Coolant Return Line
The feed line from the engine to radiator has already been covered, that was pretty simple with just a couple 90° silicone bits and a straight joiner.
The return line back to the motor though needed a bit more attention. In the few LFX swaps that are out there so far, everyone’s re-used a factory GM return line, but because I’m using an NC radiator which has the feed/return on the correct sides of the radiator to match the LFX (as oppose to NA/NB rads which are opposite), I could actually make use of the more direct and simplified routing that this makes possible. But, that means I need a new return line…
So, let’s make one .
The only bit I wanted to re-use from the factory line was the very end that meets the motor – for its specific o-ring and mounting tab there. So, I cut that bit off and discarded the rest:
Need to join a 45° silicone coupler to that end, so that tube needed a bead on it. It’s steel, so I welded a bead around the lip and smoothed that out with the grinder. Rather hard to see in this pic, but here is is mounted to the thermostat inlet on the back of the motor:
A couple mandrel-bent 1.25″ aluminum bits and some of the straight tube stock I had laying around, melt some metal and shazam – we have a return line:
45° silicone coupler at the rear to join this line to the factory steel end, a straight silicone coupler from the aluminum line to the radiator outlet, and a big adel clamp to hold it nicely in place… and we have this:
