I am either blessed or cursed - you decide which - but I have just come into another Power Mac G5 Quad with a dead cooling system, hence at a very reasonable price. I therefore now have three G5 Quads! Sheesh!
At this point, air cooling seems too easy, so I decided to overhaul this "new" system's LCS, applying everything I have learned to date about LCS restoration. There have been a few innovations along the way, chiefly the use of heat to heat shrink the cooling loop hoses onto their barbs, and to accomplish smoother curves in the hoses where they are needed. The heat source in this case has been a long nosed lighter, of the sort used to light a grill or a wood fire.
I have also used heat to fit the hoses onto new metal T-connectors for the two places in the loop where they are needed.
I tore down the old loop completely and cleaned EVERYTHING, including loading the radiator with a 50/50 mix of vinegar and distilled water, leaving it over night and then flushing it with lots of fresh clean distilled water this AM. I also tore down the CPU cooling pads completely and thoroughly cleaned each part, particularly the microchannel pieces. All of this was incredibly gratifying: the microchannels were almost completely blocked with gunk, and the stuff that came out of the radiator... sheesh!! It was dirty!
I then rebuilt the cooling blocks, reassembled them into the LCS and built the new loop with clear transparent hosing, paying particular attention to achieving the least possible narrowing of the hosing as it curved left and right.
I am upgrading my LCS A-Z servicing guide with new information as I go, so that nothing is lost.
Now I wait. I do not have enough coolant left to recharge the new loop, and have ordered some more. Regrettably, it doesn't arrive for another five days. So... this project goes on hold until it arrives.
At this point, air cooling seems too easy, so I decided to overhaul this "new" system's LCS, applying everything I have learned to date about LCS restoration. There have been a few innovations along the way, chiefly the use of heat to heat shrink the cooling loop hoses onto their barbs, and to accomplish smoother curves in the hoses where they are needed. The heat source in this case has been a long nosed lighter, of the sort used to light a grill or a wood fire.
I have also used heat to fit the hoses onto new metal T-connectors for the two places in the loop where they are needed.
I tore down the old loop completely and cleaned EVERYTHING, including loading the radiator with a 50/50 mix of vinegar and distilled water, leaving it over night and then flushing it with lots of fresh clean distilled water this AM. I also tore down the CPU cooling pads completely and thoroughly cleaned each part, particularly the microchannel pieces. All of this was incredibly gratifying: the microchannels were almost completely blocked with gunk, and the stuff that came out of the radiator... sheesh!! It was dirty!
I then rebuilt the cooling blocks, reassembled them into the LCS and built the new loop with clear transparent hosing, paying particular attention to achieving the least possible narrowing of the hosing as it curved left and right.
I am upgrading my LCS A-Z servicing guide with new information as I go, so that nothing is lost.
Now I wait. I do not have enough coolant left to recharge the new loop, and have ordered some more. Regrettably, it doesn't arrive for another five days. So... this project goes on hold until it arrives.
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