Water 'rails' on the 351c - Ford Forums - Mustang Forum, Ford Trucks, Ford Focus and Ford Cars

Acur8 · 02-20-2003, 15:55

Hi all ,..

Just wondering about something that we had planned for the clevo.

We are planning to run 4 stainless water 'rail's (think tubes with fittings - similar to a fuel rail) down the block of the clevo, just above the intake manifold bolts.

2 will be for the heater, and 2 for the outlets at the rear of the heads.

We understand that the 2 out of the rear of the heads will come up through the intake manifold behind the rear bolts, and we are planning to get an angles fitting and run the rails at that height all the way to the front of the block.

We have been thinking of running both contents on the same sides though, .. ie: heater, heater on the left, head head on the right, as this will make it easier when entering the water pump for the heater lines.

my thoughts are : do the 'head' rails (being the highest point in the radiator system) pose a concern?

I am aware that air will 'pool' there when the car is off, .. will this cause air locks? ..

or will the pressure exerted from the rear of the heads be enough to overcome this concern?

hmm .. just curious thats all ..

02-20-2003, 20:57

You could incorporate a header(or degassing tank)tank in the rails at the highest point if it is a concern acur8. Or you could run a tube off the pipes at the highest point to a higher mounted header tank near the shock tower.
Why have you got water going to the rear of the heads?
Pete.

EXECJIM · 02-21-2003, 05:11

i dont think it will make any difference because thats where the normal rubber heater hoses run anyway.

but what i think you could do, and i have done this aswell, is fit a radiator cap, the same as a lot of jap cars run and have an overflow bottle bollted to the body, and what this does is it keeps the radiator FULL at all times.

jim

Acur8 · 02-23-2003, 15:17

Thanks for the replies..

>>You could incorporate a header(or degassing tank)tank in the rails at the highest point if it is a concern acur8. Or you could run a tube off the pipes at the highest point to a higher mounted header tank near the shock tower.

The main reason to have the water rails was maily a cosmetic one, as we have gone to a fair amount of work to tidy up the engine bay. The remote tank off the rail option may be a fallback if it does prove a concern (maybe with an air bleeder) .. but keeping the nice smooth lines of the rail would be an advantage at this time :)

>>>>Why have you got water going to the rear of the heads?
Pete.

to overcome the perceived problems of developing 'hot spots' in the hear of the heads when water can boil and air pockets can develop. Having the water path exit at each end provides a lot of insurance that this wont happen.

>>>I dont think it will make any difference because thats where the normal rubber heater hoses run anyway.

That was what I was thinking initially, but I was concerned about a lot of VL owners that complain of cracking heads etc due to the water height problem in their cars.

I have been getting a lot of "she'll be right" thoughts from a lot of performance oriented people, so I am thinking that it may not be much of a concern :)

>>>but what i think you could do, and i have done this aswell, is fit a radiator cap, the same as a lot of jap cars run and have an overflow bottle bollted to the body, and what this does is it keeps the radiator FULL at all times.

Yes, .. this is a great idea, I have an overflow bottle aswell and I plan on installing it as soon as these rails are finalized.

Thanks for your input, ..

I suppose I should just run with it and stop stressing :)