Will it be done before Parade?, Oil cooler installation Options

[smj]

Urm. I need to get an oil temp gauge hooked up in my -6. This thread has got me worried about taking the SC motor to Red Rocks with just the oil cooler bolted on the side of the motor...

[76-914]

Hey Dave, (IMG:style_emoticons/default/thisthreadisworthlesswithoutpics.gif)

[McMark]

Steve, one thing to consider is that a lower HP motor pulling up a hill is working harder (and generating more heat).

Go, Dave! Go!

[EdwardBlume]

Good luck Dave. I don't want to see the CRX autocrossing at Parade. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif)

[Randal]

Ah, but these hoses were not supplied with the cooler!

I guess that means I really have to find a local source of oil-rated hose, then. Any suggestions?

--DD

Dave, any hydraulic supply house (like for tractors) will have super strong rubber hose that is rated for high pressure hydraulic lines running tractor accessories. Oil pressure is low compared to hydraulic pressure lines. Also the hose is industrial, so wear resistent. I had these lines on my 2.0 liter's external oil system (radiator and fan tied to the engine cover) before I went with a front mounted setup.

They will also make up all the fittings you need, many times less expensive than using Earl's. All you need to do it tell them the lengths and the type of fittings and when you arrive they will be done.

It might make sense to go to one of the supply houses as some of the fittings might be heaver than you want so check them out first.

There is one place on 10th Street in San Jose: http://www.rbisj.com/

[Dave_Darling]

I went over to the Royal Brass (that's their website!) in Santa Clara instead. They have all the stuff, I just need to tell them lengths and such. But they're not open on Saturdays, so I won't have the lines until Monday. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif)

Still trying to figure out where I want to put the thermostat. I have the oil line routing pretty much figured out, at least for the short term. I am losing my passenger's side heating for the near term, but I'm OK with that.

--DD

[smj]

Steve, one thing to consider is that a lower HP motor pulling up a hill is working harder (and generating more heat).

Thanks Mark - have the 911 oil temp/pressure gauge, just got to get it hooked up. Then look for a 105+ day to take the -6 over the hills and run up Mt. Diablo or something. Then I can just worry about 5,000+ ft of altitude, which of course will require a trip up to Lake Tahoe to test. Safety First! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

Thanks for the minor thread-jaak Dave! I'm taking notes about getting oil lines from hydaulic shops. If I hit the trifecta, maybe I'll find one that'll also repair my stupid Sears floor jack. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/barf.gif)

[Randal]

I went over to the Royal Brass (that's their website!) in Santa Clara instead. They have all the stuff, I just need to tell them lengths and such. But they're not open on Saturdays, so I won't have the lines until Monday. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif)

Still trying to figure out where I want to put the thermostat. I have the oil line routing pretty much figured out, at least for the short term. I am losing my passenger's side heating for the near term, but I'm OK with that.

--DD

Good idea to take all the parts with you that way you can match the hose ends to the fittings on the stuff you want to plumb. Plug and play is nice.

And making up hose fittings with Earls and SS tubing is time consuming and problematic, not to mention expensive.

[Dave_Darling]

Got the cooler and t-stat mounted tonight. I've worked out what the hose routing should be. It's actually a fairly straight shot, so not a whole lot of hose is needed.

I had a "brilliant" idea that turned out not quite as well as I had thought. I drilled the holes for mounting the cooler to the body from inside the trunk. I used the cooler and home-made bracket as a template, flipped over to sit on the trunk floor. It turns out that this doesn't quite work out if the bracket is not quite square. So I have two extra holes in the trunk floor now. Oh well, it could be worse.

Going to pick up the hoses and some more fittings tomorrow.

No pics, sorry!

--DD

[Dave_Darling]

Crap! I need different lines than I bought. I might be able to make do with some extra 90-degree fittings. Feh. Back to Royal Brass tomorrow.

--DD

[McMark]

Sounds like pretty much every oil cooler installation I've done. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif) Somehow they're all slightly different. Eventually I end up with enough spares to have what I need on hand.

