' but is just off the pump.

The Johnson pump is more than adequate for the job. I have changed mine even though the factory pump seemed fine

As to the battery with reservior, there was someone on the forum that pointed to a reservior that was just that a battery replacement with room for dry cell battery similar to the Optima or Odyssey.

I will be putting mine in the cargo area for two reasons.

1. Weight distribution. The reservior in the back will further balance the car as it still has a bit more weight in the front.

2. The long lines from the front to rear will give even more capacity. The lines + the reservior will give you a greater capacity. This should result in the coolant being even cooler by the time it hits the intercooler.

Another option to the heavy duty rubber lines would be partial aluminum finned lines in along the underside of the chassis. This would act as an additional cooler along with the one in the front. I think HDDP is using these in his set up.

Make sense?

 

Yeah, that does make good since. When I first stated looking things over under the hood I thought to myself that there really isn't a place to put anything of any size. So that thought had crossed my mind, I kind of shied away from going that route thinking of the possibilty of fume's and the line's being vulnerable to damage under the car. Of course the line's could probably be run above the driveshaft, I really hadn't ruled that out yet. What was the price of the Johnson pump & was it a PITA or not to bad of a swap?
Thanks, Steve

 

Anyone have an idea if a 28 oz. radiatior overflow tank is large enough for the cooling system not including the S/C cooling system? I believe the total capacity of the cooling system is less than 3 gallon including the S/C part of the system. Thanks in advance for any help.
Steve

 

Steve,

The Johnson pump swap was something like this... didn't have to jack up the car. Didn't have to take the wheel off (kinda cramped, looking back I probably would jack the car up enough to remove the passenger side wheel for easy access to the inner fender cover.)

Remove the front inner fender cover.
Disconnect the wiring.
Unclamp old pump, have a wide catch basin ready (3 to 4 inch deep storage tub works fine) and just swap out.
Replace the pump. You should replace the factory clamps with standard hose clamps as the hoses are just slightly loose on the new pump. (only did one on mine with no leaks ... yet)
Now, what I did was tin the wire ends that come on the johnson pump and insert them into the OEM plug from the wire harness. Then using gaffer's tape (you can use heat shrink tubing too) to seal it up.
Start engine and check for leaks. Let it run for about 10 minutes. Rev once or twice to force air out of the system.
Filter and add the recovered fluid from catch basin.(storage tub in my case)
Replace inner fender cover.

NOTE: I think you have to take off the front underside cover (4 bolts) to get the inner fender cover off.

Hope that helps.

 

there's a first aid kit? no way, what's thae part number, is there a tool kit?

 

Thanks for the info. I'm thinking I had read in a post a while back that someone was selling the Johnson pumps that had the correct size fittings as the OEM pump. Is this the one you got or did you have to reuse your OEM one's? I've changed my mind about getting the smaller battery to make room for seperating the cooling systems. I've got a small universial cylinder shaped billit reservior ordered and I'm going to use it for the radiator overflow and use the OEM overflow tank for just the S/C system. I'm also looking into adding another small heat exchanger/aftercooler, I'm looking for a fan cooled one thin enough to fit. Is the system's OEM hose's 1/2" ID, I've got the car partically tore down, but don't want to open up the system till I have all the parts I'm gonig to need.

 

Steve, MMZ's info is very accurate... And you are very intuitive to seperate the cooling system for the IC / SC. It's going to be a pain in the neck to find a location for a seperate coolant tank though, since you are doing this to a daily driver and don't have the luxury of putting it inside the passenger compartment...

If I may make a suggestion that may help cool your charge air without the headache of replumbing...

First, the OEM heat exchanger is terribly inadequate... So you might want to think about upgrading that... Second, the IC is smack dab in the middle of the hottest part of the engine, without any insulation from the radiated heat... You may want to use some sort of heat insulation under and around the IC... Third, the coolant tubes into the IC are very thin walled aluminum which are also not insulated... These could be wrapped to limit absorbtion of the radiated heat from the engine bay...

If you do decide to install a seperate cooling tank and install the Johson pump, remember that the IC is inside an "OVEN" , the "V" of the engine block. So, you really do need to shield that from the radiated heat of the engine...

The OEM pump system is closed circuit, there is an overflow tube that "Y's" off the outlet tube of the IC into the radiator, but aside from that, the diagram in the previous posts are correct...

 

Thanks HDDP, I did find a small cylinder shaped that I'm planning on using for the engine system. It will mount between the right side air intake tube and the fan shroud, my only concern is it only a 24oz. tank, but it does have a site tube on it to see the level. I've got the grill out and have been looking the system over, the HE has an 1&1/8" gap between it and the AC condencer, I'm assuming that is so air will flow thru it and not have to go thru the condencer & radiator. It would be nice to upgrade the HE with one that had cooling fans, but I just don't see any room to do so. If the drawing is correct and the small hose that "Y"'s into overflow and it is on the suction side of the system, how could it not be sucking air from the overflow tank? Also what kind of heat insulation should I use under the I/C, got a link to a site? I made a post in the SRT6 section last night about the OEM overflow tank, could you take a look at what I posted and let me know what you think. I greatly value your opinion.
Thanks, Steve

 

No problem Steve, You may want to take a look at these as well...
http://www.jegs.com/webapp/wcs/store...Term=catch+can