Author Topic: Oil cooler placement input. (Read 3196 times)

Dewey · « **on:** July 17, 2008, 07:10:26 pm »

Finally my oil cooler kit arrived (flexalite) and im looking for input on to where ive chosen to mount it.

I know ideally right in front of the rad would provide the best airflow, but the cooler itself is 17"x5"x1", and i have AC and a quad round headlight setup, so its a tight squeeze.

What ive found is that the oil cooler itself would fit perfectly behind my intercooler (the kit comes with all the "to rad" mounting ties), the oil lines would be easy to run and the oil cooler would be protected from road debris.
Would mounting the oil cooler behind the intercooler cause it to become so inefficient that i should try elsewhere? (i figure atleast it would be leaps and bounds ahead of the stock water/oil cooler(heater

)

I'd like to keep the larger cooler, rather than go smaller for ease of install (unless a smaller one mounted behind the grill would in fact be more efficient), simply because i do many many km's of driving through the Rockies during the summer, and some of those hills are loooooooong pulls.

Cheers

Matt

jtanguay · « **Reply #1 on:** July 17, 2008, 11:37:34 pm »

its good to get rid of the heat on a nice warm day, but what about those very frigid days? is the oil cooler thermostatically controlled? if so then place it anywhere that has good airflow, if not, then take into consideration that oil will always be flowing through it, even when you don't want it to :wink:

i think mounting it near the rad should do. especially if the rad fan can pull some heat away from it as well.

VW_Commuter · « **Reply #2 on:** July 18, 2008, 05:29:38 am »

I don't know guys, but I'm not too keen on the external oil coolers that don't have a thermostat. When I was in the Navy we kept our lube oil temps out of the cooler between 180 and 210F. If you don't have an oil t-stat in the cooler line then you're probably over cooling the oil supply to the engine which reduces the ability of the oil to flow properly and may cause over cooling of the engine bearings.

jimfoo · « **Reply #3 on:** July 18, 2008, 07:20:52 am »

IMHO, the best place is behind the rad, as it (oil cooler)will be the hottest thing. Put it in front and the heat it looses will go into the coolant, heating it up. I guess not the end of the world if your car runs cool, but if it doesn't then water temps will be hurt. Attaching it TO the IC will put heat in it through both contact and radiation, so it will loose efficiency, plus those plastic fasteners suck in my opinion. They will let it move around, slowly wearing it's way through itself and/or whatever it's attached to. The best thing to do is mount it to it's own bracket if possible..

Dewey · « **Reply #4 on:** July 19, 2008, 12:25:25 am »

I do have a inline thermostat bypass for those cold alberta winters.

Jimfoo: thats really why i am hesitant to put it in front of the rad, with the AC on and/or on a long pull the temps do get up there, (getting close to 3/4's on the gauge), but there is zero room behind the rad to actually fit this oil cooler, or even fit a smaller one.

Space constraints have me limited to either behind the intercooler at the moment, or right behind the bumper rebar (and im not keen on cutting holes in my bumper for airflow). I'll take your advice (jimfoo) about the plastic zipties, and whip up a bracket that can mabye stand the oil cooler off the back of the intercooler an inch or two, possibly reducing the amount of radiant heat transfered :?: .

Spokerider · « **Reply #5 on:** July 19, 2008, 05:48:28 pm »

Dewey,
Did you get a remote mounted oil filter also, or, are you using a "sandwich" type adapter with oil lines from it to the cooler and back?

Just wondering.....

Dewey · « **Reply #6 on:** July 19, 2008, 09:50:46 pm »

Sandwich type adapter plate, oil filter in stock location.