Water bypass delete

One modification I like to make to Mitsubishi 4g3x engines is to delete the water bypass line behind the water pump.

The car has this originally for use in cold weather countries where the car would be equipped with a heater. The bypass line takes hot water from the engine and runs it through the cars heater then back into the engine. For our cars not equipped with heaters, this is then just an additional liability being made of several rubber joints and hoses that will eventually leak. The copper pipes used for the bypass are also prone to cracking and corrosion over time.

I had to make some preparations today to do this modification for a clients engine so I figured it would be a good opportunity to document how exactly it's done.

Here's what the original water bypass line looks like. A copper pipe running along the exhaust side of the engine block with some rubber joints and a hose or rubber plug at the other end behind the intake manifold.

 The copper pipe and the rubber hose connecting it can easily be removed by undoing some bolts that hold it to the block and the clamps on the hose. You'll be left with a little copper pipe stub at the engine block behind the water pipe.

 This is force fitted to the block and can be removed by simply using a vice grip. Some gentle persuasion using a hammer may be necessary in some cases.

 With the copper pipe removed from the block, you'll be left with a hole.

This hole is then cleaned out and tapped so it will have thread so we can close it up with a plug. I used a 16mm diameter hand tap.

A bolt matching the thread of the hand tap needs to be purchased. I used a T304 stainless steel bolt in my original engine build, but lately this specific size has been hard to find in stainless steel, so for this build I had to use a high carbon steel bolt. Either will do, just don't use cheap ordinary bolts.

Trim the bolt to the right length so it won't protrude into the water pump.

And that's it! Be sure to use a good amount of high temperature silicone during the final assembly to really get the plug fixed in place and prevent any leaks.

This is how it looks like in the final installation on my 4G33.

Hipster way of thinking...

Allow me to humor my self for a bit. It's been a while since I've written anything for the blog. I've got a lot of things I wanna write about, but I don't really feel like I want to work my brain so we'll get around to the more serious stuff next time.

So anyways, I've been thinking about how to go about decorating my car. For the longest time, I've had a Tsurikawa hanging off my back bumper. If you don't know what it is check it out here! I've always loved the meaning behind the thing. What it stood for and all. But my problem now is that it's all becoming too mainstream. I see them being sold online and in swap meets. Almost everyday I'm out on the road I'll see a car with one. What happened to the symbolism behind it? For it to be legit it has to be STOLEN.. That's how I and my buddies got ours. A friend of mine pointed out, we were rocking Tsurikawa's and roof racks (yes, roof racks, cross bars and what not.. but that's a story for another day) years before they became mainstream. Of course, we're not claiming to have started the trend or anything, it's just that before, it was cool when only our little circle knew about these things. That when you see another guy out there rocking a Tsurikawa, you know he's part of that brotherhood of hardcore Japanese Nostalgics. Back then, no body knew what that little thing hanging off my bumper was. In fact that blog entry (linked above) I wrote a year ago explaining what it is the second most viewed entry in this blog (next to the one about the SK Racing Carbs) and most of the hits come from google searches about people looking up the meaning of what a Tsurikawa is. Even one year ago it used to be that obscure.

My youngest sister (I believe) is a hipster. I'm sure, and a real one at that- in the sense that supposedly no real hipster would EVER allow themselves to be branded as hipster. A crazy bunch those kids are, and I've never really understood them until I saw Tsurikawas being sold online for 50 pesos each.

I guess it was really bound to catch on. So, the question is.. What to do now?