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So... I have a giant oil cooler... by wolf_walker on 03 Jul, 2012 22:52
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Observe:
It's a long story.
Short version is this was my 82 Caddy which had a pretty tired 1.6TD six or eight years ago.
I observed some pretty nasty oil temps when running hard with the AC on, I believe 260F was the worst I saw.
All that's long gone so it's neither here nor there, but I believe it was just a really tired TD boosting and fueling and running itself to death, mostly.
I gave the truck to my Father and mentioned the oil temps, and when he put the AAZ in it he picked up this nice Fluidyne oil cooler
cheap on e-bay. It really is a nice piece, and it's massive. And it works. I just drove the Caddy, which is a NA AAZ at the moment, from
OK to CA and at 5K+ elevation it spent most of the trip on the floor, with the AC on, and oil and coolant temps were excellent. I never would have thought
I'd drive a VW diesel, a NA one at that, across the Mojave desert at 75mph with the AC on. Bless the 1.9.
Anyway, he's got the cooler in the bumper with a protective grill over the air flow opening. He has an oil filter flange adaptor, a remote mount filter mounted,
an oil thermostat that I can't place where I've seen but am pretty sure is from some European car, and the cooler, plumbed with rubber hose on barbed hose
fittings. Two of them, as pictured, are hanging out of the front valence. He's run this setup for years/140K miles with no trouble, it weeps a bit and the hoses are
not quite brittle but not soft either. I can't argue with it's effectiveness, and the extra quart of oil it holds probly isn't hurting either.
But.
I'm not OK with those rubber hoses hanging out just above the road under the bumper.
I'm not OK with the rest of the mess of hoses from the filter flange to the t-stat to the remote filter, though he did do a good job of it. (he's an aircraft mechanic, yes there is safety wire everywhere
).
I'm not convinced I *need* this much cooler on even a 1.9TD, though with the t-stat it isn't over-cooling.
I am fine with not having the stock sandwich heat exchanger, I've seen too many leak and question there effectiveness.
I wonder if a more sane-sized external cooler might not make life cleaner.
If this setup stays, it's getting braided lines with AN fittings unless someone can suggest something better. I just have to figure out what size all the fittings are
I guess.
Thoughts?
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#1 by burn_your_money on 04 Jul, 2012 08:40
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Looks like a good install, with the shortcomings that you mentioned of course. Do you have pics of the bay? Other than costing you an extra qt of oil every change I would think more is more and that's a good thing. Since you now have a 20% increase in oil, can you extend your oil change interval by 20%?
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#2 by wolf_walker on 04 Jul, 2012 10:04
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He's been changing it since the motor was new at 5k intervals with Rotella dino oil. Seems to be fine, oil usage on the trip out here from OK was way below what I'd have expected from an IDI under those circumstances. I'd be interested in running synthetic again when I re-turbo it.
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#3 by ORCoaster on 04 Jul, 2012 21:01
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Wolf, I have seen worse than what your dad has handed you. If I had this setup I would leave the cooler alone, More is better when it comes to oil and cooling in my opinion. However, I would be routing some braided lines up behind the cooler itself and then through the little plastic rectangles on our vehicles. Perhaps taking the lines to the passengerside and avoiding the fan area. I have a couple that had holes in them already for some bumper lights but even the solid ones could be easily drilled and grommets installed.
Getting the hoses off the front of the bash pan is worth the trouble. All the oil in the world isn't going to help when you rip one of those lines off and don't know it. Maybe brush busting isn't your style but getting them back behind the bumper would sure look cleaner. Then you could throw an air dam on it and start sporting it up.
Just my 2 cents. DAS -
#4 by wolf_walker on 04 Jul, 2012 21:35
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I tend do agree, I'm not sure if they will run through the grill but I'm still pondering. It's a few weeks off.
The biggest problem I seem to have is figuring out what size all the damn fittings are. -
#5 by ORCoaster on 04 Jul, 2012 21:54
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Determining size and thread and pitch to them all may not be easy. I know my 12 dozen runs to the hardware store for the WVO system were not fun. If you take all the parts off you can size them with a guide at the plumbing or auto store. If you just size the one at the cooler and bend line for all the twists and turns that may eliminate some 90 degree elbows and such. Flex line like the braided stuff is expensive but does the same job.
I wasn't thinking going through the grill but rather those other clip in plastic rectangles that are just above the underpan. One has vent holes for the rad the other is solid. -
#6 by wolf_walker on 04 Jul, 2012 23:03
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Oh yeah, I always forget those lower grill dealys. I'll check it out.
I suspect I'll just take it all apart. If I can find someone local that does AN stuff
for a reasonable price I might just drag it all in and beg for help. -
#7 by theman53 on 05 Jul, 2012 05:57
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Just guessing but the fittings are probably JIC. Guessing at the size of the hose they are probably JIC-6. If they are not JIC you should do your best to convert them as they are very easy to deal with.
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#8 by rallydiesel on 05 Jul, 2012 07:07
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Clever install. I like it.
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#9 by 745 turbogreasel on 05 Jul, 2012 13:04
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Pick the ends you like, and get them from your local hydraulic shop, and have an appropriate amount of hose installed between them.
http://www.parker.com/portal/site/PARKER/menuitem.98bf0856fd643a238c23b35b8320d1ca/?vgnextoid=894fb34395d2b210VgnVCM10000032a71dacRCRD&vgnextfmt=default&from=parkerstore&citype=ParkerStore
this is the Volvo thermostat adapter I use.
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#10 by wolf_walker on 05 Jul, 2012 13:13
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I'm not sure why he didn't use the volvo t-stat/adapter, I've run them before on different cars with good success. Might have been for the sake of moving the oil filter somewhere with more room.
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#11 by wolf_walker on 05 Jul, 2012 13:35
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Anyone recognize this oil t-stat, speaking of which?
I'm hoping I can just find an o-ring to quit it's weeping but it'd be nice to know where it's from.
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#12 by wolf_walker on 05 Jul, 2012 13:43
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Think I answered my own question, mostly. Looks like it's semi-generic and sold by a number of names.
http://www.summitracing.com/search/Part-Type/Remote-Oil-Thermostats/
