External oil cooler

mejulihn · mejulihn's Garage

I have reached the conclusion that I must add an external oil cooler to my '76 2.0 for it to run cooler. I have read several previous posts on this subject as well as Pete Dubler's recent tech article. My question is: for a installation under the rear trunk, is a auxillary electric fan absolutely necessary?

oredith · 04-01-2000, 04:07 PM

I've never done the rear trunk thing, so take this as you will. If you're planning on mounting it under the trunk like the tech article, i would think the airflow will be enough to disapate most of the heat, but having a safety is always nice. If you're thinking of mounting it IN the rear trunk like Mike Z., I would think a fan would be required unless you plan to do some custom ducting to guide air through the cooler. the underside of the trunk isn't exactly a high flow area, and will be subject to the rising heat generated by the tranny (ever put your hand on the trunk pan after driving?). another problem is that if there's no outlet (besides the mounting hole) for the air going in the trunk, the most you can expect is radiant cooling from the stagnant air.
good luck, i personally would add the fan just for the peace of mind..

Jeff

John Rogers · 04-02-2000, 11:22 AM

All the ones I have seem (except for Greg Smith's) have the fan as the don't get a good air flow. Greg's has it mounted vertical just under the right side of the rear bumper so it gets good air flow. I'd go with a fan for peace of mind. Good luck.

mejulihn · mejulihn's Garage

I am now considering installation of the external oil cooler in the engine bay lid. What cooler size (4-tube, 6-tube, etc.)is recommended? Also, how long should the braided lines be to go from the "sandwich adaptor" to a cooler located on the engine lid?

Baloo914 · 04-04-2000, 03:25 PM

I highly suggest reading the Gene Berg books, the whole set is about $25 or so... He makes some great points that explain every facet of air cooled motors. The thing you should be asking is "Why is my engine hot??"... not how/where to install an oil cooler. When the car was built, it was built to handle temperatures much hotter than California. Something must be wrong to necessitate an extra oil cooler.

If you are towing something or if you are autocrossing, then maybe I could understand, but for normal everyday driving you shouldn't be overheating. There are many possibilities as to why you're engine is not running efficiently, the trick is to run down the list and check the possibilities.

Also, if you do decide to go ahead with the extra oil cooler, you don't want to mount it upstream from the air intake for your engine cooling. As air is sucked through the engine compartment, it can only take so much heat away. If the air goes through the oil cooler by the lid and then has to go through the engine, you won't be getting the benefit of cooling like you could if the oil cooler was mounted in a different location.

[This message has been edited by Baloo914 (edited 04-04-2000).]

mejulihn · mejulihn's Garage

Thanks for the input. I have decided to install the cooler under the rear trunk with an electric fan as shown in Pete Dubler's tech article. I will post results when the project is finished. My thanks to Pete for his article and encouragement. As his article suggests, I really didn't even know I had a temp problem until I installed a new VDO oil temp gauge and matching sender in my center console a few months back.

joncdeke · joncdeke's Garage

Just a related side issue... Does anyone know what an acceptable operating tempature range is? i.e. 120-220 C.

Thanks!

Dave at Pelican Parts · Dave at Pelican Parts's Garage

Conventional wisdom is that anything under 180F is too cool, and anything over 250F is *really* too hot. 200-220 is supposed to be the "normal" range.

However, several people report regularly running over that with little or no problems. I don't think I'd let it get that far myself...

--DD

S Schroeder · 04-14-2000, 11:30 AM

My quick $.02. My 72 has an unhooked front oil cooler like the GT - just havent found the time to hook it up since the rebuild. I run the 911 combo guage in my car (oil temp/pressure) and it reads a touch over 210 deg. Last year at our local pick and pull I found a pretty much stripped rubber bumper car. It still had the plastic cooling fins bolted to the pan. I put them on my 72 (in about 25 minutes) and noticed a definite temp drop. The needle on the guage now sits below the 210 mark. Being that you have a later car, do you still have these installed? Just A thought that might save some $$$.
Scott S