Oil Cooler - Yes or No??

taongisurvivor · Jun 13, 2004

I have just finished buildintg a SB chevy 350 with slightly less pollution control accessories and slightly more hp and torque than stock. The motor is going on a 1979 Chevy Silverado truck everyday driver. I took the motor over to a dyno guy yesterday and she was producing (corrected) 296 hp @ 5,000 rpms. I casually informed the dyno guy that I was going to install a tranny cooler and an oil cooler forward of the radiator and a dual electric fan set-up puller aft of the radiator (bye-bye to the belt driven fan). He was silent on the tranny cooler and electric fan set-up but flatly stated the oil cooler was useless for everyday driving conditions (the truck won't haul much other than me and the dog but will be operated in the deep South where the temps and humidity can get fierce). He said that racing or towing applications were different, but he went as far as saying that the oil cooler would cool the oil too much and would cause the engine to run too cool.

Comments out there???

p.s.: I've already bought the oil relocation kit and oil cooler, but have installed neither. I plan on breaking-in the engine with Castrol 5W-30 for 3,000 miles then switching to M1.

Pablo · Jun 13, 2004

He is correct about a non-thermostatically controlled oil cooler. OTH, a good thermostatically controlled oil cooler, adds a bit of volume, with the trade off being a slightly increased number of opportunities for oil leakage and hose/routing risk issues.

Your choice. Done right I like them for turbo and hard driven N.A. cars.

sbc350gearhead · Jun 13, 2004

Tranny cooler is a big plus, especially if you are running a higher stall convertor. Oil cooler isn't really necessary on a mild SBC.

bheinz57 · Jun 13, 2004

Well, my thoughts here...Being from Alabama you would not run into too many issues of getting the oil too cold in the winter say...But under normal driving conditions even in stop and go traffic, it's (oil cooler) not really necessary in my opinion.

I researched the same issue with my vehicle here in NE and it really wasn't worth it. Brian

OffOrWFO · Jun 13, 2004

The best way to determine if you need an oil cooler is to put a oil temp gauge on it. (Oil nuts really enjoy knowing exactly what temp your oil is.) IMO anything running over 230-240F needs a cooler for a long life. My old ford bronco with a mild 302 making 250-275hp would run oil temps as high as 250F on the interstate. This is running 70-80mph at 2700-3000 rpm on the flat(3.54 gears and 33in tires). A 40w thins to a 20w at 250F, which is not something I want in my engine. My experience says oil temp is heat and load related. The same 302 runs ~200F in town. I don't think any engine will run high oil temps in stop and go traffic as long as the radiator is doing its job. A thermostat is an absolute must on any oil cooler used on a daily driver because over cooling and slow warmup are a problem no matter where you live. Moving un-aerodynamic old trucks with no overdrive like ours down the road is almost like towing/racing all the time. I believe a lot of people with older performance V8s are running too hot of oil temps, they just don't know or care. If you don't want to install a temp gauge you can get a "Heat gun" that measure temps on anything. I say put the oil cooler on but use a thermostat inline somewhere. FWIW high humidity actually cools better than low humidity because the air is more dense which gives better heat transfer capabilities.

jsharp · Jun 13, 2004

I'd add the coolers with a thermostat on the engine oil cooler. It'll cost you a little more money but if you purchase quality braided line you won't have to worry about leaks...

427Z06 · Jun 13, 2004

quote:

Originally posted by OffOrWFO:
FWIW high humidity actually cools better than low humidity because the air is more dense which gives better heat transfer capabilities.

I think you have to control more variables to make this kind of statement.

"Effect of High Humidity on Air Density

A common misconception is that water vapor weighs more than an equal volume of dry air. This is not true. Water vapor weighs approximately five-eighths or 62 percent of an equal volume of perfectly dry air. When the air contains moisture in the form of water vapor, it is not as heavy as dry air and so is less dense."

(H20 weighs less than O2 or N2)

"Assuming that temperature and pressure remain the same, the air density varies inversely with the humidity—that is, as the humidity increases, the air density decreases, (density altitude increases); and, as the humidity decreases, the air density increases (density altitude decreases)."

http://www.faatest.com/books/AK/5-4.htm

6869704x4 · Jun 17, 2004

Howdy,
The reason I joined this forum was to ask about oil temps.
I have a 70 chevy K10. 350/350/205/4.56s and 36" tires.
Im running remote filters/180deg.thermostat/perma-cool maxi-cool cooler setup. That is also the order the oil flows through. I have an oil temp gauge with the sender mounted in the remote filter.
Memorial weekend I drove about 125 miles on I10 doing 70 or so with a 2000pnd trailer. My oil temp got to 240. Water temp never above 190. Running the truck empty oil temp gets to 225. I wonder how hot it would get without a cooler? Thats my comment for taongisurvivor.
I am looking for some data on breakdown temps for motor oil. For example if Im running X brand oil and it breaks down at 250deg I would know to change the oil ASAP if it ever reached that temp.
Anybody know some sources for this? I will continue to browse this site looking for info but would be thankful for any directions.

XS650 · Jun 17, 2004

quote:

Originally posted by 6869704x4:
Howdy,
The reason I joined this forum was to ask about oil temps.
I have a 70 chevy K10. 350/350/205/4.56s and 36" tires.
Im running remote filters/180deg.thermostat/perma-cool maxi-cool cooler setup. That is also the order the oil flows through. I have an oil temp gauge with the sender mounted in the remote filter.
Memorial weekend I drove about 125 miles on I10 doing 70 or so with a 2000pnd trailer. My oil temp got to 240. Water temp never above 190. Running the truck empty oil temp gets to 225. I wonder how hot it would get without a cooler? Thats my comment for taongisurvivor.
I am looking for some data on breakdown temps for motor oil.

