Transonic

This is the guide geared toward the DIY crowd. I payed $20 for my heatercore from Autozone and there's no way I was gonna buy two fan shrouds for $15 each from Danger Den. I've even seen a guy who makes his own out of sheetmetal and sells them for $28 each... forget it! I liked the idea of the inexpensive tupperware mod for the single fan shroud but haven't found one for the dual heater core so I figured I'd make my own.

I went to Target (www.target.com) and looked through the tupperware section and sure enough I found what are called "Interlocking Bins" by the brand "Organized Kitchen" for $2.19 each.



They measure 9"L x 6"W x 2"H (22cm x 15cm x 5cm). Now it fits perfectly widthwise on the heatercore but lengthwise the tupperware came up about a 1/2" short.



Time to do some modding. First I had to find the right tools, you’re gonna need several to pull this off. Most are available in your garage/toolshed.



-Metal file
-#2 Pencil
-Cordless screwdriver
-Hacksaw blade
-Sharp blade or exacto knife
-Cordless drill with 5/32” & 11/16" drill bits
-Four thin 3" bolts with nuts & washers.
-Heat gun or lighter

Once you have everything together you have to cut the shroud into 2 pieces to make it fit on the radiator lengthwise. I recommend not cutting right in the middle of the shroud because you'll need the that plastic to mount some of the fan screws. Next you'll need to fit the fans on the shroud and drill the holes for the fan screws using the 5/32" drill bit. After that you need to trace out the edges of the fans.



Then cut out the centers of the shrouds and mount your fans back on the shroud again.



Now you have to fill in the gaps with something. At first I tried using epoxy to glue on leftover pieces of plastic from the cut out centers. But even after I let them dry they broke off with very little effort. So I figured good ol duct tape would be the solution.

Finally it's time to mount the shrouds. Seeing how I'm using 2 shrouds I wanted to mount them to eachother. First I needed to bend the edges of the shrouds at a 90 degree angle so I could drill the holes and put the bolts through them. A heatgun would be best but I didn't have one and a hairdryer would take forever so I used a lighter to heat the plastic. Once it was soft enough I bent the edges at a 90 degree angle. Warning: Do not try to bend the plastic while it's cold because it will snap and break off... then you'll be screwed and need to start over with a new shroud. I then used a 11/16" drill bit to drill my holes followed by four 3" bolts that I bought at Home Depot for less than $2. As long as you have your holes lined up correctly it's not that hard to push them through and tighten them.

When it's all done it looks like this:




It's not the prettiest thing in the world but it definately serves its purpose. Even though it looks a little ghetto I did it all for about $6. I hope this guide helps out those looking for a good DIY project. Let me know if you have any questions.

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KSIMP88

good job, man

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ShawnMcGrail

This should get a sticky! lol
Nice Guide.. should have looked around for a full sized tupperware that fit the RAD exactly.. would have looked much, much nicer.. lol

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SpookedJunglist

Good job on the guide there

Maybe someone could find a slightly larger tupper for the shroud but who is going to walk around target with a heater core...

Is that a number 2 pencil????

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Transonic

Thanks guys. I actually traced the heatercore onto a piece of cardboard and walked around target with that instead of the actual heatercore. I couldn't find anything there that fit perfectly though. That was the closest thing I could find and in my case it seems perfect if you can look past... well... its looks. All I care is that it will serve its purpose and perform the same as the more expensive ones.

btw, yes that's a #2 pencil, post edited.

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Tatewaki

any temp diff with and without the shroud?

Transonic

uh, check out my sig. i'm still building my new rig. maybe another month or so.

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aef_death_fire

if i were you, i would buy not just 2, but 4 "Interlocking Bins". i will cut them with one side longer than the other, so that when i put the 2 longer pieces together, they will have enough overlap in the center where the screws will hold both of the fans. with no duct tape, sure will even better.

hmmm, just my humble opinion.

Jori

Cool, but what exactly is a heat shroud?

nayo_450

very good guide!

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