Finished the nipple install last night on one of the Pros in the shop. here's a pictorial on how we do the install here...
First, remove the rear bumper and rear closeout/snowflap/tail light-easy stuff, just a few fasteners and rivets! this is what you end up with.....
you can see the cooler crossover tube in between the sheetmetal. Next, insert a thin piece of sheet steel in between the tube and tunnel material. this will protect the top of the tube from our next step.....
Now, we use a 1.125" hole saw to remove the tunnel material from above the cooler tube. Position the guide bit for the hole saw just forward of the cooler tubes front side as shown. The steel sheet will protect the cooler tube from the hole saw teeth as you drill.
Now we need to do a little simple trimming of the tunnel material to finish a neat access hole for the welding torch. First, grind or file the small triangle of material left at the rear corner of the coolers as shown here....
Then, mark a line from the inside edge(towards tunnel center) of the access hole straight back off the end of the tunnel. This material can be cut with sheetmetal snips or a cutoff wheel as shown here...
This is what the finished torch access holes should look like...
Now round any sharp edges that may remain for safety and we move on to cutting the cooler cross tube to make room for the billet nipples we supply with your cooler. Lay a ruler along the inside (towards tunnel center) edge of each cooler and use it to project and mark a line on the cooler crossover tube...
Now you can use a cut off wheel, reciprocating saw, hack saw etc to cut the center of the crossover tube out. Take your time to ensure straight cuts on the lines you have previously marked.
When finished cutting, take a minute with a good file and flatten and deburr your cuts. You will have something like this when done...
Now the fun part! Align the top edge of the supplied billet nipples with the top edge of the OEM cooler tube you just finished cutting. Our nipple will overhang below the cooler tube a bit to allow room for the hose to go on and clear the roof of the tunnel. Make sure and get them straight and parallel-verify that you have left enough room on top of the nipple for the connecting hose supplied to clear the tunnel (its a VERY tight fit). Once you are happy with alignment and clearances, Tig weld all the way around the nipple bases-if you aren't confident in your welding skills, please have someone do this for you-its critical that the weld is strong and does not leak! We pressure test each one when we are done and reccomend you do the same if you can. Its a bummer to put it all together and fill up the system only to find out you have a pin hole to repair!
all thats left now is connecting the hoses we supply and riveting your new cooler to the tunnel. The closeout and flap can be installed along with the tail light. Fill and bleed the system as you normally would, verify you have no leaks and go ride!
We build these coolers in several variations-this particular sled is getting a tunnel extension so the FTX cooler will fill up the area BEHIND the stock cooler. If your tunnel length is staying stock, the FTX cooler will run in between the stock coolers and go FORWARD roughly 20 inches in the tunnel. They range in price from $300-$390.00 and all include connecting hoses and heat shrink hose clamps.
Make sure you are using an effective snow flap-its a very important part of the system and if you have frequent cooling problems, a good flap will help a bunch. (yep, we sell those too!)
Curt
First, remove the rear bumper and rear closeout/snowflap/tail light-easy stuff, just a few fasteners and rivets! this is what you end up with.....
you can see the cooler crossover tube in between the sheetmetal. Next, insert a thin piece of sheet steel in between the tube and tunnel material. this will protect the top of the tube from our next step.....
Now, we use a 1.125" hole saw to remove the tunnel material from above the cooler tube. Position the guide bit for the hole saw just forward of the cooler tubes front side as shown. The steel sheet will protect the cooler tube from the hole saw teeth as you drill.
Now we need to do a little simple trimming of the tunnel material to finish a neat access hole for the welding torch. First, grind or file the small triangle of material left at the rear corner of the coolers as shown here....
Then, mark a line from the inside edge(towards tunnel center) of the access hole straight back off the end of the tunnel. This material can be cut with sheetmetal snips or a cutoff wheel as shown here...
This is what the finished torch access holes should look like...
Now round any sharp edges that may remain for safety and we move on to cutting the cooler cross tube to make room for the billet nipples we supply with your cooler. Lay a ruler along the inside (towards tunnel center) edge of each cooler and use it to project and mark a line on the cooler crossover tube...
Now you can use a cut off wheel, reciprocating saw, hack saw etc to cut the center of the crossover tube out. Take your time to ensure straight cuts on the lines you have previously marked.
When finished cutting, take a minute with a good file and flatten and deburr your cuts. You will have something like this when done...
Now the fun part! Align the top edge of the supplied billet nipples with the top edge of the OEM cooler tube you just finished cutting. Our nipple will overhang below the cooler tube a bit to allow room for the hose to go on and clear the roof of the tunnel. Make sure and get them straight and parallel-verify that you have left enough room on top of the nipple for the connecting hose supplied to clear the tunnel (its a VERY tight fit). Once you are happy with alignment and clearances, Tig weld all the way around the nipple bases-if you aren't confident in your welding skills, please have someone do this for you-its critical that the weld is strong and does not leak! We pressure test each one when we are done and reccomend you do the same if you can. Its a bummer to put it all together and fill up the system only to find out you have a pin hole to repair!
all thats left now is connecting the hoses we supply and riveting your new cooler to the tunnel. The closeout and flap can be installed along with the tail light. Fill and bleed the system as you normally would, verify you have no leaks and go ride!
We build these coolers in several variations-this particular sled is getting a tunnel extension so the FTX cooler will fill up the area BEHIND the stock cooler. If your tunnel length is staying stock, the FTX cooler will run in between the stock coolers and go FORWARD roughly 20 inches in the tunnel. They range in price from $300-$390.00 and all include connecting hoses and heat shrink hose clamps.
Make sure you are using an effective snow flap-its a very important part of the system and if you have frequent cooling problems, a good flap will help a bunch. (yep, we sell those too!)
Curt
