Putting my rad in the TJ09

[madmat]

I'd like to cover the proper way to put a rad in a TJ09. I say proper since the rad will be sealed all the way down the sides and the mounts will be tapped. there are no nuts to try to hold in place and no funky L brackets to fight with.


Here's the bottom of the case roof.


Here's the rad where it'll live.


Wanna put a triple up there? just overhang the opening a bit


The third fan shows how much the rad will overhang in the rear.


I've outlined where the hole ends and how much it'll overhang to the front. To make up for the overhang simply mount the rad 1/4" lower and seal it to the roof with some 3/8" thick foam weatherstripping.

[madmat]

Ok, to continue...


I'm using 3/4" aluminum angle to hold the rad.


It'll run along the fan holder mounts in the roof.


Cut it to 11-1/4" long and mount to the rad.


Setting it along the roof shows how it'll fit.


There's a bit of a gap, nothing terrible.

[madmat]

Again, to continue...


I cut out the bar in the middle. This case will be my main rig and will live with me for a good time.


Again, the mock up from another angle.


I drilled and tapped four holes in the brackets, two per side on the ends.


Mounted! The roof holes are tapped so the rad cant slide side to side.


Longer screws on one side...


Standard HDD screws on the other side.


And done! I could paint the angle black but I won't.

[NicePants42]

It looks great, but I would make a couple suggestions.

Originally Posted by madmat

Cut it to 11-1/4" long and mount to the rad.

Are you using anything other than the edges of those tightened screws to attach the aluminum to the rad? I would suggest screwing through the aluminum so that there is no chance for the rad and aluminum to separate. This will block some of the fins on the edges, but a dremel can fix that. You may want to use 1" angle instead of 3/4" to do this (more below). On the other hand, using washers would be good enough for me.

Originally Posted by madmat

There's a bit of a gap, nothing terrible.

But that gap will want to close when you screw into those holes, possibly pulling the aluminum out from under the screws holding it to the rad. Also, unless the holes in the case are tapped, (can't quite tell) the whole radiator+aluminum assembly can shift side to side. Screwing directly through the aluminum (as described above) will completely prevent this, but it will also greatly increase the size of those gaps - but using 1" angle will give you enough to drill through on top and maintain a tight gap on the side.

Originally Posted by madmat

And done! I could paint the angle black but I won't.

You might want to put some black weatherstrip between the aluminum and the top of the case to completely seal the sides and make everything uniformly black from this view.

[madmat]

No, the screws won't pull the angle out from under the rad screws. The holes in the case roof are threaded so that when the screws are run to the mounts on the case roof they're tightened to the case roof. You'd have to strip the holes in the case roof mounts in order to get the screws any tighter.

And yes the rad's being held to the angle by the edge of the screws. That's four screws per side and each screw has locking notches carved into the underside of the flange. It's not going anywhere.

Also, unless you're looking at the case roof from nearly straight on you don't see the silver from up top. The flash makes it look brighter than it really is.

The rad is close enough to the case roof that there's no real need for weatherstripping. With a triple the rad would be below the solid case roof and a further 1/4" down, this would make weatherstripping necessary.

[NicePants42]

Originally Posted by madmat

The holes in the case roof are threaded so that when the screws are run to the mounts on the case roof they're tightened to the case roof. You'd have to strip the holes in the case roof mounts in order to get the screws any tighter.

That answers that, then.

Originally Posted by madmat

And yes the rad's being held to the angle by the edge of the screws. That's four screws per side and each screw has locking notches carved into the underside of the flange. It's not going anywhere.

Teeth on the flange is an important thing to mention. I suggest noting it above. I agree that the aluminum is secure, however, being fond of overkill, I'll point out that there are toothed washers available.

Originally Posted by madmat

The rad is close enough to the case roof that there's no real need for weatherstripping. With a triple the rad would be below the solid case roof and a further 1/4" down, this would make weatherstripping necessary.

Agreed. Fond of overkill.

[madmat]

Mounted! The roof holes are tapped so the rad cant slide side to side.

I made mention of the holes in the case roof being tapped right here but I guess you missed it...

Yeah, I could use toothed washers but I don't have any to hand and I don't feel like fighting traffic to get to Home Depot (it's over by the mall...terrible place to try going on a Saturday) and since I've literally got 10 pounds of PC screws in a box under my bed I made do with what was handy. The toothed screws won't slip off unless the angle shifts to the side and I'd destroy the PC to make that happen.

[Rob Williams]

Originally Posted by madmat

mounts will be tapped. there are no nuts

Funny, I usually find all three of these things go together great!

Great stuff man, I love it! Could you show us a picture of the finished product (side view of the completed case)?

[madmat]

I plan to log the whole build in here as it gets completed. I just did the rad today. Actually the mobo and tray are on a shelf and I've got the res mounted in a HDD bay and the pump is in front of the fan duct in the mid case area. I've gotta unmount the mobo, route wires under it (I got an Ultra X3 recently) from the PSU and start running plumbing.

I doubt it'll be done until May.

[Rob Williams]

Ahh ok, looking forward man.

[madmat]

Ok, well here's the start:


This is the air cooled version, I've already started tearing things down but you get the basic idea.


The new home for the reservoir.


The res will be held in place with the modder's friend: Velcro.


Speaking of the res, here it is.


And there's the pump.

It's also held in with Velcro. I've run some preliminary plumbing from the res to the pump but it's not pictured yet. I'm using a 90 coming from the res, going across under the lower edge of the drive bay cage and another 90 going back to the pump. The space under the front edge of the drive bay cage is big enough to allow two tubes to pass through.

More to come...

[Rob Williams]

Velcro is great, I need to get some for whenever I take on a project like this. Great stuff so far man.

[NicePants42]

What are your plans for fill/bleed/drain, Matt? That res location could make things a little interesting.

[Greg King]

Looking great Matt. That's a sexy case.

[madmat]

Originally Posted by NicePants42

What are your plans for fill/bleed/drain, Matt? That res location could make things a little interesting.

It's not that bad... you just lay the case on it's side and fill it. The res and pump are not tied down so they can be moved easily for filling and bleeding.

Originally Posted by DarkSynergy

Looking great Matt. That's a sexy case.

Thanks man, I can't wait to get it finished