the stock coolant tank on my car had a nipple fall off at some point in the past, and a pretty hack job repair had been attempted with a npt barp and rtv sealer. this did not last of course, and once i got the vehicle running it was apparent that I'd have to do something about the coolant tank. I didn't want to repair the aging stock tank again so I sourced a wrx tank that even came with an STi high pressure cap and extra hose. after deliberating on a few different locations for the wrx coolant tank I decided on using the stock location for simplicity's sake, and I did not want to block the easy spark plug access that we enjoy with these motors. I butted the vertical support of the tank up against the runner of the intake manifold, and the side against the AC line. We'll see if I need to change locations when i go about installing a top mount. I was pleasantly surprised to find that all stock hoses went straight on with no modification necessary, with the exception of bending the hard line at the top of the intake manifold towards the nipple on the tank and cutting a short piece of hose.
the mounting brackets that were on the wrx tank just werent configured in a way that I could use them effectively, so I drilled and tapped two holes to M6x1.0 on the thick area of metal on the support bracket. this seems to be the strongest area of the tank and has an internal rib which you are barely able to see/feel inside the tank. I then cut a piece of 1 1/2x1/8" flat strap into an L shape and drilled 3 holes in it. in hindsight it might have been better to extend the horizontal arm to utilize both bolt holes for the hard fuel line bracket on the intake manifold. I replaced the short bolt into the manifolt with one about 1.5" long, and spaced the bracket out about 3/8" with some spacers from bicycle brake pads that I had in my M6 bolt can. always save those wierd spacers and fasteners! once I had the side bracket mounted, I started on the rear one. it is just an angle bracket that attaches to the M8 mount for the stock coolant tank. I took one of the bolts out of the lid of the wrx coolant tank, got a longer allen M6x1.0 that was fully threaded, bolted the angle bracket to the tank from the underside, and then added a nut to the protruding threads to re secure the lid.
Matt Monson wrote:Also, I personally wouldn't run the high pressure cap. I've seen problems occur with it.
interesting. what kind of problems?
Overheating problems. That cap is fine when there's a second one set at .9 bar on the radiator itself. But on the captured system where that's the only release it's too much pressure and allows too much heat to build in the system.
1974 Porsche 914 Cam Am Limted Edition AKA the Bumble Bee
1973 Porsche 914 2.0 l -Suby swap pending
1968 Porsche 911t survivor 47k original miles
2000 2.5RS daily driver.
1999 2.5RS w/ 50+ extra whp
Suby Hai!
