Is there a kit for 94's to add an auxillary oil cooler? The sandwich type that goes between the pad and the filter. Does it help any and if so, where is the best place to put the coils? I have a BMAD coming so that will help cool things but I thought an oil cooler might help too.

 

They seem to help getting oil up to operaing temp more than cooling. External coolers work much better.

 

Sorry, I should have clarified the type. I meant the fitting for the high pressure lines is like sandwiched between the filter pad and the filter. The lines go to the cooler that is mounted somewhere else.

 

I'm not sure what your asking, so let me throw some info out in a sort of shotgun method that should answer your question.

The stock oil cooler runs coolant through the sandwich between the filter and the block. It actually does help a little, if you can keep your coolant temps down, which means reprogramming the fan temps, etc.

The traditional type, that run oil lines out to its own radiator, work much, much better. I ran my 383(about 450hp or so) without any oil cooler for a couple months. No big deal in the cooler weather, but if the temp was 70* or warmer, the oil would quickly heat up to 210* in town and would sit around 235* on the highway. Now, in town, it hardly ever goes above 200* and it stays right around 200* on the highway. It averages out to about a 20* difference.

I hope some of this helps.

BTW, I mounted my oil cooler in front of the aux fan, so it fills the opening above the airdam. I used highest power rated Perma Cool kit, that comes with everything, except you'll find that the line isn't long enough to make it to the nose of the car, so you'll have to find a shop in town that carries high temp, high pressure line. It's not the easiest thing to find.

Chris

 

If you don't mind me asking, who did you get it from?

 

you really don't need an oil cooler... unless your racing

 

summit, but most auto parts places can get them, since most carry perma cool. I think it was around $180.

 

Thanks for the info.

Yes, I will be doing some auto cross so I just want that little extra protection against overheating.

 

I have the 25 row Mocal oil cooler and mounted it in front of the radiator (removed the AC condensor).

http://www.racerpartswholesale.com/cooler.htm

Mike

 

I have an Earl's cooler with braided stainless lines from Doug Rippie. The Sandwich adaptor works just fine. Biggest hassle is routing the lines so they clear everything while making them as short as possible. There are a few things to watch, though:

When shopping for coolers, make sure you look at the type of cooler. The ones that basically look like a tube that loops back and forth with cooling fins don't work as well as the type that have parallel cores with an inlet in one end and outlet on the other. Also make sure the lines are large enough to not cause a restriction.

When you install it, pre-fill the cooler and lines if at all possible. Otherwise, it will take several seconds for the engine to start getting oil while the cooler and lines fill up. It's not as much of a deal when you're doing an oil change later since a decent amount of oil will remain in the cooler and lines when you drain the system. Of course, the downside is you'll have about a quart of 'old' oil in the system.

In cool weather, assuming you have the cooler mounted up front, your oil will tend to run colder than it ideally should (mine would run around 150* - 170*) unless you put a cover over the cooler during the cold months. It also takes longer to get up to temp in normal driving

Some people recommend installing an oil thermostat in parallel with the cooler to avoid the problem mentioned above. This is probably a good route to go, but I've also had a few shops (DRM for one) recommend against it because the thermostats also inherently block some of the oil flow.

As a compromise, I installed mine where the battery normally goes (my battery is in the rear storage compartment) and installed a fan on it. It doesn't cool quite as well as it used to when it was mounted up front, but the oil comes up to temp quicker and I can just turn the fan on when I race. The lines are also much shorter. It's not the perfect setup for all-out racing, but it works fine for me.

 

I like the idea of a fan to cool it. How did you wire it? Do you run it all the time when the car is running? Did you put a separate switch for it and run it off the fuse panel?

 

I just mounted a toggle switch and wired it in to the power distribution block near the factory battery location with an inline fuze. Since it's onle necessary when racing, it works just fine.

 

Cool. (Pun intended). Thanks.

 

I have a 94 that I autocross and do high speed events. I can tell you that during the autocross my oil temps aren't any higher than driving on the street. During the high speed events at the track it's another story though. I would do an autocross first if you haven't already and see what happens before you spend the time and money.

 

Good advice! I've never run an autocross -- only high-speed track events. The oil temp at Road America gets north of 250 without the cooler after a lap or two. However, one lap at RA is 4 miles, so you're not likely to see that kind of temp at an autocross. Assuming you're running synthetic it can take higher temps anyway. Try it out first. Hopefully you can spend the money on other stuff like sticky tires or anti-sway bars -- something a little more fun

 

Thanks. I'll only be doing low speed and at that only two or three times a year at least at first so maybe I should hold off.

 

The LT1/4's dont have the cooler, actually a pre-heater, that the L98's have. There's NOTHING. That happened when they went to synthetic oil.

You can put an aftermarket cooler on it, a must it you track the car, but it requires a special adapter to clear the cats. Either that or run a remote filter, which is a good idea since the stock one sits right next to one of the cats.

Exotic Musle used to sell a kit to do all this.

 

I'll call Merle there. I just ordered a complete exhaust system from him so maybe I'll just run the bill up a little more.

 

Have you considered running a remote water cooled oil cooler? This solves a number of problems. Quicker oil warm ups in cool and warm weather because your coolant comes up to temp much faster than the oil does and so will actually warm the oil up faster, the cooler does not have to be in the airflow, etc. Besides the oil lines to the unit all you have to do is splice into the heater hoses for coolant feed and return.

 

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