I see many places selling an aluminum lower radiator tube. Do these things really do that much? They seem kinda pricy for what they are. Who has them in their Z, and what do you think?

 

They are pricey, ranging from $79 to $129. Because of the length of the OEM rubber lower hose, it tends to collapse in hot weather with continuous driving. (resulting in hotter water temp and poor recirculation).

If you have access to a pipe bender, you can fabricate your own by obtaining an 1.5" alum pipe. Do all your measuements and allow for bend allowance. Allow enough room at top and bottom for the 4" to 5" rubber connections. Price these parts out and then make a decision. Fabricate or buy.

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...category=33601

cheaper, same pipe.

 

Gee Rizz...wish I had the time to scout like you I spend all my free time restoring or working!

Good job finding the low price. I got mine at EBAY also ($60). Didn't want to spend the fabricating time.

 

For those of you that don't know where this pipe is, or what it does, here you. It connects from the bottom, driver side of the radiator to the lower of the 2 aluminum manifolds at the front, passenger side of the engine. This is what is replaced.

 

Show the inside of the pipe. It looks like you got a lot of residue in there.

 

It's a good idea to replace it because it is a very flimsy hose that becomes more flimsy at higher temperatures. It compresses under heavy driving conditions, thus not allowing coolant to circulate properly.

 

Per Rizz's request.

 

And another, but you should get the point by now. I questioned the investment before the install. I don't now.

 

That is a bit of build up. How hard was it to install?

 

With the larger radiator I put in, it was a real tight fit, but with the stock radiator, it should be a snap. You need to drain the coolant to do the job. You probably won't have to remove anything else except for the belly pan.

 

That's exactly what I was hoping to hear. Thanks.

 

Oh, BTW, eBAY has virtually the same exact item as Courtesy Nissan, so if you feel lucky, get it on eBAY. It's about $20 bucks less. If you're like me and have had some bad eBAY experiences, then Courtesy Nissan sells it for $79.

 

Thanks for posting those pics.

You guys can now see what happens when you use tap water instead of distilled water. You can see all the deposits that the cycle of boiling and cooling will leave on the inside of the hoses and ultimately your engine.
I trust that you'll do a coolant flush and use filtered distilled water to mix with the antifreeze/coolant. That way you'll minimize deposits in the future.
Please show pics of the engine bay when you're done. What kind of new radiator did you get? I'm pretty sure you mentioned it before but I forgot.

 

So THAT's why they always say to use distilled water! Not that I've used something else...but thanks...that makes a lot of sense now.

 

I bought the Z1 custom TT radiator. It's manufactured by Howe. Once I complete the final mounting bracket I'll post a picture.

 

destilled water....duh.... i just feel so out of place lately

 

Yep, that's why you should use distilled water.
Even some filtered water isn't necessarily clean. I have a buddy that installs car washes. I have helped him install a few in various dealerships around the area. Anyway, he tests the contaminants of the tap water sources. You'd be surprised as to what is in the water. Some of the contaminants reach up to over 320 parts per million (ppm) of Total Disolved Solids (TDS). The car wash we've installed use a reverse osmosis filtration system the uses not only a charcoal filter but a paper filter and then it's forced through the reverse osmosis membrane at high pressure. After it's all filtered, the contaminants are reduced to a mere 5 ppm of tds. This filtered water is what is used for the spot free rinse system. The whole point of this was to point out the importance of properly filtered water. The spot-free rinse water is actually purer than most drinking water. Most charcoal filters like the Brita and Pure brands only remove chlorine and a minimal amount of TDS's. Only a real reverse osmosis system will remove all the crap outta tap water.

 

wow....rizz sure knows his water...thanx rizz...will use destilled from now on... i hope you are happy jk thanx Rizz