Even a seasoned mod veteran such as myself has the occassional mod when nothing seems to go right. I bought a new DeWitts radiator and engine oil cooler combo off of a forum member here almost two years ago and hadn't had time to install it until this July 4th weekend which is a somewhat traditional mod holiday for me by chance. It get's hot here in SoCal in the area I live in and don't want to tempt fate so I figured it was time to put in the high-capacity radiator and oil cooler.

Anyway, I figured it'd take me a good portion of the day after recently reading a thread where another member here had installed the same combo and had a rough time getting it all in. Well, it ended up spanning a couple of days due to a few problems and also just the difficulty of making all this fit back nicely and look stock.

I won't go into the details of how to do this one as I normally would because, frankly, I don't recommend anyone use this oil cooler (modified C6 unit) with the DeWitts radiator unless they are insistant on looking stock and gaining the benefit of the bypass valve.

This involved pulling half of the left side of the engine off to get the header out to be able to shove the cooler lines between the engine and mount after raising the left side of the engine off the crossmember 1" or so. Took me a while to figure out that just having the header totally free was not enough - it had to come out. Also, I:

1) Broke a spark plug pulling the header.
2) Broke a plug wire for that same spark plug.
3) Over-torqued a screw for the adapter that screwed into the block (luckily, the screw remnant came out easily).
4) Spent an eternity trying to start the threads on the bolt that goes into the block to hold the cooling line bracket.
5) Wasted an hour or more trying to fit the fan shroud back in through the top of the engine (finally put it in through the bottom but still had to remove the quick couplings I already had installed in the radiator).
6) My 9-year-old Red Top, which still looks brand new, finally bit the bullet after being off the charger the past few days. Not a problem last year but I guess it was time to give up the ghost.

And those are just the highlights. I had exchanged the original, beautiful oil cooling assembly that came with the radiator for the C6 version per DeWitt's advice that the bypass valve is recommended over the standard flow-thru version they sell. I regretted that decision throughout the project until it was all in. Now that it's done, I'm glad I did it. Had I known then, I would have stuck with the other version.

Ah well, live and learn. Here's are pics of the story's characters form DeWitt's site.

The A97AE radiator has both engine oil cooling and tranny fluid cooling capability. I only used the engine oil cooler on the left side.


The first 894C oil cooling setup I had before exchanging for the C6 version.


The 898, the modified C6 oil cooling unit.


Here are a few pics of my ordeal.

The left side of the engine eventually was stripped down to this.




Cooling lines in






Getting the radiator to fit in nicely along with the fan was a bit of a challenge as well but it all does fit as advertised.




Finally all back together


This one really sucked, boys and girls - or maybe I'm just getting old. Anyway, my hands and forearms look like I had a wrestling match with a cougar so some recovery time is required before the next adventure.

Oh, and, take my advice - stick with the 894C EOC unless that bypass valve keeps calling your name.

 

We all have some mods that we regret and I guess this will be your first one.

I did the DRM radiator / oil cooler mod in buddy (Zenak's Vette) and it was not fun either. We too had to pull the headers to get the mounting block adapter in and then trying to run the lines up to the cooler was not to much fun either.

It ended up being a very long day.

 

what is the benfit of running with the bypass setup as to not using it?

 

See? you're hooked already.

From DeWitt's web site, benefits of the bypass valve setup:

The temperature-sending unit for all C5 Corvettes utilizes a small bolt-on aluminum block, which mounts to the engine block directly above the oil filter. This block provides access to the engine oil path, as oil flows in and out of this small manifold.
Most aftermarket adapter blocks use this point to tap oil for cooling but do not contain an internal bypass valve. Since this adapter is in series to the oil circuit, all the oil produced by the oil pump is forced through the hoses and the oil cooler. At high engine rpm’s, this could be a significant volume of oil and this could produce excessive pressure drop and heat generation through the system. When using an oil cooler that is mounted inside a radiator, it is highly advised to use an adapter that utilizes a bypass valve shown in the above diagram. This will provide a constant flow of oil at both low and high rpm. The result will be a maximum pressure drop of 7 psi and reduced heat generation.

 

Funny, I've had a lot of mods where there were the usual difficulties/issues. This one just seemed different - not fun, you know.

