Ok, Oil Cooler Mod

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No cars like the Yaris come with an oil cooler. The only thing I can think of that comes close is the K24 in an Acura. That doesn't use a radiator setup that would overcool the oil and reduce mileage. It runs the oil through a doughnut with two chambers, the other of which is circulated with engine coolant.

This would keep your engine oil closer to the coolant temp, which is good for a performance engine where the oil temp > coolant temp, probably not so good in a Yaris where oil temp < coolant temp.

Really, I assume you're trying to extend the life of your oil. Unfortunately, a radiator style oil cooler will do that at the expense of fuel mileage. A coolant style cooler will probably raise your oil temp.

What is your desired end result?
 
If you change your Mobil 1 every 1k miles like you claim in your other thread, that is one more reason not to bother with an oil cooler. I doubt cooling your oil will lower your coolant temp noticably so that really isn't a valid reason to add a cooler. I think the slight chance of leaks will outweigh any benefit you might get. The first thing I would do if I were you is to find a way to monitor my oil and coolant temps accurately and see if you need to worry about either. If your coolant is getting hotter than desired then perhaps add an aftermarket elec. fan in front of your radiator that kicks in before your OEM fans to save them from overwork.

Most people on this forum worry too much about their oil, me included, but you're taking this to a bit of an extreme if you ask me.
 
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Originally Posted By: caveatipse
Originally Posted By: Liquid_Turbo
You do not need and oil cooler in your Yaris. Period.


Ok I believe you, but I want one. lol no seriously, I am asking because I live in a region of the world that gets very hot, above 100 often, in the summer, with humidity close to 100, and the car's cooling fan is always on, so I thought I could save the fan motor with a little oil cooling?


Where do you live? Unless you are tracking the Yaris daily, an oil cooler would be counter productive.. and in my opinion, a serious waste of money.

You could run your Yaris on the highway at 100F all day everyday, and I bet a used oil analysis would show the oil being in good shape until your OCI is up.

Just put a nice robust synthetic oil in and call it a day. Like others have said, unless you plan to turbo or track the car.. no reason to look at oil coolers.

Edit: If you still aren't satisfied.. then assuming you use your Yaris for everyday driving, if Toyota's engineers figured the oil needed cooling... they would have put one on. You won't be coking the oil getting groceries.
 
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I remember back in 1996 the Corvette that had the LT4 Engine had an oil cooler on it.

The following year the LS1 came out and they had the motor speced for Mobil 1 and they did away with the oil cooler.

There are so many good oil's out today that can easily handle the heat.
 
Thank you all for the advice (except the guy who keeps busting my chops). Like I said, in the summer, my radiator cooling fan runs all the time, and I use ScanGuage II and the coolant temp gets to 212 commonly. I guess I was thinking that cooler oil would reduce the engine temp overall. What else can I do to save the radiator fan motor?
 
Originally Posted By: caveatipse
Originally Posted By: Liquid_Turbo
You do not need and oil cooler in your Yaris. Period.


Ok I believe you, but I want one. lol no seriously, I am asking because I live in a region of the world that gets very hot, above 100 often, in the summer, with humidity close to 100, and the car's cooling fan is always on, so I thought I could save the fan motor with a little oil cooling?


If you're using Mobil 1 or an equivalent synthetic, you certainly don't need and oil cooler...you wouldn't really need it even with conventional oil...
 
What are you talking about? Save the radiator fan?

OK, if you truly want the radiator fan to last infinitely, unplug it. There.

It doesn't run all the time. It runs when you slow down or idle, when there's limited ambient airflow through the radiator.

212 degrees is NOTHING for cripes sake. GM engines are set to turn the low speed fan setting on at around 220 degrees and the high speed on at 230.

You're worrying about nothing.

Trying to "save the radiator fan" in an obsessive manner will activate Murphy's law and the temp sensor will then go out!
 
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His Yaris has a spin on ..and it's a 3/4-16 thread filter. If he's got some modest room around the filter presently, he can manage a laminar sandwich style cooler ..as shown. Don't let their size deceive you. The density of the exchange medium trumps size by a good bit.

The coolant thermostat will then regulate both temps ..and in my experience, it will result in a more stable coolant temp.

I also agree that it's not necessary ..but your oil will be at operating temp about 30-40% sooner than engines that don't have the forced circulation aspect to them.

