Cooling System Part 1
I knew from the getgo I was going to need to figure out a solution for the cooling fan. I was never crazy about the viscous clutch expecially when I start my truck in the middle of the winter and I get full fan flow for the first few minutes of running. This will not do for the TDI since it takes quite a while for it to get up to temp without ANY fan flow. Not only that but the tdi nor any other transversely-mounted vw engine has a means of driving a fan off the front of the motor.
Now that I've eliminated the belt driven fan I'm left with several different options:
1) Ford Rad, Ford condensor, aftermarket fans, aftermarket fan controller, FMIC mounted in front of everything
2) Ford Rad, Ford condensor, Taurus electric fan(s), aftermarket fan controller, FMIC mounted in front of everything
3) Ford Rad, Ford condensor, VW fan panel, VW fan controller, FMIC mounted in front of everything
4) VW Rad, VW condensor, VW fan panel, VW fan controller, FMIC below everything (I'll explain later)
Well I went with option 4 because 1) it simplied my electronics (plug and play) 2) I've never heard of a properly funtioning VW system not being able to cool even the most taxed TDI's 3) It simplied my radiator piping (driver's side inlet/outlet on the radiator match the inlet/outlet of the TDI) 4) It simplified my CAC piping (passenger side inlet/outlet on the intercooler match the inlet/outlet of the TDI) 5) Because of 1-4 I'm pretty sure it's the cheapest option as well.
So here is a New Beetle TDI cooling pack (condensor, radiator, fan panel with two fans):
I've wrapped it in cardboard to protect it during the many intalls and removals but also to provide spacing while making my mounts. In the picture below you can see the VW mounts that would normally slide into a molded slot in the header panel:
My plan is to reverse the direction of these isolators and fabricate some brackets that will bolt to the Ranger header panel. Before I can do that I need to do some trimming of the Ranger rad mounts, some brackets and other minor adjustments with a cutoff wheel to provide the space for the wider VW cooling pack. I also needed to remove a wiring chase that ran right above the radiator and will zip tie it in some convoluted sheathing a few inches higher.
Here is the driver's side showing where I needed to clearance for the condenser line:
I should also mention that the only vw cooling pack that will fit in this location (under header panel and above the frame rail) is the New Beetle cooling pack! It doesn't matter what engine or transmission - the radiator and condensor for all New Beetles are all 650mm x 380mm. The difference will be in the cooling fans/motors which you can simply swap out with TDI ones. I made the mistake of purchasing an AWP (1.8T) automatic Jeta cooling pack without doing the research and found it was much too big to fit => 650mm x 420mm. So if you're doing this swap get yourself a New Beetle cooling pack as any Jetta or Golf radiator, regardless of motor, is going to be too tall.
Here is the NB cooling pack sitting in the Ranger with the flipped isolators and brackets:
And where the mounting bolts are accessed on the front side of the header panel (just look for the 4 shiny spots...ok ok I was a little generous when I said it was rust free )