Installing a LFP heat exchanger this weekend...

[Badgts]

...and looking forward to it. Temps are shooting up and I'm sure it will do the car good. Anyone have before/after dyno pulls to test the effects? or temp differences before and after for the intercooler fluid? Probably makes more of a difference on the street, but would be good info. It will look really nice on the car too. My stock HE brackets are looking a little rusty and the stock HE lacks a little in the looks dept anyway. The install looks pretty easy as well. Anyone have any issues with clearance? I noticed in the instructions that you may have to make a little room in some cars. Nice pointer in there too about painting the stock brackets. Mine definitely need it. You can see the rust from 100' away. All in all it looks like it will make a huge difference in not only the appearance of the front of the car, but also the cooling capability of the intercooler system as a whole. Its a nice product and should give great bang-for-the-buck results. Install is set for this Sunday. If anyone is interested, I'll post some info and maybe pics for the install process.

 

[optx002]

just bend the brackets a bit to make the lfp fit. i did mine last weekend. buy some aluminum color spray paint from home depot.

 

[Badgts]

got the paint already. looks like it will match well. did you have any difficulties at all? install looks simple enough...

 

[ShelbyGuy]

no matter what anyone else says, you will do an easier, nicer job if you remove the front bumper cover. it only takes 2 minutes to get on and off.

dont be shade-tree. move the stuff thats in the way.

 

[I8URZ28]

I am getting mine and the LFP IC res very very soon...keep us posted...I was wondering if anybody was considered upgrading the hoses to the IC res and HE with steel braided ones--I was thinking about doing this also but don't know what kind of end clamps I'd need

 

[ShelbyGuy]

its a low pressure application, and most of the intercooler lines are hard lines anyway.

a garden pond pump has higher pressure.

 

[I8URZ28]

LOL :lol: so I guess it would br rather pointless then --oh well it was just an idea

 

[RedfireSVT]

no matter what anyone else says, you will do an easier, nicer job if you remove the front bumper cover. it only takes 2 minutes to get on and off.

dont be shade-tree. move the stuff thats in the way.

What he said, take the front bumper off. I don't think people understand how easy it is to remove and how much easier it makes the job.

 

[I8URZ28]

I plan on taking mine off --is realigning the bumper a PITA though

 

[optx002]

taking the bumper on and off isnt that bad. just getting my hand inbetween the bumper cover and the fender liner wasnt fun. takes about 10 mins id say.

 

[ShelbyGuy]

there's nothing to align. its held on mostly with plastic push pins.

 

[I8URZ28]

sweet sounds like it should be pretty easy then. I can't wait :beer:

 

[GOTSVT?]

I left the bumper on and had no problems. Did the LFP Heat exchanger and the reservoir

 

[Badgts]

Once I get into it I'll decide on taking the cover off or not.

 

[Special Blend]

Take the bumper off man. Its simple and makes the install way more enjoyable.

 

[Badgts]

Sorry folks, but didn't get to it this weekend. The other family vehicle decided to not start and leave us stranded on Saturday afternoon, so I had to spend a good portion of yesterday fixing it instead of working on the Cobra. Being it is the wife's car (and on Mother's Day no less) it had priority. I would tackle the HE install during the week, but I want the extra time and daylight to make sure the brackets are prepped and painted to my liking and that they are dry prior to final reassembly. Not sure I could get all that done in an evening, so looks like it will be this weekend now.

 

[ShelbyGuy]

two philips head push pins by the headlamps
two push pins underneath on the core support
two philips head screws in the fenderwells
two nuts on each side holding the sides of the bumper cover to the fender. kinda have to hurk the inner fender liner a little bit to get your hand in there. but hurk on the inner fender liner, not on the bumper cover.

when putting the bumper cover back on, watch the tabs under and around the headlamps.

some people take the headlamps out to remove the bumper cover but im lazy. they dont really need to come out. if you want to take them out, its just the two black metal strips holding them in and a quarter turn on the socket for the bulb.

badda bing, badda boom.

 

[gud2goe]

can always count on shelby to give us the tips...if he says do it i will...,,,

hasnt steered me wrong yet with any input from him :beer:

 

[Special Blend]

Ya just take out the headlights as well.

 

[Badgts]

As you might have guessed from the lack of follow up posts, it did not go on this past weekend either. After finally removing the unit from the bubble-wrap I noticed the cooling fins were bent/damaged...and on the front, no less. So I called LFP, gave them the scoop and they told me to just return the core for repalcement. So now I am shipping it back tomorrow. Dammit!!! And the core was well wrapped too. UPS must throw the boxes from the plane to the ground, cause it would have taken some serious mishandling to compromise all that packing material. Now I get to wait even longer to install it. At least I wasn't done with the dissassembly before I noticed it. Man, that would have pissed me off.
You gotta love the convenience of mail/internet orders, but sometimes not buying off a shelf can bite you. At least in this case its only costing me time and shipping fees. And I have to give credit to LFP for their excellent customer service in this regard.
Now I can only hope I get it back in a reasonable time frame...