He may have to adapt a heater hose or two.


Edit: It appears in these images that the filter may be recessed into the block. This would make a sandwich style cooler not applicable.

I could be wrong
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You would need more oil to fill the internal volume of any lines and heat exchanger.
There would necessarily be more places and possibilities of a leak.

But if you have to ask these questions, I advice AGAINST putting an engine oil cooler on the car. An auto trans supplemental cooler, YES, but not the engine.
If your engine oil is actually being measured to be too hot, use a thicker oil - the next viscosity up.
 
You might look up the thermostat temperature......which will tell you at what temperature the thermostat will start to open......to permit coolant to flow through the radiator from the motor.
It stands to reason that the motor will stabliize at a temperature that is a couple of degrees above that.
In other words.....and it sound hot to me.....but.....if you have a 205 - 210 degree thermostat.....then you are going to be seeing about what you see.
My motor has a 195 degree thermostat......the FORD specification (as per the FORD manual) is that it starts to open at 180-200 degrees and is fully open at 220 degrees
My motor usually is around 193-195 degrees.

Another thing to look into is the fact that most cars run the radiator fans......whenever the A/C is on.....and the vehicle is not moving at some minimum speed.
This enables the condensor coils to be cooled...and keep your A/C working at its best.
I use this feature on my old FORD Windstar to keep my transmission cooler in stop and go traffic in hot weather......keeps air moving through my auxiallary transmission cooler.....also keeps my motor at a nice lower and more consistant temperature.

Do you have a manual or automatic transmission?
If it is a automatic.....a auxillary cooler for the transmission might be an idea.
A plate & fin cooler will give you more cooling power for the same space than with a tube and fin cooler.

The cooler shown in the picture in the post above.....I beleive is like the one that would be on my vehicle if it had a cooler from the factory (was optional, but I don't have one).
This cooler requires you to plumb lines from the cooling system to circulate coolant through......and the oil is cooled by the coolant that is flowing through the motor.
Of course...the coolant does not mix with the oil....it is a heat exchanger.
They are quite effective.
I do suspect that it would have minimum effect on the temperature of the motor coolant that you are seeing.

I would become a regular on a yaris forum....find a good one and see what folks there are seeing for temperatures on their vehicles.
This will give you a good reference point for your particular vehicle.....
Each vehicle has its own particular issues....and so you can hopefully stay on top of things there.....and know what to watch for.

Oh....and enjoy that car!
 
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Originally Posted By: caveatipse
Originally Posted By: Liquid_Turbo
You do not need and oil cooler in your Yaris. Period.


Ok I believe you, but I want one. lol no seriously, I am asking because I live in a region of the world that gets very hot, above 100 often, in the summer, with humidity close to 100, and the car's cooling fan is always on, so I thought I could save the fan motor with a little oil cooling?


An oil cooler, despite what many are saying will reduce the load on your cooling system. As long as you don't run it too cold, it's never a bad idea to keep oil temps under control.

I added a large one to my GN and coolant temps did not spike nearly as quickly and once they did get up there, they cooled off quicker. This is an oil to air cooler.

I did not want a thermostat for the oil cooler because I see it as one more thing to fail but I also wanted the oil to heat up decently fast. I ended up buying the fan kit from summit that has a built in 160 degree turn on point and put the cooler out of direct airflow.
 
Originally Posted By: BuickGN
Originally Posted By: caveatipse
Originally Posted By: Liquid_Turbo
You do not need and oil cooler in your Yaris. Period.


Ok I believe you, but I want one. lol no seriously, I am asking because I live in a region of the world that gets very hot, above 100 often, in the summer, with humidity close to 100, and the car's cooling fan is always on, so I thought I could save the fan motor with a little oil cooling?


An oil cooler, despite what many are saying will reduce the load on your cooling system. As long as you don't run it too cold, it's never a bad idea to keep oil temps under control.

I added a large one to my GN and coolant temps did not spike nearly as quickly and once they did get up there, they cooled off quicker. This is an oil to air cooler.

I did not want a thermostat for the oil cooler because I see it as one more thing to fail but I also wanted the oil to heat up decently fast. I ended up buying the fan kit from summit that has a built in 160 degree turn on point and put the cooler out of direct airflow.


Definitely agree it will reduce heating load... but is it necessary? Almost certainly not.
 
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