Mishimoto Aluminum Radiator and Mac Chrome Hoses

FourEyed

Active Member
Jan 9, 2011
94
44
39
I'm about to refresh the cooling system on my 86 GT, but I got a question......

New Parts.

Mishimoto three core Radiator
OEM Fan and Fan Clutch, (to replace the flex a lite metal fan)
Motorcraft 192* thermostat
Mac chrome hose kit
3 gallons of coolant
1 bottle of Royal Purple Ice

I'm worried about the metal hoses transferring more vibration to the aluminum radiator and causing a problem with leaks.

Should I ditch the Chrome Macs and get stock hoses instead?

Anyone running this particular set up?

Thanks in advance.

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The metal hoses have rubber couplings at the ends. So, vibration isn't a problem.

MAC products have a so-so/poor rep for quailty. With that said, I went with a MAC back SS system a few years ago, and it still looks very good. I have wetlands behind my house. So, everything in my cars have a tendency to rust and quickly. So, for me, and that one specific cat-cat system on my car, I've been impressed by how good the MAC quailty is. But, as I said, you can read about plenty of people complaining about MAC quailty.

So....
Giving the above, *I* would worry about the MAC chrome hose/pipes having internal/inside flaking and having that clog up the radiator. At least for my MAC exhaust, if it did have bad quailty, it would look rusty, and just require replacement sooner. So, it was only a risk in terms of money and parts life expectancy. That's very different that "betting" my engine on MAC quailty.


As for the clutch, I hope you got a thermal clutch. Much of the PURE BS that you read about "How F***ING AWESOME electric fans are in their power savings" is based on a NON-STOCK GT engine cooling setup - a fixed fan, or flex fan, or a simple clutch fan.

The STOCK thermal clutch setup has very little power loss in REAL LIFE driving - I'm not talking about some BS dyno run!

However, the real problem with the stock fan setup is that many 5.0's really need MORE air flow at idle in some weather. That's why Ford has a special Police thermal clutch that has even less slip at idle and full-speed.

FWIW: With the massive FRPP aluminum radiator and stock thermal clutch setup, and 195 high flow thermostat, unless it's ~50F-60F, may car can't get near operating temperature. The cooling is just too much, and all car systems have some amount of bypass past the thermostat. The bypass amount and design is one reason why thermostats are "universal".

So, I'm hopefully finally going to my electric fan setup this year. But, I have a lot of other stuff that I want to, or need to, get done first. So, who knows, my stuff may sit for another year. One big reason is the requirement to upgrade the charging and power wires. I don't do half-***ed mod, especially when it comes to stuff like that. So, in the REAL WORLD, I'm looking at 2-4 days of effort. Yea, I've seen the stuff that people have done, and claimed to do in 20 mins. Yea, 20 mins for the pictures. Or, they just ripped everything out, and threw wires back in and PRAY that they don't have rubbing/heat issues. Just because some hack job has been working for a few years means *****. They may not drive the car much, or like the fools that play the lottery and sometimes win, they got lucky.

I don't tell people how to do things on the basis that they MAY get lucky. I tell people how to do things correctly. Just read the forums, about 90% of the advice will be on the basis that a person gets lucky. Spring install, taking off the bolt for the harmonic balancer are great examples. IMHO, 95% of the posts are great examples of how to potentially kill yourself (and maybe others). But, just because people have died and been injured from using those half-****ed install suggestions is no reason not to play Russian Roulette, is is? ;)

And, yes, the above also relates to my concern about using MAC chrome coolant pipe/hoses.
The question is: "Do you feel lucky punk?". :)

Good Luck!
Four Eyes Rule!
 
I'd use the stock hoses, unless the rest of your engine is a chromed out masterpiece the mac's wil look out of place.
Besides i can't see them looking very good for long anyway.

I'd also run a mr. gaskets 180 degree thermostat.
 
The metal hoses have rubber couplings at the ends. So, vibration isn't a problem.

MAC products have a so-so/poor rep for quailty. With that said, I went with a MAC back SS system a few years ago, and it still looks very good. I have wetlands behind my house. So, everything in my cars have a tendency to rust and quickly. So, for me, and that one specific cat-cat system on my car, I've been impressed by how good the MAC quailty is. But, as I said, you can read about plenty of people complaining about MAC quailty.

So....
Giving the above, *I* would worry about the MAC chrome hose/pipes having internal/inside flaking and having that clog up the radiator. At least for my MAC exhaust, if it did have bad quailty, it would look rusty, and just require replacement sooner. So, it was only a risk in terms of money and parts life expectancy. That's very different that "betting" my engine on MAC quailty.


As for the clutch, I hope you got a thermal clutch. Much of the PURE BS that you read about "How F***ING AWESOME electric fans are in their power savings" is based on a NON-STOCK GT engine cooling setup - a fixed fan, or flex fan, or a simple clutch fan.

The STOCK thermal clutch setup has very little power loss in REAL LIFE driving - I'm not talking about some BS dyno run!

However, the real problem with the stock fan setup is that many 5.0's really need MORE air flow at idle in some weather. That's why Ford has a special Police thermal clutch that has even less slip at idle and full-speed.

FWIW: With the massive FRPP aluminum radiator and stock thermal clutch setup, and 195 high flow thermostat, unless it's ~50F-60F, may car can't get near operating temperature. The cooling is just too much, and all car systems have some amount of bypass past the thermostat. The bypass amount and design is one reason why thermostats are "universal".

So, I'm hopefully finally going to my electric fan setup this year. But, I have a lot of other stuff that I want to, or need to, get done first. So, who knows, my stuff may sit for another year. One big reason is the requirement to upgrade the charging and power wires. I don't do half-***ed mod, especially when it comes to stuff like that. So, in the REAL WORLD, I'm looking at 2-4 days of effort. Yea, I've seen the stuff that people have done, and claimed to do in 20 mins. Yea, 20 mins for the pictures. Or, they just ripped everything out, and threw wires back in and PRAY that they don't have rubbing/heat issues. Just because some hack job has been working for a few years means *****. They may not drive the car much, or like the fools that play the lottery and sometimes win, they got lucky.

I don't tell people how to do things on the basis that they MAY get lucky. I tell people how to do things correctly. Just read the forums, about 90% of the advice will be on the basis that a person gets lucky. Spring install, taking off the bolt for the harmonic balancer are great examples. IMHO, 95% of the posts are great examples of how to potentially kill yourself (and maybe others). But, just because people have died and been injured from using those half-****ed install suggestions is no reason not to play Russian Roulette, is is? ;)

And, yes, the above also relates to my concern about using MAC chrome coolant pipe/hoses.
The question is: "Do you feel lucky punk?". :)

Good Luck!
Four Eyes Rule!

Can you do me a favor, and go on a tangent from time to time?