Engine Oil Cooler Install

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JRapley

JRapley

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Recently found out that the engine I'm building up has a partial block fill, so I'm wanting to add an engine oil cooler just to make sure my oil temps don't get too high.

Looking at using this sandwich plate: https://www.summitracing.com/int/parts/ear-510erl/overview/

and was wondering if anyone has used it in their setup? Does anyone know if you still use the stamped oil filter plate with a sandwich plate, or does the sandwich plate go right to the block? If I'm going to be using the oil filter plate I'll probably be upgrading to this one (https://www.summitracing.com/int/parts/ctr-22-575/overview/) as my stock one is seeping a bit, even with a new gasket, so the o-ring will be a better option I would think.

Ideally I would love to find a sandwich plate that has oil cooler line ports AND a port for oil temp, as I'll be running an aftermarket oil temp gauge. I always see a bunch on Ebay, but wonder about the quality. Has anyone had luck with the 'cheapie' ones from Ebay?

Lastly, as far as plumbing in the cooler, has anyone used anything other than AN fittings (IE barbed fittings, clamps, and hose)? I have a tru-cool cooler that was used as a transmission cooler previously and am hoping to flush it and use it for my engine oil setup. Would anyone think there'd be issues with this?

Thanks for any and all info!
 
JRapley said:
Recently found out that the engine I'm building up has a partial block fill, so I'm wanting to add an engine oil cooler just to make sure my oil temps don't get too high.

Looking at using this sandwich plate: Earl's Performance Oil Filter Bypass Adapters 510ERL

and was wondering if anyone has used it in their setup? Does anyone know if you still use the stamped oil filter plate with a sandwich plate, or does the sandwich plate go right to the block? If I'm going to be using the oil filter plate I'll probably be upgrading to this one (Canton Racing Oil Filter Plates 22-575) as my stock one is seeping a bit, even with a new gasket, so the o-ring will be a better option I would think.

Ideally I would love to find a sandwich plate that has oil cooler line ports AND a port for oil temp, as I'll be running an aftermarket oil temp gauge. I always see a bunch on Ebay, but wonder about the quality. Has anyone had luck with the 'cheapie' ones from Ebay?

Lastly, as far as plumbing in the cooler, has anyone used anything other than AN fittings (IE barbed fittings, clamps, and hose)? I have a tru-cool cooler that was used as a transmission cooler previously and am hoping to flush it and use it for my engine oil setup. Would anyone think there'd be issues with this?

Thanks for any and all info!
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so you're wanting to do something like this then - 902-120 Oil Cooler Kit with Remote Mounted Oil Filter by Cobalt | MossMiata - (I'm not suggesting you buy this set up - it's simply what it sounds to me like what you are thinking about)

DON'T BUY CHEAPIE PARTS!!

I have to wonder if the pressure of the oil running through a radiator meant for the lower pressures of a cooling system might be an issue for you...??
 
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Trans coolers typically have smaller tubing in them than oil coolers and will thus restrict flow. You don't want that. You ought to be looking at a cooler with 1/2" ID lines minimum. Adding the hose and any connections to the cooler is already going to add some restriction anyway.

I can't give advice on using the Earls type bypass as it retains the stock filter and thus is bypassing a some unknown (to me at least) amount of oil to the cooler. If it bypasses it all to the cooler, that is good IMHO, but I just don't know that particular part. I tend to use a remote filter mount for the reasons stated by diymirage. The Canton part worked fine for me; it is pricier BUT it has larger 1/2" NPT tapped ports as opposed to the 3/8" NPT tapped ports for the Earl's, so the Canton will be less restrictive and add less pressure loss.

I have ONLY used the proper barbed fittings and the correct matching oil lines for oil coolers and never had any leaks in 6-8k hard racing miles. So AN is not necessary at all. The 'proper' barbed fittings are NOT the type you would get for gas lines etc. They, and the matching hose, are made for oil, high temp and several hundred psi of pressure. I have put in a pair of AN-to-barbed adapter fittings at the remote adapter in an early A body, simply because it made installing and removing the system much, much better.
 
