Tell me about the stock oil filter and cooler location

My GVR4 has a Mighty Max oil filter housing with no oil cooler.

Could you tell me what the stock setup is like, where it used to sit, and how the filter was angled?

Thanks for any ideas!

 

[Muskrat]

There is no stock oil cooler.

Location is front left of engine. Oil filter mating surface faces lefthand side.

 

I always thought that the oil cooler was water cooled?

 

[Muskrat]

Sorry, thought you ment an external air/oil cooler, like a 1990 DSM.

Yes, it's water cooled. Sandwiched between the housing and filter.

 

Gotcha...sorry I wasn't more clear, thanks!

 

[slugsgomoo]

stay with what you've got, or go to an air cooled setup. The factory setup is a piece of utter garbage and does nothing except bring your oil to temp faster. The downside being that they run a real risk of cracking due to manhandling, and then you have "coilant" which is not good.

 

I was chasing down a low oil pressure issue at warm idle without the factory oil cooler.

My low oil pressure issue seems to have gone away after I got rid of the dino oil. I think that the oil was breaking down without synthetic. Not the scope of the post, just thought I'd mention it.

Thanks

 

[turbowop]

Yeah, the factory oil cooler is garbage, even though I've had zero issues with it for 12 years. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/roll.gif

 

[raptorWagon]

Every car acts differently to some degree. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/hsugh.gif

 

[turbowop]

The one on 503 works well also. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/hsugh.gif

 

[raptorWagon]

Your cars don't have the "Itis"? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/dunno.gif

 

[turbowop]

They're the same on every car. Put it together correctly and there won't be any issues.

BTW, both my cars have their fair share of maintenance issues. Just in the last year on 503 I've replaced the turbo, the front control arm bushings, ISC, the oil pump sprocket seal (and the timing belt since it got oil on it), the fuel filter, the O2 sensor, the clattery stock lifters, the accessory belts, and most recently replaced a bad Supra fuel pump. All due to the old parts failing. sh*t happens, fix it and move on.

 

[boostedinaz]

The one on both my cars worked fine but is always had a little oil leak to it and it drove me nuts. I finally replaced it with a 90 housing on my Talon to get rid of that leak.

 

[turbowop]

There is an orange seal that goes in there that is prone to leak considering how old these cars are. Replacement is pretty easy.

 

[boostedinaz]

I know. I already had the timing stuff off so I just bought a housing from a local for 35.00 and don't have to worry about the leak coming back.

 

[turbowop]

I paid $5 for a new seal and haven't had the leak come back in the past 40k miles. Which is more cost effective? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/hsdunno.gif

 

[GVR-4]

I used the seal off of an old Mobil 1 oil filter. No leaks.

 

[boostedinaz]

Quoting turbowop:
Which is more cost effective? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/hsdunno.gif



Not dumping money into an outdated car is the most cost effective, yet here we all are. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/banghead.gif

You of all people should know that modifying a car is never cost effective. To many people a 3052 isn't a cost effective turbo, are they going to convince you that was a bad decisions?

The stock oil cooler works for you and that's great, I chose to ditch mine and upgrade at the same time.

 

[turbowop]

My FP3052 was cost effective because I bought it used. $750 was a screaming deal that I don't think anybody will argue against.

That said, I find it funny to hear people badmouth the stock oil cooler when most of its problems can be attributed to poor maintenance or mechanic skills. The only thing to be gained by going to an air/oil cooler is better oil temp control on a racetrack with corners. I don't think anybody has gone faster in the quarter mile, made more power, or gotten better fuel mileage by switching to the '90 unit. They only gain what they think is peace of mind.

 

[toybreaker]

When talking about the factory water to oil heat exchanger, it's helpfull to look at the bigger picture.

Weather/geographical conditions, cooling system layout, and cooling system loading are all things that need to be considered when designing an efficient oil cooler system for your particular set-up.

The factory antifreeze to oil heat exchanger works very well for many people.

I monitor the oil temperature in all my engines, and using the factory water/oil heat exchanger it's a rare day I've seen the oil temp outside the goldilocks zone. (Warm enough to keep condensate from forming/cool enough that it's lubricating/flow characteristics are optimal)

For those that live in areas where you'll see four seasons, the factory heat exchanger set-up is hard to beat.

That said, it's not the best choice for everybody.

The heat "exchanged" at the water to oil heat exchanger has to go somewhere.

In the case of the factory set-up, it's into the coolant, and that raises the thermal loading on the system.

For those running a civic or other smaller radiator set-up, that can start to push the limits of the system. This is especially true for those that live in the desert/southern states.

Whatever choice you make, an oil temperature gauge will go a long way to alerting you to a problem in the system. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

Combined with an oil pressure gauge and a voltmeter, they make up a nice engine monitoring package.