Omega Owners Forum
Omega Help Area => Omega General Help => Topic started by: PaulW on 03 November 2006, 05:52:24
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Seen a few posts now on changing the standard OE Oil Cooler with an air-cooled type cooler, but nothing in the how2, etc...
Just wondering what parts are needed, how its done, benefits (other than stoping the sludge when they blow), etc??
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Never heard of this before, I must be reading the wrong posts. This would have a few benefits, the mains ones being that your coolant system would not be contaminated when the oil cooler went, and your pants would not be contaminated when the dealer told you it was definately your head gasket ;D
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If the coolant is changed when it should be and the correct 50:50 mix of antifreze is used then generaly, they dont go.
One of the guys in the USA has just done this.
To me there may be more disadvantages than advantages.
The case for:
1) If the cooler fails you dont get oil contamination.
The case against
1) The current arrangement is compact
2) It helps maintain a constant oil temp as the coolant temp is controlled to within 10DegC or so which helps lubrication
Plus some others I am sure....
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I suspect that one of the reasons these engines tend to be excellent high mileage machines is that the oil cooler arrangement also brings the oil upto temperature fast. That minimises engine wear. Without the heat exchanger arrangement the oil takes much longer to reach optimum temperature than you would think.
Try driving a car with an oil temperature gauge (like an M3). The coolant gauge hits normal temp before the oil temp gauge even leaves the bottom of its gauge.
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External oil coolers where a common aftermarket item in the eighties. These were quite simple kits available from the likes of Ripspeed in Edmonton (now they are sadly part of Halfords) in the form of an add-on base between the oil-filter and the engine block.
The add-on had two pipes, in and out, and thermostat. The stat would open at a certain temperature (usually around 90 degrees) and force the oil to circulate through the two pipes. Rubber pressure hoses where used to carry the oil to and from the front of the vehicle where the oil cooler was situated (usually on the side of the radiator). This was a cheap and easy to install kit, and worked quite well, some of the guys even added an oil temp sender and gauge to monitor oil temp.
Only downside is that the DIY hoses where prone to leaking, and if one of these hoses actually gave-in under pressure, the engine bay looked a mess…
So I don’t see why such a kit could not be installed on the V6, though you will need to use the existing oil cooler hoses rather than the oil filter add-on base. The benefits? I guess it will be easier and cheaper to sort out an oil cooler leak… though personally I wouldn’t bother.
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I just did the swapp. The trickiest part was mounting the cooler its self. I dont have to worry about my car not heating up quickly. I live in florida. I would much rather have my oil run cooler. Besides, the dealer wanted 300USD for the cooler. the kit i got was 45. do the math. and you wont have to worry about cooler failure. just make sure to get good hoses and connectors.
http://www.omegaowners.com/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1162356507