 

Holy Cow Patches... you sure have a lot of patience, that's all I can say.

 

Maybe it's a sign that you're growing old

I typically enjoy most of the mods that I have done over the years, but there are a few of them I swore I would never do again.

- DRM Oil Cooler
- PFadt Bushings
- Kooks Headers

The cooler, you have first hand experience at.

The Pfadt bushings (new edition) did not fit right and I was one of the first ones to buy them. Took about 6 months working with Pfadt to correct the front upper bushing issues.

Kooks Headers - what more can I say, they were a biotch to install, had to strip off just about every accessory, tilt motor and use an engine lift to move and roll the motor enough to get clearance. In hindsight I could have dropped the whole drive train and reinstalled it and had plenty of time left over.

Some mods go badly and you end getting all banged up and worn out, leaving you wondering was it all worth it or not ?

 

Yep, did the Kooks once with a buddy. Totally agree on that one too.

 

I see you just moved to Cali. Any issues getting your car smogged with the long tubes and catch can?

 

WOW! What a bummer - I didn't even go with the Automatic version for mine because I don't want anything going into the radiator to cool -

So I did an external Tranny Cooler on mine! "IF" I were to do a oil cooler I would do an external too! Especially since your Write-Up

always Patches thanks for sharing!

Thanks,Matt

 

Well, glad you got it all back together and the radiator fit well, but man, that sure does look like a whole lot of work.

 

Boy, if even Patches had trouble, that's one mod I'll steer well clear of

 

More then likely I'll never do that mode to my car but just incase I'm going to archive this thread for future reference on what not to do.

 

Yikes! What a PITA. Nice looking job you did though and it looks factory. A man after my own heart.

Question for you Ed: would the job have much easier with a coilover set-up and not having that front spring blocking much of your access? Also, would dropping the front cradle an inch or so be a consideration as well?

 

Yeah the ARH's are suppose to be an easy drop in. Oh well I know that for the next time.

The biggest PIA is getting access to above the oil filter area where the oil temp sending unit is and replacing that block along with running the lines from there to the front.

If you have headers, you basically have to drop the header on that side, to get access to the block off plate. I used steel flex lines vs. the factory hard lines which help with routing.

This a job best done when re-doing the motor as you could do most of it with the engine on a engine stand.

 

The DRM & Dewitts Radiator & Oil cooler combos work really well together and the temps stay down low. You start to run out of room up front if you install seperate coolers for oil, transmission and coolant.

I can tell ya from personal experience that these coolers really perform well. In summer heat I was running about 185 -195 oil temps on long trips and the water temps were similar.

 

LOL - I farted around with mine for a few hours until I said forget it and had the oil cooler side connected when the motor was out.

BTW: Mine used braided line all the way and it was still a b1tch.

 

What is it they say? Stupid is as stupid does?

Yes, but you're supposed to get wiser in the process, no?

The spring was not really an issue - it was getting the weird-shaped hose fittings and hard lines that you don't want to kink to fit between the motor and motor mount. I already had the motor jacked up with enough clearance for the lines - they just needed to be "convinced" to slide through without damaging them. Once the header was out, the motor jacked up enough and enough force as applied on both the hard and flex lines, it went.

Hmm . . . braided still wasn't much help? No good.

 

It's refreshing to see that even the most skilled and experienced modders still encounter hiccups along the way and get frustrated, seeing as everyone always likes to make jobs out to be so easy.

Glad to see you got everything worked out in the end, and I bet you're thrilled to be finished with that install!

 

That's one of the main reasons I usually post detailed how-to's and descriptions of mods - there are no easy mods, except maybe swapping out floor mats. Each of us has a certain mechanical aptitude and a comfort level for doing mods and there's no reason to misrepresent projects like this just for bragging rights. Some projects are not only complex and quite difficult but they can also easily ruin the drivability and reliability of a car, and these consequences are usually not discussed. I know there have been members here who have had serious problems with mods and not posted that here for fear of being ridiculed or ignored - fact is, a lot can go wrong and one can ruin his car by not being thoroughly prepared before starting a project. The smartest thing to do is know when to let a pro shop do the job for you - as Clint once said, "A man has to know his limits."