As mentioned above don't use a transmission cooler. Use a engine oil cooler. Far less restriction. I used a Remote filter mount kit which allowed me to not only put the filter in a very accessible place and away from header heat but I was also able to run lines to a cooler. I used AN fittings (if you ever have to take it back apart AN fittings are the way to go) and oversize hoses to help eliminate the restriction the fittings and hose produce. In the end I used 1/2" pipe (the size of the threads in the adapter) to -10 (5/8) AN adapter fittings and 5/8" hose and a B&M plate style oil cooler and an oil temperature thermostat so it didn't cool the oil all the time, just when it needed it. Worked out real good.

BTW: If your handy with a drill and thread tap you could drill and tap that Earl's sandwich plate to accept a gauge sender
 
I've always wondered if an oil cooler would make a noticeable difference in engine temp as seen on your gauge. In which case that would be handy if you tended to run a little hot to start with.
 
harrisonm said:
I've always wondered if an oil cooler would make a noticeable difference in engine temp as seen on your gauge. In which case that would be handy if you tended to run a little hot to start with.
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It will indeed pull some heat out. I always used some form of oil cooling racing in rally. And I ran lighter oil weights to help the circulation rate to help that heat extraction even more. I can only say it helped; I can't say how much.

And if you are racing any form of endurance racing, you can readily see that keeping the temps down will slow the rate of oil oxidation (breakdown characterized by blackening of the oil). I am not sure how much you will see that in a few passes down the strip.

And some turbo engines use oil squirters directed at the under side if the pistons to remove heat from the pistons.
 
I was just thinking about that oil running cooler will extend its life and I got beat to it.

These fellas above do know what there doin for sure.
 
harrisonm said:
You sound like you know what you are talking about. Does that part simply go where the regular oil filter with O-ring goes?
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yup
best i know, all these oil filter relocation setups work roughly the same

there is a thin "cap" that installs where the oil filter normally goes with passages in it which lead to the nipples and allow oil to flow like it normally would through the filter (one in, one out)

most of these are cast aluminum but the canton piece (and im sure some others) are billet

you can tell by this picture how the canton unit installs where the oil filter normally would



i think i have a different one in the garage (cant remember the brand off hand) that i bought at some point and never installed, if your interested

-Canton-Racing-Products-22-595-201792719305266.jpg
 
put a tee on your oil pressure gage run a line to an oil cooler capable of handling 100 psi or more in front of rad bore and tap a hole in the timing cover above the fuel pump for the return fitting hook up lines .that's how it's mostly done on marine engines which run much higher oil temps than any car will see .
 
jimjimjimmy said:
put a tee on your oil pressure gage run a line to an oil cooler capable of handling 100 psi or more in front of rad bore and tap a hole in the timing cover above the fuel pump for the return fitting hook up lines .that's how it's mostly done on marine engines which run much higher oil temps than any car will see .
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I can't say I like this idea at all, unless there is some method used for flow restriction through the cooler. ANY oil flow to another route achieved by tapping off at this point will take flow away from the engine.

I can believe the part about the higher oil temps in marine apps.
 
nm9stheham said:
I can't say I like this idea at all, unless there is some method used for flow restriction through the cooler. ANY oil flow to another route achieved by tapping off at this point will take flow away from the engine.

I can believe the part about the higher oil temps in marine apps.
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an 1/8 line is what is used not a 3/4 you only need to cool a small amount of oil to reduce temps considerably and if marine engines don't have higher oil temps why do they put oil coolers on them and not cars .marine engines are run for up to two weeks at a time in a hot engine room before being shut off . in not talking about a lake ski boat .
 
Marine? Screw marine engines.
Welcome to automotive land!

LMAO!!!
 
there is also a thread on here somewhere about oil coolers mopar installed on some cop cars the very same way I described .
 
jimjimjimmy said:
an 1/8 line is what is used not a 3/4 you only need to cool a small amount of oil to reduce temps considerably and if marine engines don't have higher oil temps why do they put oil coolers on them and not cars .marine engines are run for up to two weeks at a time in a hot engine room before being shut off . in not talking about a lake ski boat .
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OK, that makes sense and that restriction is an important part of the equation. Thanks for the clarification. (And, I did agree with you about the hot situation for that app.....) Always good to get other perspectives, IMHO....makes one think.
I would also think that at sustained high very RPM's (like circle track use) that this bleed off would lead to the eventual oiling problems of high RPM sooner than without it.
 
Thanks for all the replies and comments! A lot of great information to go through. Couple more questions, cause I seem to have the ear of some experience people here.

