Will an oil cooler help prevent overheating?

[MaineShark]

Would installing an oil cooler have a significant impact on dropping the running temp?

If so, where would be a good place to mount one?

Any preferred styles/brands?

Joe

 

[BlackNBlue95]

Would installing an oil cooler have a significant impact on dropping the running temp?

If so, where would be a good place to mount one?

Any preferred styles/brands?

Joe

Are you having an overheating problem?

Oil cooler is not a bad idea.. It will drop the oil temp down I am shure... significantly depends on how big of an oil cooler and where you mount it ect..

But if your over heating I would find out why first.. I would probably upgrade the radiator to an aliuminum unit but only after finding out why it is not cooling well enough such as thermostat, cooling fan, air in the system, leaks, clogged coolant passageways...
-Rick

 

[1979toy]

Yes, an oil cooler will greatly help lower the engine temp. Install as large a cooler as you expect you might build your engine up to, horsepower wise. Mount it in front of the radiator, off to the side a bit is fine. If you can locate a kit that includes a thermo switch so the oil doesn't go through the cooler until it's warm you'll be happier (except for the cost).

 

[MaineShark]

Re: Re: Will an oil cooler help prevent overheating?

Are you having an overheating problem?

...

But if your over heating I would find out why first.. I would probably upgrade the radiator to an aliuminum unit but only after finding out why it is not cooling well enough such as thermostat, cooling fan, air in the system, leaks, clogged coolant passageways...
-Rick

Oh, I'm going to get the cooling system straightened out, as far as the current car goes. But I'm looking at some engine upgrades in the future, so I want to plan ahead for potential heat increases that go beyond the level that the stock system is easily capable of handling.

Any ideas what size is good for what horsepower level? I'm looking at around 425hp, when I do the 406 engine.

Are any brands particularly good? Should any be avoided?

Joe

 

[SwaveDave]

An 8x10 " B and M plate type cooler is good for 26000 gvw. Jegs and J.C. Whitney has them. I installed two of them on the front of the BB's radiator...really dropped the temperature of the oil -- you can almost keep your hand on the outlet hose of the coolers. I think one would have been enough though. Approx. 70% of the engines heat goes into the oil and 30% into the coolant. So, an oil cooler is beneficial. I wouldnt be without one if i lived in the Sunbelt.

S.D.

 

[MaineShark]

An 8x10 " B and M plate type cooler is good for 26000 gvw. Jegs and J.C. Whitney has them. I installed two of them on the front of the BB's radiator...really dropped the temperature of the oil -- you can almost keep your hand on the outlet hose of the coolers. I think one would have been enough though. Approx. 70% of the engines heat goes into the oil and 30% into the coolant. So, an oil cooler is beneficial. I wouldnt be without one if i lived in the Sunbelt.

S.D.

Hmm... I was taking a look in front of the radiator, and I can't see room to mount even one, let alone two. The headlight actuators, vacuum reserve tank, and the path that the hood tip travels through when opening, seem to limit the space for a cooler.

Is it possible to mount one behind the radiator?

1979toy: same question, since you are dealing with the same year (maybe 1970 had more room up there - I've never had the opportunity to look): is there some space I'm missing, where the cooler would fit? Or is behind the radiator the only choice? Also, thanks for the thermostat idea - I looked in Jegs, and they have the thermostat unit for about $40.

I'm switching over to electric fans, so interference with the mechanical fan is not an issue. The only problem I can see with mounting it behind the radiator, is the air will already be heated, so it won't cool as efficiently as if it was drawing ambient air, directly. I can up the size, though, and maybe solve that. It also wouldn't have airflow from the fan, but I can add a separate electric fan to the cooler.

Joe

 

[76L82]

Maine Shark - A guy in Augusta drags a 70 Camaro SS with a 406 in it. He regularly beats a lot of big blocks with that small block set up he has ...you're really gonna like the hp improvements over the 350. In a couple of years, I think I am going to do the same.

 

[SwaveDave]

MaineShark,

I have plenty of room on my radiator for two 8x10 oil coolers. Can you fit one in near the bottom of the radiator ? If you cant get an oil cooler on the radiator ,then, take a look at a frame rail type cooler which you can mount on the lower valance in front of the radiator , or, on the side of the frame rail. It wont help you any to put it on the leaving side of the radiator ... you need the coolest air possible to flow over the oil cooler. Look in Jegs...they come smaller than 8x10 too.

Dave

 

[1979toy]

I have not mounted one yet but my plan is to put a cooler forward of the lower inlet holes so the air that comes through the grills feeds it.
You need to get the cooler forward of the radiator if at all possible.

 

[MaineShark]

I think you guys are right: one of the long, narrow frame rail type coolers might work well in that area. Either that or two small coolers (more trouble with plumbing, but it would allow a bend in the middle, which might help fitment). Once I pull the radiator to replace it, I'm going to look closer at what space I have up there.

Joe

 

[JohnZ]

An auxiliary oil cooler (a good one) will do a great job of reducing engine oil temperature, but that won't do much at all for reducing coolant temperature, which is driven by combustion temperature and how much exhaust gas heat is transferred through the exhaust port walls into the coolant in the heads (which is more a function of ignition timing than anything else).

If you have cooling problems, they're in the cooling system, not the oiling system; fix the root cause of the cooling problem first, then anything you do to reduce the oil temperature is a bonus. Oil is perfectly happy below 250*-260* - if yours isn't that hot, anything you do to reduce it is money better spent on something else.

 

[MaineShark]

I don't know if I want my oil running 250...

When I install my tranny cooler and new radiator, I'm going to get a better idea of how much room I have available for an oil cooler. For $100 (or less), if I can fit it, I'm going to mount one.

While I'm plumbing it all in, does anyone think it would be a good idea to fit a remote filter? The big advantages that I see are larger fluid capacity, and extra heat sink, and if the filter ever got really stuck, I could always unhook the whole unit and stick the mount in a vise...

I haven't had the car long enough to do an oil change myself, so I can't comment on whether the current filter location is inconvenient. Perhaps someone else here can?

Joe