Radiator shroud install options

    I just finished up the install of the new radiator shroud from Polaris. The factory instructions call to remove the hood, air box, and then unbolt the front subframe so you can remove the factory aluminum crossmember that holds the radiator. This last part involves removing bolts with nuts on the other side. Mine must have been installed by a gorilla at the factory and with the common hand tools I was using it just wasn't going to happen. I looked for an option to get past this step and came up with one.
    Note: the following procedure will cost you an additional $10-$15 to do but it was definitely easier.
    After removing hood and air box, remove both radiator hoses and small hose on the top right of the radiator. ( if you have a turbo, remove your intercooler tubes. Be sure to cover the holes well as you don't want to drop anything in it.)
    Now unbolt the fan from the radiator. Be sure to unplug the fan as you will be feeding the connector through the hole in the shroud later.
    Using the same 10mm as you did for the fan you can unbolt the two bolts and nuts that hold the radiator to the aluminum crossmember.
    Next carefully slide the radiator out the top, followed by the fan assembly.
    Grab your new shroud and gently, but forcibly slide it down under the aluminum crossmember. Because of my Hahn intercooler, I had to slightly bend the shroud to get it past it. This is no problem as the shroud is pretty flimsy plastic and comes back to shape immediately.
    Next slide the fan in and sit it in the new shroud followed by the radiator. Route the electrical plug through the hole at this time. The radiator has two alignment dowels that must sit back in their appropriate rubber bushings in the lower crossmember. You can visually inspect this from the front without jacking it up.
    Reattach the radiator to its bracket using the stock nuts and bolts you removed earlier.
    Now the fun part, I reused the stock bolts to attack the shroud and fan combination to the radiator. After about 5 minutes of not getting any back in their hole I thought of a little trick which worked out perfectly. I used a small Phillips head screwdriver to help align one of the holes so I could get the bolt started in the other. This worked like a champ as I had all 4 bolts done in about 3 minutes after that. I snugged them down accordingly.
    Next you will need to plug in the radiator fan.
    And finally you can reinstall your radiator hoses, air intake or intercooler pipes, followed by the hood.
    Last step is to refill your cooling system and let it run to get up to temp and get the air out of the system.
    I think I got it all in this write up. If you have any questions feel free to ask. I personally haven't finished the last part of the install as I am installing all new radiator hoses later this week.
    Once I figure out why my pics aren't loading I will post the ones I took while installing.


    Stephen

    Quote from Toobad4u

    @funinthesun. Here is an option for the install. I won't know how or if it helps yet as mine is still apart for a bit.


    Stephen

    Thanks Stephen. I was wondering how easy it was going to be and once I found out that t he hood had to come off, i decided a little extra heat wasn't worth the effort unless I bring to VMD and have them install it. Thanks for the step by step on the install

    Nobody gets outta here ALIVE

    The hood is only 4 bolts and it goes back on exactly in the spot it was when removed.
    Honestly you could probably do it with the hood on as long as there is enough room height wise to get the radiator out. Just more difficult to get to the areas.


    Stephen.

    Yep...getting those fan bolts back in was HUGE PIA when I did my install a couple weeks ago!! This was THE hardest mod install so far for me. I wouldn't recommend anyone with limited mechanical skills try this without help, or simply take it to a trusted mechanic/dealer. If I decide to remove that fan deflector (still on the fence regarding effectiveness), I'm definitely not doing it the hard way....I'll cut the sucker out.


    Great write-up @Toobad4u!! Thanks!!

    Those who will give up essential liberty to secure a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety


    2016 Slingshot SL Vin# 8855 (born in September 2015) w/ Alpha Stage 2 Turbo @ 7.5psi

    Yeah @roadog1aj I had trouble with the bolts too, but as soon as I used something to align one of the holes, the other bolt went right in. Then the same on the other side. Weren't you going to try a different fan switch sensor? How did that work out, or have you not done it yet?


    Stephen

    After spending some time in traffic this weekend with warm temps and my fan kicking in there was a noticeable difference in lower cockpit temps. I have seen some discussion on other forums about higher water or oil temps ? I do not have separate gauges. Hot air coming thru the rad being forced down vs heat socking the engine and firewall has to Help lower cockpit temps. :00007505::00007579:

    Quote from Toobad4u

    Yeah @roadog1aj I had trouble with the bolts too, but as soon as I used something to align one of the holes, the other bolt went right in. Then the same on the other side. Weren't you going to try a different fan switch sensor? How did that work out, or have you not done it yet?


    Stephen

    No, that wasn't me. Another member discussed the goods & bads related to different fan switches. I'm in a colder climate, so the heat issues may not be as worrisome. After I did the install, I started thinking about how well the fan would be able to move air pretty much straight down, instead of straight back as it was designed to do. It got me thinking about cavitation, and if the fan would be able pull cool air through radiator efficiently. I'm gonna drive it for a while to see how things go, but I very well may end up just cutting it out so I don't worry myself to death. I think if I had to start screwing around with everything else related to the temps, like switches, heat shielding for wires, etc. I'm better off treating the cause, and not the symptoms.........cut the frickin deflector out and get on with life!!!

