How to Install the Black Magic Brakes -8 Steering Cooler Kit with V Bar

This thread documents the installation of the Black Magic Brakes -8 steering cooler kit with V bar. This thread is picture heavy to show the details.

This kit allows you to mount a Setrab 53-10748-01 automatic transmission cooler (not included) if desired. The Black Magic Brakes -8 Steering Cooler Kits comes with the components and hardware from the steering gear low pressure outlet all the way to the reservoir return fitting. The Setrab mounts are optional.

This install is on an early model TJ (1998). Late model TJ components may vary from what you see in these pictures.

Introduction

While this first picture shows and entire PSC hydro assist setup, the main focus of this write up will be the steering cooler kit.



I want to include an updated version of Chris' diagram from his PSC install. As he stated, the picture/diagram is worth it's
weight in gold as a reference for how everything should go together. I opted to not use associating numbers as the fittings and
clamps really only go to the component they are supposed to hook up to. It is very straightforward once you familiarize
yourself with all the parts. It's the routing of hoses that you really need to pay attention to. (Hoses are not cut to actual length)



The following pictures (from the BMB website) show the kit.

The first thing you want to do is see what your access looks like to get behind your grill. Every rig is different as some have high lines, some have winch solenoids under the hood, etc....see what will work best FOR YOU. In my case, I have a decent amount of room and opted to insert my cooler from behind the grill. Your mileage may vary. Other options include inserting the cooler through a removed headlight opening.



Installing the cooler behind the grill seemed like a natural path for me as I needed to pull back the radiator and AC condenser in order to remove the old V bar and install the new one.

It makes it easier all around if you remove the fan shroud from the radiator first. The radiator bolts will be easier to access and it will also give you a little more wiggle room when you are pushing the radiator and condenser back. There are 4 screws that hold the shroud in place, two on each side.



There are 6 bolts holding the radiator in, 3 on either side. There is no need to disconnect any hoses. The radiator will just hang there loose.




There are 4 bolts holding the AC condenser in. Two on top of the grill and two on the bottom back side of the grill. Blaine's kit comes with new well nuts when you go to reconnect it.






The AC condenser will just hang there loose along with the radiator.

To give you an idea of what you are dealing with when trying to remove the old V bar and install the new V bar, here is a picture on a loose grill. There are three 10mm bolts that need to be removed and the V bar pulls right out. When you go to install the new V bar, Blaine has included new hardware for this as well.



With the condenser loose, it's easy to get a 10mm wrench behind the two upper bolts and get those removed. The lower bolt is a little more work, but not bad. Getting the new bolt back in is a different story!



Pull the old V bar right out of the top (push condenser back for access)

Time to get the new V bar attached. Again, a pic of the loose grill just for reference.



The bottom bolt was easy to remove, but getting the new bolt started was a challenge for me as I have big hands and am missing an index fingertip . But I finally got it. Again (and for good reason) there is all new hardware for this. When inserting the new V bar, be careful to not damage the threaded studs. I opted to put the cooler in the grill first as I wasn't sure how much room there would be. I'm confident now that you can install the V bar first and then the cooler.



If I had Trevor's hands, getting this bolt started would've been a piece of cake!

With the V bar secured in place, it was time to put the condenser, radiator, and shroud back in place (only because I installed the cooler into the grill first. If you install the V bar before the cooler, wait to secure the condenser and radiator until the cooler is installed). Included with his kit are new well nuts as well as a tube of super glue to hold them in place while you tighten them up. When you apply the super glue be sure to tape them in place and let them set up for a few minutes before you tighten them up. That guy thinks of everything.

The two well nuts that go on top have the thin flange whereas the two well nuts that go on the bottom two holes have the thick flange.



Give the super glue some time to set up and be sure to not over tighten the well nuts. Don't connect the condenser and radiator just yet as we still need to get the cooler in there (unless you did what I did by sneaking it in ahead of the V bar).

With the V bar in place, it's time to get the cooler mounted. It is best to mount the two -8 fittings while you have it out on the bench. Both of these fittings need red loctite ONLY on the threads that go into the cooler. This will prevent weeping as well as hold the fitting in place in case you need to disconnect the push lok fitting at a later time.