I'm definitely going to avoid the transmission cooler, I was worried about restricting flow, but thought I'd ask cause I had it sitting around.

Another option I have is this cooler: Setrab SLM Series Oil Cooler, 14 Row, M22 Ports, 420mm Core - Pegasus Auto Racing Supplies
My father in law had an oil cooler kit to install on his BMW (I know...I know) but it wasn't going to work on his setup for some reason, so he gave me this cooler if I could use it. Does anyone have any idea/opinion on if it would provide enough flow for my application? Length from tank to tank is 19", height of core is just below 5", thickness is roughly 1-1/4".

Planned on running it with Canton's universal sandwich plate, which is roughly the same as their relocation plate, except I can retain my stock oil filter location. It's got 1/2" inlet and outlet ports, and the oil coolers inlet and outlet port are about the same. Planned on running -10AN fittings and associated lines.

Also, the 360 this is going on isn't that high HP, only about 400hp with about 420lb/ft torque. Nothing too serious, but it's going in a daily driven (during the summer) Lil Red Express. I'm adding the cooler for more of a piece of mind (cause of the filled block) more than anything.

Thanks again!
 
I did a remote oil filter to oil cooler. Bought a high flow filter adapter plate, nothing is ran with tight angles or bends. 70+ lbs of pressure on start 45 at hot idle. And I run dual filters. All of the hose and cooler and filters gave me about 2 extra quart capacity in the system.

I bought a dual circuit cooler and run power steering fluid through the other. In winter I have to run a higher thermostat it cools too well, with just. 22" champion. And that is beating the hell out of it and long cruising.
 
Going to the MFR's website, and looking at the dimensions of that part versus their standard (wider tube) oil cooler, there is about 1.5 to 3 times the pressure drop for this slimmer cooler compared to their standard width oil cooler (with the same core size). It is listed at 3.3-4.1 psi drop at 5 gpm flow and 20W50 oil.

And the Pegasus application notes indicate it is for smaller flow uses than engines. So my personal opinion is to not use that part for your size of engine and pump flow. (5 gpm is a 'middle-of-the-range' oil flow rate, so you could get higher pressure drop at really high revs IMO.) It might be just fine for a smaller 4-banger engine, with a smaller pump and overall lower oil flows.
 
nm9stheham said:
Going to the MFR's website, and looking at the dimensions of that part versus their standard (wider tube) oil cooler, there is about 1.5 to 3 times the pressure drop for this slimmer cooler compared to their standard width oil cooler (with the same core size). It is listed at 3.3-4.1 psi drop at 5 gpm flow and 20W50 oil.

And the Pegasus application notes indicate it is for smaller flow uses than engines. So my personal opinion is to not use that part for your size of engine and pump flow. (5 gpm is a 'middle-of-the-range' oil flow rate, so you could get higher pressure drop at really high revs IMO.) It might be just fine for a smaller 4-banger engine, with a smaller pump and overall lower oil flows.
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I completely agree
 
Thanks again for all the information guys, much appreciated.

Seeing how the consensus is that cooler won't be good for my application, is there a certain make/model you guys are using or would recommend? Sifting through Summit there are a lot of options, and to be honest I wouldn't even know where to start to pick as far as which are quality, and which aren't even good for what I'm trying to accomplish.

Thanks.
 
I'm using a B&M stacked plate cooler. It's designed for low restriction and uses 1/2" NPT in/out fittings that I adapted to AN fittings for ease of plumbing
 
Those Setrab oil coolers offer through Pegasus are actually pretty good; I'd just switch to the Pro-Line STD 1-series (not the slimmer SLM ones) that are tall and have more tubes for lower pressure drop. I'd get something in the 300-400 HP rated range to compensate for that block filling. (The larger B&M's look pretty similar, but they don't publish pressure drop ratings.)
Setrab Engine Oil Coolers | susa
 
Thanks again for the replies, sorry for my late response.

@fishy68, something along the lines of this? B&M SuperCooler Oil Coolers 70274

Is that 1/2" tubes running through a bunch if fins (similar to an A/C coil), or is it like what Setrab is with a bunch of finned paths internally?

@nm9stheham, just looked up the price on a cooler from Setrab that would fit my HP range...ouch...they ain't cheap!

Thanks
 
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