Thinking of running an oil cooler.

[vristang]

Just Subscribing, so I can read more later.

Be sure not to overcool. Getting oil temps below 200F can have a harmful effect on power and economy.

 

[Michael Yount]

vri - the stacked plate design from FRPP is self regulating -- it limits flow until temps increase. Mine sits right at 210-215F on the highway -- maybe 5F lower if temps are really low.

Sicarius - that's the part number I ordered.

Fans - search Summit DeRale fans - you'll find some small 6"-7" units that look like they'll work fine on the Ford stacked plate core.

 

[Sicarius428]

Thanks Michael. You are always a wealth of knowledge.
Kevin

 

[srothfuss]

OK, I went out and snapped some bad shots of the location, but I think that you'll get the idea.

If you look closely you can see the shiny black cooler beyond the wire harness. Right behind the headlight.

You can see the radiator air dam, I want to do something similar

This is a shot up into where the cooler is mounted (forward face)

This is what it looks like if you are laying in front of the car

Things that still need to happen for mine are:

1) Some sort of small fan for low speed applications
2) Some sort of air dam for high speed applications
3) Buy a 90 degree fitting so my outside oil hose isn't pointing straight down.

 

[Michael Yount]

I sure second that on the 90 degree fittings -- you can see how those clean things up on mine. Almost any hardware store has them -- threaded to screw right into the cooler; barbed at 90 degrees so the hose slips right on. I'd be hesitant to drive it with the hoses that exposed -- one snag, and you've got some major problems....

Any way to mount it with the hose fittings at the top instead of the bottom? I think I'd also want to fashion a small sheet metal 'scoop' down there to funnel some air to the coil. edit - that would be your 'air dam' - got it.

 

[The Shape]

Appreciate the pictures. I am a little tighter on space since I have the hoses for my Tranny coole ran right around there, but it gives me a good idea to work with.

 

[HISSIN50]

Michael, does one have to worry about a pressure or flow drop when using a 90* fitting?

 

[srothfuss]

I sure second that on the 90 degree fittings

Any way to mount it with the hose fittings at the top instead of the bottom?

I just learned of a place over by our building that sells all types of oil fittings / braided lines / etc so I'll be checking them out very soon (once the weather breaks) - I stopped working on the car until it's warm enough to lay on the concrete without freezing to it.

I didn't try upside down, but I did try to rotate it 90 degrees, but I couldn't get the hoses to fit or route them under the A/C condensor. When I make my air dam, I'll use that to project the hoses from any road debris. We definently don't want to be spraying oil all over the road.


Shape - If you need more pictures, I can get some tomorrow when the sun comes back out.

 

[vristang]

vri - the stacked plate design from FRPP is self regulating -- it limits flow until temps increase. Mine sits right at 210-215F on the highway -- maybe 5F lower if temps are really low.

A wealth of knowledge is an understatement.

I have a few questions though. FRPP site says: "The self-regulating feature bypasses cold engine oil automatically (without thermostats or valves) until oil viscosity decreases and allows oil to flow through the main body of the cooler."

How much of a temp change would occur if switching from say 5w30 to 15w50? Would it be noticeable? Is this cooler inappropriate for diesels? Any one have some close up pics of the stack plate?

Seems like a pretty stable system for the price!

 

[The Shape]

"Shape - If you need more pictures, I can get some tomorrow when the sun comes back out."

Thanks man I think I have a good idea of it now. If the weather is nice enough this weekend I am going to get under the car and take a look so I can have it all strait in my head before I order the cooler. The weather was in the mid 70's here today. With my luck though it will be back in the 20's by my day off.

 

[Michael Yount]

I've not experienced any noticeable temp differences in mine with different weight oils. The pics above show it fairly close up -- it's entirely different than a fin-tube. I'd have to take the bumper/air dam off of mine to get a close up shot....beyond the scope of this course. I'd say appropriateness or inappropriateness for a diesel is more a function of whether this size unit will reject enough heat for the size of the engine -- diesel or otherwise.

 

[Michael Yount]

JT - I think if you're stringing together a bunch of 90 degree fittings, you might have an issue. I've hung one or two oil coolers in my time -- stacked plate and fin tube -- almost always use 90 degree fittings into/out of the coil. I've never seen a degradation in oil pressure -- fittings, 4-5' of hose, etc. As long as the diameter is good size (large) it doesn't seem to be a problem.

 

[HISSIN50]

Thanks Michael. That was something I pondered while installng a cooler awhile back (I feared a pressure-drop so I omitted the 90's and routed the lines differently). Now I wont worry as much.

 

[Michael Yount]

...of course, that all assumes you're starting with an oiling system in good working order. If you've got failing pressure to start with -- there are probably better ways to spend your oil cooler money.

 

[Michael Yount]

vristang - look at the last picture (4th one down) that rothfuss posted on the previous page. You can see a bit of what the core looks like. The air passages actually occur at a 45 degree angle to the plane of the core. The way it's positioned in the picture, air would come straight into the front of the core, and it would pass out the back towards the driver's side fender. It looks completely different than a fin-tube - whole different design. This does a pretty good job of explaining/showing the construction. http://www.flatplate.com/reprint1.htm

Rothfuss - what size tires do you have on the front?

 

[vristang]

I've not experienced any noticeable temp differences in mine with different weight oils. The pics above show it fairly close up -- it's entirely different than a fin-tube. I'd have to take the bumper/air dam off of mine to get a close up shot....beyond the scope of this course. I'd say appropriateness or inappropriateness for a diesel is more a function of whether this size unit will reject enough heat for the size of the engine -- diesel or otherwise.

Thank you for the response.
Real world oil weight shouldn't make much difference.

I was actually hoping that someone had close-ups of the sandwich plate, as I am curious how it functions.
Anybody?

 

[srothfuss]

M.Y. I'm am running 225/60/R15. The plain old stock size on my "ugly" old turbines. But I am very happy with the tires (Bridgestone)

vristang: I can take some closer pictures tonight when I get back from work (if I make it to work since we got some freezing rain last night)

 

[Michael Yount]

You really need to see the sandwich adapater off the car to appreciate it's function. It's about the diameter of a filter, and about 2" thick. It simply sits where the filter would, and a large threaded fitting with a hex head attaches it to the filter threads. The fitting also leaves filter threads sticking out so that you can screw a filter onto the adapter just like you would normally screw one onto the car. If I recall correctly, the adapater routes the oil from the block to the cooler, then return oil from the cooler enters the filter and returns to the block just like normal. This link may help -- http://www.flex-a-lite.com/auto/html/sandwich-adapters.html

Alternatively, run to your local Seattle speed shop, and open an oil cooler kit box - if they're like our shops in Knoxville, they'll have a B&M or Hayden kit for some car in stock with an adapter you can look at.

 

[srothfuss]

These are two pictures that I had on file so they are not the best but you'll get the idea.

Notice that you can not see through the cooler:

This is the sandwich adaptor that M.Y. was talking about (not the best pic)

 

[Michael Yount]

Did you have as much fun as I did getting the required torque on that center nut without an extra set of hands to keep the thing from rotating?