When you install the fittings, if you over tighten them you can potentially twist the fitting apart or strip the cooler threads. In Chris' PSC write up, it states to get them finger tight and then turn them up to a full turn after that. Once they reach a certain point, they are difficult to get any further while holding the cooler with your hand. Use common sense and feel for this.

The one thing you will see, is that the threads don't go all the way into the cooler, so don't try to make them that way. They are tapered threads and will stop far before you bury them.



Next up is inserting the cooler behind the grill. With the steering gear out of the way, I opted to come in from below. I think this would work for a Setrab cooler too if you were doing an entire PSC system like I am. If you are only adding the steering cooler, or the Setrab cooler, then you will need to be creative to see what will work for you.



Once you get the cooler in behind the grill, then it's easy to get it mounted the the studs on the V bar. Tighten down the four nylock nuts and it's good to go.



With the cooler mounted, now is the time to reinstall the AC condenser, radiator, and fan shroud. Remember, don't crank on the well nuts.

Now it's time figure out the hose part of things. I started with the -8 coming from the steering gear going to the right side of the cooler (that's the right of the Jeep as if you are sitting in it facing forward. Since there are both left hand and right hand Jeeps, this is the way it should identified vs driver and passenger). There are two fittings that go together that allow you make the curve to split the gap between the condenser and the grill. The fittings used are the 45 degree -8 push lok and the low pressure steering gear fitting.

First thing was to get the O ring on the low pressure fitting. Put some power steering fluid on it and work it on being sure not to cut or damage it.



I connected them finger tight and experimented with how they would fit best.



When you get them just right, it will poke up just like this. Take care to keep crud out of all the open fittings and hoses as you are installing them.



From there I tightened the two fittings as much as I could finger tight. I then removed them as a single unit and tightened them down. It helped to put the steering gear fitting in the vise (not tight, just enough to hold it) and proceeded to tighten the fittings together. If you aren't familiar with AN fittings, you don't need to crank down on them. Get them snug. If you discover a leak later on, snug them just a little bit more.

I then decided to attach the -8 hose to the push lok fitting. I cut the hose to the desired length. Rubber/plastic tubing cutters work great for this.



When installing push lok fittings into the -8 hose, you can get it started by hand, but I found it easier to set them in the vise which allowed me to get them all the way on using both hands. To be very clear, the vise wasn't closed on the fitting. It just allowed me to capture the lip of the fitting to push against it. Lubing the fitting and the hose makes it easier and prevents damage. To prevent damage to the fittings, using a pair of aluminum angle pieces in the vise jaws would be a huge benefit. Another method to assist, is to use a heat gun on the end of the hose to soften it up. Be sure not to apply too much heat and ruin the hose.

Once I had the hose on I reconnected the fitting to the steering gear. I ran the hose over to the right side fitting and marked it for cutting. Be sure to put your oetiker clamps on the hose before installing the second fitting. I waited until everything was test fit properly before crimping the clamps. Rotating fittings to capture the natural flow of the hose made everything fit perfectly. Being that you don't have to tighten down AN fittings hard, I don't think you need a backer wrench on the other fitting. I decided to do it anyway as I didn't want to take any chances on something moving.



Now it's the time to install the other side. This side was far easier as there is plenty of room for the hose to move. I started by installing the push lok fitting ensuring to capture the natural flow of the hose. There is a nice opening above the steering gear to route the hose toward the reservoir. With the fitting on and hose oriented how I wanted, I went ahead and crimped the oetiker clamp. I finger tightened to fitting to the cooler and then ran the hose. After double and triple checking everything, I made the cut at the other end and installed the fitting and clamp. Fit perfectly.



When I ran the hose through the opening I detected a sharp edge that could potentially damage the hose. I made some edge protection using a small rubber hose.







After that was connected, I double checked everything to make sure I didn't miss something. I guess time will tell when I bleed the system!

This photo shows how/where the Setrab cooler would mount if used.

With that, this project is complete (at least for the -8 steering cooler kit). Time to finish up the rest of the PSC install.






A special thanks to Blaine for allowing me the opportunity to do this for him. Hopefully it lives up to his expectations.