engine oil coolers, is there any real benefit

[brad 93hilux]

hey basically i have a hilux with a 2.8 turbo diesel, i was contemplating putting on a oil cooler to help with engine temps.

is there gonna be any sort of difference in putting this on or would it jst be a waste of time/money, i was thinking of one approx 28x30 cm with a 10" thermo.

Jst after ppls opinions
Cheers

[ricky1970]

Oil will take a lot of engine heat away, so its a good idea. Cool (ish) clean oil will last longer and lube better.

Had one on an old HQ ute, actually reduced oil consuption as well. Engine was a well used 186.

[Zute]

Yeh, good idear, expes' seen as its turboed. But prob' dosnt need to be that big and dont worrie about a fan. Place infront of main radiator though. Good if you can get a thermo bypass adaptor, so it dosnt run the oil though the cooler when cold. But if you cant dont worrie.

[Ruffy]

oil cooler is one of the best things to can fit to iincrease engine life. If you give your truck a work out then you should fit one for sure.

[brad 93hilux]

yeh cheers thanks for that i was a bit unsure as one mechanic i had a chat with said it aint worth the muckin around, but for value for money it sounds easy to set up.

would it be best to put a t piece from oil return from turbo to block and connect it back to the block or get something like a remote oil filter that has fittings to connect up the oil cooler.

Cheers

[jeep97tj]

A "T" peice fitted to your oil pressure switch with a tap on it is the best outlet on your engine. The tap will supply the resction so u still get enough oil pressure for your engine

[BundyRumandCoke]

Be careful using a T piece out of the oil pressure sender hole. Most sender holes are less than 10mm diameter, and by the time you put the T piece in, which are fairly thin walled brass fittings, then the sender back, and then an adaptor to the T piece for the hose, then the hose, and add some vibration from 4wding, the weight of all this and you run the risk of fracturing the T where it enters the block. I had this happen on the Bruce Hwy, with a tandem trailer in tow. Lost all pressure, cause the oil was being pumped out the fracture. A real pain to fix on the roadside. A better job, if your engine allows it, is to remove the oil filter, and either fit a remote filter fitting, then plumb in both the cooler and a remote oil filter in a more accessable location, or do what I did, which was tap a large thread onto both inlet and outlet holes in the filter fitting, and fit large diameter fittings. No chance of them breaking off.

[tweak'e]

you could fit the stock water/oil cooler thats off dyna trucks etc or fit a remote oil filter adaptor (or spin on adaptor) and use a full flow oil/air cooler. or even better ...use both

[ausyota]

I looked into this when fitting the turbo to my 2.8 Lux.
Apparantly the factory oil cooler (in the side of the block) is pretty good on these anyway and an extra oil cooler isnt really needed.
The way I see it is its more stuff that go wrong, oil lines, core etc.

[brad 93hilux]

thanks for the advise might see how much the remote adapter is, as my oil filter is a bastard to get too now coz of the turbo...

Cheerz

[bogged]

I cant see how they wouldnt be a benefit.

[tweak'e]

I cant see how they wouldn't be a benefit.

oil doesn't lubricate or cool very well when your cooking it. i'm sure 3.0td patrol owners know what happens when you don't get piston cooling.

the 2.8 do have a habit of snapping the crank which i'm sure is related to poor oil on the rear bearing.

also i've noticed on my own that the oil lasts longer when your drive it a lot kinder. they are a little hard on the oil. keeping the oil at a good constant temp can only be a good thing, especially when you have added a hair drier to it and are pushing out more HP than it was ever intended.

[Shadow]

I cant see how they wouldnt be a benefit.

All the quality oil cooler kits have a thermally operated valve which only sends oil to the auxilary cooler once the oil is at a certain temperature (engine operating temp).

If all you do is T in somewhere then you will be delaying the time your engine takes to get to operating temperature, and this can cause more wear and tear on your engine.

[eXc]

I am looking at buying my first 4x4 currently, however I can offer some information to this thread.


This is something I was wondering about aswell. I use an oil cooler on my Skyline, but I only put that on as I use it for drifting (ie. track work)

The difference was in summer heat on the street, normal driving (not thrashing) I dropped 10 degrees on the COOLANT. I only had an oil temp gauge in once the oil cooler went in. But it made the coolant cooler, which is a big bonus.

