Outer Limits 4x4 Board

need help tryin to find a oil cooler for my chev (the actual engine) i thought id post it for the rest of you to ponder about.

was thinking about a aftermarket one that screws into the oil filter thingy.
of course any is better than none.

Maybe V8 Patrol or somebody might know?

thanks,

MaccA

there are a couple of types you can get, an oil filter relocation kit, which has a bracket to mount the oil filter, usually mounted on the inner guards ar something, and you run the hose thru a cooler, or a sandwich adaptor, which keeps the filter where it is , it is just a 2" spacer between the filter and the block. if you dont have the room in your bay, it is the best bet. i run the sandwich adaptor, and have no problems. i have a summit racing engine oil/tranny cooler. two coolers in one. i already have a tranny cooler, so am running the power steer thru the cooler as well. you can get shorter chev or ford oil filters, to fit in the spacer if room is short.

Goin back to basic's what made the need to run an engine oil cooler. Ive run small blaocks for years with a well sorted cooling system and never had oil temp problems. My current big block has provisions for running a cooler (GM truck applications) i puchased the genuine cooler for the engine but am a bit hesitant about the extra plumbing required to fit it, the possibility of damaging a hose and losing the oil. Ive had no problems yet so the cooler will sit on the shelf until a need araises.

spot on call CRUSHU....

as for the why....
oil losses is viscosity when its hot, it therefore doesnt lubricate aswell. You can see this on a mechanicle guage easilly, look at the pressure at a cold start idle then look again when its hot....there's allways a differance !!!

trucks use coolers because the motors are working hard most of the time, so they run higher temps and again the oil losses its lubrication qualitys.... motors then wear out quicker and that means expensive rebuilds and down time.

Most racing cars run a cooler for similar reasons, along with transmission coolers and in some cases diff oil coolers too but they are rare.

As for fitting one to a 4x4, if you have a need then do it but if its ok why bother unless its for bling factor !!!

mind you, if I lived in alice springs and drove to darwin every day pulling a tandem trailer ...I'd fit it !!!

All engine oil is designed to opperate within a specific temp range usually 80-100 Deg . You stated that the oil pressure is higher during cold start up this is true but why!!! The oil is forced through the engine oil galleries but because the oil is cold its viscosity is thicker and its resitance to flow greater the oil pressure reads higher keep in mind that the oil flow is probably going over the pump releif valve and back into the sump there for there is less oil volume reaching the vital engine parts. Small blocks were designed to run with out oil coolers and unless the horsepower is greatly increased and this places extra heat into the lube system and a cooler would be warranted ie race cars. The most significant improvement would be going to a synthetic engine oil as it far better I run my engine in on Castrol Formula R 25w50 and now in on Castrol Formula R Syn 10w60 and the oil pressure is nearly the same hot or cold, but its temp at which the syn oil oxidises is far higher than mineral oil. Use good oil!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i know i should start with water cooling but was just asking about a oil cooler. would it cool my engine a bit tho?

today was pretty dang hot i admit and my car ran around 95 degrees when putting along and sitting in traffic got to about 100, (thermo switch is crap and cant turn on at a lower temp. is already at lowest setting)

was thinking of getting another smaller fan to run all time (trying to stay away from engine driven fans.)

MaccA

383FJ45 wrote:i know i should start with water cooling but was just asking about a oil cooler. would it cool my engine a bit tho?

today was pretty dang hot i admit and my car ran around 95 degrees when putting along and sitting in traffic got to about 100, (thermo switch is crap and cant turn on at a lower temp. is already at lowest setting)

was thinking of getting another smaller fan to run all time (trying to stay away from engine driven fans.)

MaccA

I have a 383 chev in my 45 and run a thermo fan and don't have any heating problem's. I have it wired up to the ignition and a separate switch so i can turn it off in water etc.

383FJ45 wrote:i know i should start with water cooling but was just asking about a oil cooler. would it cool my engine a bit tho?

today was pretty dang hot i admit and my car ran around 95 degrees when putting along and sitting in traffic got to about 100, (thermo switch is crap and cant turn on at a lower temp. is already at lowest setting)

was thinking of getting another smaller fan to run all time (trying to stay away from engine driven fans.)

MaccA

Was speaking to Cheezy last night about Chev temps, he has his set to run at 120 degrees celsius! Was saying chevs make more power (within reason) the hotter they run, on the dyno they gained 6kW by going to a hotter thermostat.