    Those who will give up essential liberty to secure a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety


    2016 Slingshot SL Vin# 8855 (born in September 2015) w/ Alpha Stage 2 Turbo @ 7.5psi

    Quote from Toobad4u

    I just finished up the install of the new radiator shroud from Polaris. ........


    Nice installation write up ...... do you have a coolant temperature gauge ?


    With others seeing a significant rise in coolant/engine temperature during low speed or stopped operation on NA Slingshots I am curious how the addition of an inter-cooler in front of the radiator further restricting airflow to the radiator works out .....


    .

    :REDSS: The ghost of SLingshot past ......

    Quote from Orangeman

    Nice installation write up ...... do you have a coolant temperature gauge ?


    With others seeing a significant rise in coolant/engine temperature during low speed or stopped operation on NA Slingshots I am curious how the addition of an inter-cooler in front of the radiator further restricting airflow to the radiator works out .....


    .

    I do have a temp gauge on mine. Once I get my other parts back I will compare it to the days of old. Granted mine would run aproxinmately 180° while driving but would run up to 212° after sitting at a red light for a couple minutes. The fan would then kick on and the temp would immediately start dropping to about 194° and then turn off. I figure that is about normal operating range. I have had it holding at 163° for hours though when the outside temp was 60° and I was traveling 70mph toward Tampa.
    If it gets to 212° and the fan can bring it down some from there, i think everything will be fine with engine temps.


    Stephen

    Quote from Toobad4u

    I do have a temp gauge on mine. Once I get my other parts back I will compare it to the days of old. Granted mine would run aproxinmately 180° while driving but would run up to 212° after sitting at a red light for a couple minutes. The fan would then kick on and the temp would immediately start dropping to about 194° and then turn off. I figure that is about normal operating range. I have had it holding at 163° for hours though when the outside temp was 60° and I was traveling 70mph toward Tampa.If it gets to 212° and the fan can bring it down some from there, i think everything will be fine with engine temps.


    Stephen

    Good info!! I'll watch for your update once you get a chance to check things out!!

    Those who will give up essential liberty to secure a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety


    2016 Slingshot SL Vin# 8855 (born in September 2015) w/ Alpha Stage 2 Turbo @ 7.5psi

    Toobad4u
    Thank-You for the detailed description
    WoW it sure is a lot of work
    your article definitely convinced carol & i, they we
    Will-Not be installing the Radiator-Shroud
    with over 7,000 miles on our SlingShot and with us being able to monitor the water temperature in the engine and coming out of the radiator, we have seen that our SlingShot runs cool and no mater how hot it is or how long we are stopped in stop & go traffic, the engine is never close to overheating


    ...................................... tom n carol

    The Radiator shroud is not for engine cooling its to direct hot air coming off cooling system away from engine and firewall, reducing heat soak and cockpit temps. The shroud does not affect air coming into rad only redirecting it coming out, this could cause some additional resistance turning air flow 90 degrees down but that would not be an issue with fan on pulling/pushing air out. If my fan runs a little more often and my block is cooling and and petals and toes are cooler it's a win/win.

    Well, my OCD/Analness finally got the better of me. I just couldn't reconcile the idea of the radiator deflector turning all that air flow downward, and nothing was getting further back to remove the heat from around the engine, exhaust manifold, and muffler. Even though the heat shield is mounted to the muffler, I couldn't imagine any air flow getting to it and help remove the hot air from the engine compartment on that side. It gets frickin HOT in that area, and there is quite a bit of plastic.....wires, wire covers, even the hood itself has a ton of plastic in that area. SOOoooo.....I bit the bullet and removed the radiator air deflector. I didn't relish the idea of doing all that work to remove the deflector, but now I feel way better about everything. I think the muffler heat shield and extra foam in the side cover will be plenty effective for us where we live.

    Those who will give up essential liberty to secure a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety


    2016 Slingshot SL Vin# 8855 (born in September 2015) w/ Alpha Stage 2 Turbo @ 7.5psi

    I finally got all the hoses back on after changing to silicone. Filled with fluid and fired it up. Took a while to get up to temp. Finally after about 15 minutes of steady idle it reached 212. Fan kicked on just as it did previously. Once it cooled down to 195 it shut off just like before. The temp dropped just as fast as before so I do not think the shroud hinders airflow at all. When the fan kicked on, I was sitting in my slingshot and could not feel any unwanted hot air coming through the firewall where as before you could feel it instantly when the fan kicked on.
    Overall I think this shroud is a positive step in the right direction to help keep the passenger compartment cooler. I do not think it is the end all, be all solution, but this paired with the other known options that are available, this could become a more comfortable ride.
    I can't see where it would have any negative effects on actual engine temp ad these motors are designed to run in thr range listed above. Only drawback is that now the hot air is directed straight onto the steering rack. I'm not sure if this will create any issues down the road as there will usually be other airflow around it at most times.


    Stephen