[wndsrfr]

Crap! I need different lines than I bought. I might be able to make do with some extra 90-degree fittings. Feh. Back to Royal Brass tomorrow.

--DD

"NOTE: Assembly of (insert whatever 914 related thing you're working on) require great peace of mind."

Actually, those 90 degree fittings really did save my sanity when I was doing mine...and they're cheap & dependable!

[Dave_Darling]

I got a bunch more stuff at noon. Tonight, it's back under the car again! We'll see if I can get everything routed the way I want...

I may not get any time to work on it tomorrow, due to Other Obligations. (Da Boss says...)

--DD

[ape914]

Which Earls adapter did you get? I'm working on re-connecting an oil cooler and I have a 502ERL sandwich adapter w/thermostat. Do you have install instructions? Mine came on an engine in the car when I bought it. Looking for torque spec for the "nut" like fastener.

same torque as the stock oil filter, what ever that is, but thats the torque to hold on the sandwhich adaptor

[ape914]

one thing on my car, i deleted the oil thermostat and simply run with an oil cooler adaptor plate, no thermostat. (the oil cooler fan has a thermostat) no problem with warm up times, sure the oil goes thru the cooler when it is cold (just like the factory one does) but with no fan blowing until it is hot, (just like the factory set up). warm up is plenty fast also the sandwhich adaptor with thermostat limits the length of the oil filter to a fairly small one, a remote filter can be mounted and a big HP1 style filter can be installed. you can make the system full flow by pluging the bypass in the factory oil filter holder. Thus ALL your oil is filtered (be sure to select a high pressure filter). this works for me very nicely.

[Dave_Darling]

Ugh. This thermostat is gonna kill me yet! Stupid thing slipped out of my grasp and hit me on the head. I haven't figured out where exactly to locate it, either.

That stinkin' -10 hose does not like to bend--the bend radius is large, and it is quite stiff. I think I need to buy some more -8 fittings to make up -8 supply hoses instead of the -10, and of course I'll have to get some -8 to -10 adaptors for the -10 fittings on the cooler.

Sigh!

The fan is mounted, but the electrical setup is not quite done yet.

--DD

[Bartlett 914]

Ugh. This thermostat is gonna kill me yet! Stupid thing slipped out of my grasp and hit me on the head. I haven't figured out where exactly to locate it, either.

That stinkin' -10 hose does not like to bend--the bend radius is large, and it is quite stiff. I think I need to buy some more -8 fittings to make up -8 supply hoses instead of the -10, and of course I'll have to get some -8 to -10 adaptors for the -10 fittings on the cooler.

Sigh!

The fan is mounted, but the electrical setup is not quite done yet.

--DD

I have a Hot Start relay installed on my car. I used the normally closed contact as the source for the fan power. I used an inline fuse.

[Dave_Darling]

So, the definitive answer to the question I posed is:

Yes.


Here's a view from the back of the car. You can see the cooler at the top, and the lines from the engine in the background.





This shows the thermostat and lines to the cooler.





The sandwich plate and lines from the plate heading to the cooler.





I'm not completely satisfied with it (not enough Adel clamps, too many zip ties), and it seeps a little where the hot line to the cooler connects to the thermostat. But it's done. The fan is hooked up to a switch in the center console. It should (hopefully!) be effective at keeping the oil temps under control.

Just in time, too!

--DD

[r_towle]

I am impressed...

Are the fan and thermostat mounted together (bolted)?
If so, I would suggest maybe creating a hardline to replace at least that red line...it looks like once hot it may fold/kink on you.

That also may stop the weaping.

rich

[Dave_Darling]

They are mounted together, but not well. (More zip ties!!) The red line should probably be replaced at some point, but it's doing OK for now.

The cooler works, temps are lower than I have seen in the past under similar circumstances. Hotter than I would prefer, but not too bad. As was mentioned previously in this thread, this type of setup is not going to be very suitable for track driving. The only time temps really got worrisome was at higher speeds. I backed off and they came back down again.

--DD