Cooling system was one of the final pieces of integration. I do not recommend the approach that was suggested by the kit manufacturer. I have a full schematic drawing (just can't find it at the moment...) that I reviewed with multiple industry level professionals whose specialty is automotive thermal management and they all agreed my approach was the 'least-worse' of all other solutions. The relay for the electric water pump was wired to turn on in parallel with the fuel pump. I also added a manual override to keep water circulating with the engine off. This is very helpful when filling / burping the system.
Time to wrap it all up by sealing that gaping hole in the firewall. Following J's success with fiberglass, I tried a similar approach. However, I decided to skip the wire mesh reinforcement and instead used extra layers of cloth for strength. The idea was that this would give me the tightest fitting firewall possible. with my height being 6' 4", I did not want to sacrifice any legroom. With the initial fiberglass piece complete, I covered all sides in fire resistant ventilation wrap and then secured it to the firewall. Rather than using the original mounting holes, I simply used sheet metal screws to attach the new piece to the existing firewall. Yeah, it's kind of a cop-out solution, but this will never be seen and I have no intention of removing this firewall on a regular basis.
Time to put the interior back in and take it for a rip!
In the end, I definitely spent more than what a junk yard engine would have otherwise cost me... but trust me when I tell you that is way more fun! Also, I'm sure I could do this for less money given another opportunity.
I still have a couple odds and ends to finish up like the AC lines, cruise control (yes, I plan on having full working cruise control) and the electric power steering pump from a 2012 V6 Durango that I picked up for $50... but it's good enough now for daily driving. I have logged about 200 miles on the conversion so far and have been loving every minutes of it.
I hope you enjoyed my quick little story. There are a lot of little details that I simply skipped in the interest of time. Feel free to ask any questions you might have.
Ahnold
Mirada
Mena
Hybrid Mode
