New oil cooler

[Terry Posten]

As most of you know, there was a long post about oil coolers and where to mount, how to mount, etc...

Well, after talking to two engine builders I have decided to mount in the upright configuration (like stock) and put it in the only place I could figure out that fit without taking my car completely apart and redoing all my hard work from this spring.

I am not done dressing the wiring or shortening the hoses but that wont take too long tomorrow. The fan blows through the core directly onto the PS and Alt area. This should help keep the air moving under the hood at all times (hopefully allowing the alt to live a little longer). The fan is wired into the stock AC fan wiring to a +12 wire that is on when the key is in the "ON" position (does not come on in "ASSY").

The bracket material is very overkill but it is so tight in that spot I did not want the core to flex into the fender well.

The cooler came from Ebay and was $99.00 with shipping at $12. It has a Spal 7" fan and custom aluminum shroud, w/ 1/2" NTP female fittings. I got a pair of 1/2" NPT to an10 couplers from ebay for $15 shipped. It is not a loud fan so it should be livable.

Ebay cooler:





Installed (but not finished):

 

[cheekychimp]

Nice, /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif do you want to build another one? My hood will have a nice vent that puts fresh air right over that area. Very nicely done Terry, seriously I would rock one of those.

 

Terry, you make me jealous. I haven't said it yet, but I'm extremely impressed with you and your car. Excellent attention to detail. If only I had the patience, oh yeah, and a garage.

 

[bazeng]

That is very neat! Well done!

 

Nice. Did you mount your overflow bottle smoehwere else?

 

[dmj]

Nice and well executed installation. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/applause.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/applause.gif

 

[FCR]

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/applause.gifVery clean!!!Looks great!!! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/applause.gif

 

[kartorium]

Nice setup Terry. This is where I have my PS cooler mounted. Once the lawn mower engine is out of there it really makes a lot of space for items like this.

 

[jepherz]

Looks very nice. I like the shroud, did you mention where that came from? Good write-up too.

However, I do have to wonder what happens at speed, possibly when you need the cooling the most. Maybe not in your case, but since my car is used for high speed road courses, the amount of air that would pass over that given its mounted angle, the fact that it's hidden by the fender, and the fan and shroud could be somewhat restrictive at high speed flow as well. I wish you had before and after temperature figures!

 

[Terry Posten]

OK, some more info and some pics as I finished it up.

The "L" bracket measurements are 4 1/2" tall for the short leg and 6" for the long leg. I drilled the holes to allow the leg to stick out into the hole far enough so that the cooler core would not hit the body. The connecting piece is just as long as needed to mate up with the cores mounting holes/flange.

I had to slightly modify the lower plastic shield to allow clearance for the an10 fittings. If you use an8 fittings you may not need to do this step.

The cooler core/fan/shroud can be had from seller "univparts" on ebay. They are a shop from Iowa. The auction is click and they also have almost any other radiator with or without a custom shroud in their store. Looks like if they don't show it, just ask and they could build it.

I did have to shorten the long hose by about 12" to fit better but I am thrilled by the results.

I don't have any temp readings prior to this install but once at full temp and in stop and go traffic (90 deg air temp) I was seeing 210-220 temps (the sender is below the t-stat for a better reading at the hottest point right out of the head). I did also swap out the 180 deg t-stat for a 170 deg and my hopes are to lower the water temp to 200-210 in stop and go traffic.

Now for the pics, they should be self explanatory but ask any questions if you need to.







And now for the finished pics of the front end. These show the scirocco radiator, relocated overflow bottle, the TEL water neck, cold air box, oil cooler, etc... (And yes, I still need to get new spark plug wires /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif)

 

[Terry Posten]

Small oil leak on one port but I snugged it up and it is all better.

Runs great, I now see 5-10 psi more oil pressure at idle (1000 revs now = 20 psi) at full operating temp.

That is exactly what I wanted to see.

BTW - I use Mobile One 10/30

 

[mitsuturbo]

I just bought a Setrab with AN-8 fittings and lines for mine. ($80 = steal!) I'm tired of dealing with the shitty 90 cooler and lines. Most of the 90 coolers out there... lines and coolers are pretty haggard, and mine was no exception.

I can't wait for mine to arrive so i can install it. I'll be mounting mine behind the FMIC, to the left of the radiator. Looks like it's going to be a pretty clean install. I intend to use some aluminum angle, sort of like you did here. Great pics, good mounting! I still have the "lawnmower engine" with NO intent on deleting it, thus the selected mounting location.

 

[KiNgMaRtY]

A very nice install indeed

 

Looks great! What size are the fittings that go into the filter housing? I got a kit from someone "complete" and it didn't come with them. I tried going to my local speed shop that carries fittings and they were worthless.

 

[mitsuturbo]

You can obtain AN -8 and -6 fittings for the 90 ofh. I believe MachV and others sell them. I saw some today while shopping but can't remember all of where.

I ended up getting mine off Ebay for about $10 off E-Retail, shipped.

They'll probably run you 25-35 bucks for "mitsu" to "AN" I believe our fittings are some sort of proprietary Aeroquip thread, as far as pipe/hose threads go. I could be way off base, though.

 

[Terry Posten]

They are straight cut 16mm x 1.5 thread if I recall correctly. The stock setups use banjo bolts with crush washers. So trying to find "taper" style couplers will only cause the filter housing AND cooler core to crack/split (exactly what happened to my stock cooler core causing a major oil leak).

 

Looks great Terry, that shroud and fan is a really nice addition to the cooler.

 

[JNR]

Looks good! Any reason you went with a pusher (from what I can tell) and not a puller fan arrangement? I know pullers are more effecient and work better, but on something like this may not make much difference. Just curious, at any rate...

 

[Terry Posten]

Turning the unit around would have caused a lot more work for the mounting bracket and it fit better under the fender because the fan/shroud is smaller than the cooler core.

It was able to fit under the fender lip giving it the depth needed.