That said however, I can't see it making a difference unless you are getting some speed up, as you need to get air through the thing, same as a radiator.

Oil coolers also add an extra 1L + so that also means you have extra oil which means it won't get as hot as quick. You can also get remote mount filters which means easier to change the filter. The remote mounts usually have ability to put in temp and pressure gauges.

Cooler oil means it's better for the engine, keeps coolant temps down, and will be easier on your turbo (if applicable) aswell.

Thermostats for the oil coolers are NOT required for 'normal' or hot climates, they are only required in cold climates (snow).

[Zac Zec]

only way to go on a turbo 4b. Get one that has a thermo and a temp switch on it, chuck it down behind the cab and forget about it. Temp switch screws into cooler and cuts the thermo in and out. mine comes on at about 80 deg and keeps the thermo going until oil drops to approx 60 deg cant remember exactly.
About $360 for a B&M one.

[Shadow]

Thermostats for the oil coolers are NOT required for 'normal' or hot climates, they are only required in cold climates (snow).

I disagree with this totally. Prolonging the time it takes yhour engine to warm up is really dumb.

If you start your car and jump on the freeway on a winters morning in brisbane, your car can take as long as 10 minutes to get up to temp.

Its like saying you dont need the thermostat in the cooling system. Of course you do.

[foster_the_fat]

I have an oil cooler on my HJ60 2h Turbo and I was planning on removing it as it takes up air flow to the radiator and cooling seems to be marginal when working hard. I have read elsewhere that the cooler built into the engine is adequate.

[eXc]

I've never had any problems reaching temps. I've never heard of anyone having problems either with oil coolers except in extreme cold temps.

I make sure my car is warm before I get up to any high speeds anyways, so maybe that's why it's never a problem - All the guys I know are in performance cars, so we all do that.

Mechanics I have spoke to agree with it.

I mean if it's a really cold morning, then yeah sure, let it warm up first...

Perhaps 4x4's take longer to warm up. Like I said I am looking at it from a performance car point of view. I actually don't see much gain in having them on a 4x4 as you won't get the airflow in the bush...I guess beach they would be worthwhile having.

[brad 93hilux]

only way to go on a turbo 4b. Get one that has a thermo and a temp switch on it, chuck it down behind the cab and forget about it. Temp switch screws into cooler and cuts the thermo in and out. mine comes on at about 80 deg and keeps the thermo going until oil drops to approx 60 deg cant remember exactly.
About $360 for a B&M one.

Where did you get the kit you were talking about, or where would you be able to get the temp switch?

Cheers

[Nev62]

I have an oil cooler on my HJ60 2h Turbo and I was planning on removing it as it takes up air flow to the radiator and cooling seems to be marginal when working hard. I have read elsewhere that the cooler built into the engine is adequate.

My cooler is located under the bonnet as it was affecting airflow to the radiator (engine overheating problems). I have vents in the bonnet, one above the oil cooler, and all play nice together.

eXc wrote:
Thermostats for the oil coolers are NOT required for 'normal' or hot climates, they are only required in cold climates (snow).


I disagree with this totally. Prolonging the time it takes yhour engine to warm up is really dumb.

If you start your car and jump on the freeway on a winters morning in brisbane, your car can take as long as 10 minutes to get up to temp.

Its like saying you dont need the thermostat in the cooling system. Of course you do.

Have to disagree with your disagreement :-) My oil cooler with no thermo does not change to time taken to get the engine to operation temp, just stops it from going past it and on the odd occasion that it does from long heavy climbs, returns to operating temp really fast ( less than 90 seconds).

[Zac Zec]

Brad, anywhere that sells B&M(quite a popular performance brand no cheap chinese bits). I got mine from chris mills performance but im in Perth. I think if you are going to do it to just the complete unit, it makes it so simple and it works perfectly. If you are in perth they sell the sandwich plates as well but if i had my time again i would get a sandwich plate from enzed not chris mills. Enzed in welshpool does a schmicko billet alloy one for the same price as CMP(i found this out later )
Hope this is some help