Future-proofing an old Powermac LCS

[BadGoldEagle]

Hi all

First and foremost, I need to apologise. I'm a Mac person (I know, I know, wrong forum...) BUT that doesn't stop me from being a PC guy (PC as in Personal Computer). I have a Mac Pro 5,1 (2x x5680, 1080ti blower, Windows 10) that I use for games and CAD and I'm into computers in general. I've been a LTT subscriber since the Whole room water-cooling project so please don't hate me. With that said, let's move on. 

 

Apple were one of the first manufacturers to introduce liquid cooled systems. In 2003, they started using the PowerPC G5 chip. Those processors were known for running QUITE hot (80°C under light load is normal). They never introduced any G5 laptops for this reason. Towards the end of the era, air cooling wasn't enough to cool those beasts. So Apple asked GM to design a LCS for their top of the range Powermacs. I have one of those machines, it's got two dual core G5 970MP processors. 

 

TL;DR The thing is, Apple being Apple, they never had servicing in mind when they introduced those Macs and now the LCS needs servicing. As a consequence there are no service ports. I have already replaced the hoses and the liquid but there are just too many air bubbles. Here are a couple of pictures of how an OG unit looks like:

Courtesy SuperKerem @Mac Rumors Forums and The Bookyard

 

NB: There is a cover which hides away the LCS so space is rather limited...

 

 

So, my questions are:

1/ Would it be possible to add a T fitting after the pump's inlet or outlet port to make refilling easier? (preferably output given the hose length)

2/ I know a reservoir technically has two ports but would it be possible to create a one port tank to make bleeding easier? Something like this (pardon the crappy drawing)

3/ Any suggestions to future-proof the system? As you can tell I have zero water cooling experience...

 

 

Thanks for taking the time to read all of this. Bonus points if you are a PC MR guy or gal.

[Labeled]

redirecting to a small reservoir first would probably work out better than a T fitting, it should be on an outlet port I think, not in. don't quote me on that though.

[CiBi]

20 minutes ago, Labeled said:

redirecting to a small reservoir first would probably work out better than a T fitting, it should be on an outlet port I think, not in. don't quote me on that though.

Filling is easier when the T fitting is before the pump but don't drain it that way using the pump... Waterpumps use the water they pump to cool themselves. You could add a second T fitting after the pump for draining or just decouple the hose after the pump when draining.

[Radium_Angel]

32 minutes ago, BadGoldEagle said:

Would it be possible

Anything is possible if you are good enough. Since we don't know your skill level, we can only theorize.

Seems to me as well that given 10+ years of cooling technology, better cooling solutions in smaller places should exist and be possible to retrofit, but I can't say for certain as I'm not a mac person.