Like OFFORWFO said in an earlier post, anything over 230F to 240F should have a cooler for long engine life. Synthetic will buy your some additional temp tolerance.

Regarding poil breakdown temps. You need to get it REAL hot for immediate breakdown. Up to 260 or 270 or so, the rate of deterioration increases gradually, then depending on the oil it starts dying faster.

If you aren't seeing over 240F on a regular basis with a decent quality dino oil, then you are OK.

MolaKule · Jun 17, 2004

I am a believer in engine oil coolers, especially for engines that have samll sumps.

Anytime you can keep the engine oil from going over 220 F, you have less oxidation and longer oil life.

theguru · Jun 17, 2004

I'm also all go on the oil cooler, but you must fit a thermostat as well. Fitted such a setup on my sons turbo car. I would be concerned however about overcooling if you did not instal a thermostat.

haley10 · Jun 18, 2004

I agree with your man's assessment, in general. If you will run M1, it's not needed, especially. I like the other ideas.

jack_purple · Jun 21, 2004

What Oil Cooler Would You Put In A Honda ?

tdi-rick · Jun 23, 2004

One of the vehicles I drive (turbo diesel Land Rover) has an OEM fitted thermostatically controlled engine oil cooler.

There was a huge frost this morning, after half an hour driving the lines to the oil cooler where HOT. I was quite surprised, as it wasn't a hard run at all, just up the road to a neighbouring farm and back. I really didn't expect the oil to be hot enough to open the t/stat.

Rick.

[ June 23, 2004, 07:03 PM: Message edited by: tdi-rick ]

Gene K · Jun 23, 2004

quote:

Originally posted by taongisurvivor:
I have just finished buildintg a SB chevy 350 with slightly less pollution control accessories and slightly more hp and torque than stock. The motor is going on a 1979 Chevy Silverado truck everyday driver. I took the motor over to a dyno guy yesterday and she was producing (corrected) 296 hp @ 5,000 rpms. I casually informed the dyno guy that I was going to install a tranny cooler and an oil cooler forward of the radiator and a dual electric fan set-up puller aft of the radiator (bye-bye to the belt driven fan). He was silent on the tranny cooler and electric fan set-up but flatly stated the oil cooler was useless for everyday driving conditions (the truck won't haul much other than me and the dog but will be operated in the deep South where the temps and humidity can get fierce). He said that racing or towing applications were different, but he went as far as saying that the oil cooler would cool the oil too much and would cause the engine to run too cool.

Comments out there???

p.s.: I've already bought the oil relocation kit and oil cooler, but have installed neither. I plan on breaking-in the engine with Castrol 5W-30 for 3,000 miles then switching to M1.

If the person that told you this was Gary Reavis of Huntsville Engine, I would listen! The man knows a thing or two about engines.

Oil temp needs to get up to about 200F to burn off all the fuel and condensation that collects in the oil.

I would put a Oil Temp gauge on (or at least some the tattle tale strips on the oil pan) and see what you are seeing. As long as you are not getting up over 230F Degrees in the Heat of Summer you dont really need it.

Oil Temp to low can be just as bad as to high. For power the best is high oil temp (within reason) and low water temp.

Gene

SHOZ · Jun 25, 2004

Both my Taurus SHOs have OEM oil coolers that use the engine coolant as the heat exchanging medium. Works pretty good as reported by those with oil temp gauges. The oil will run about 15-20 F hotter than the coolant.

Do it in the dirt · Jul 15, 2004

quote:

Originally posted by taongisurvivor:
I have just finished buildintg a SB chevy 350 with slightly less pollution control accessories and slightly more hp and torque than stock. The motor is going on a 1979 Chevy Silverado truck everyday driver. I took the motor over to a dyno guy yesterday and she was producing (corrected) 296 hp @ 5,000 rpms. I casually informed the dyno guy that I was going to install a tranny cooler and an oil cooler forward of the radiator and a dual electric fan set-up puller aft of the radiator
(bye-bye to the belt driven fan). He was silent on the tranny cooler and electric fan set-up but flatly stated the oil cooler was useless for everyday driving conditions (the truck won't haul much other than me and the dog but will be operated in the deep South where the temps and humidity can get fierce). He said that racing or towing applications were different, but he went as far as saying that the oil cooler would cool the oil too much and would cause the engine to run too cool.

Comments out there???

p.s.: I've already bought the oil relocation kit and oil cooler, but have installed neither. I plan on breaking-in the engine with Castrol 5W-30 for 3,000 miles then switching to M1.

Hiyers, I am new here, but am ressurecting this thread as it is my reason for joining this board.
I have a suzuki 4wd (samurai) with a GTI short block and 8v head.
It has all the little extras e.g.freeflow 2" and a crankscraper 44mm carb etc. Power cam on its way.
It is geared low, 5000 rpm @ 63 Mph.
I have fitted an oil cooler with a remote filter in the line.
Q 1.
Have I messed up?
I use it daily and off road where it runs very slow with quite a few revs.
Q2.
I have an oil temp gauge to fit, I read that some body fitted the probe into the remote filter.
How please?
Or, where is the best place to fit the probe?
TIA
Alf.

Oil Cooler - Yes or No??

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