Oil Cooler Install Thread
 

My engine temps are climbing with the warming weather and the oil cooler issue continues to be at the forefront of my thoughts.

That being said, finding the right kit is problematic. Can you guys post a few things to simplify this process for others? Here are some helpful ideas:

1) what kit did you install (brand, number of rows, size, etc)?
2) who did your install? how did you find your mechanic (if one was used)?
3) what temperature drop did you get with your respective cooler?
4) if you did it yourself, please post the steps either here or in the DIY forum
5) did you include a thermostat? If so, how did you install it?

With a little guidance from those of you who have pulled it off, hopefully it will be a bit easier for the rest of us when we try.

Thanks!

Stillen Upgraded oil cooler kit.

My two mechs and I. I found them online through forums.

I can't push it past 220 on the street (traffic). (and I've been trying)
Highway cruise at 180-190 regardless of outside temperature.

http://www.the370z.com/intake-exhaus...-plenty-3.html

5) did you include a thermostat? If so, how did you install it?

Nope, but then again I live in Miami so I don't need one. You can get a thermostatic sandwich adapter.

This is something I was wondering about too, actually. I'm in Houston. Generally our weather ranges from hot and muggy to f*****g hot and muggy. However, we do get a few cold days in the winter (it might actually freeze 1 or 2 nights a year in the dead of winter), and that aside, even a 50 or 60 degree winter day is pretty damn cold compared to 180 degree oil.

So what's the scoop on the necessity of a thermostat? I would assume it basically boils down to: "you need one if you can't keep your oil up to 180 with the cooler due to cold weather", but how cold does the weather have to be to make that an issue?

Other than size, is there any real difference in quality between brands.

Any reason not to buy the least expensive alternative?

Oil coolers all do the same thing. The only real thing that varies is quality of the pieces and capacity.

The greater capacity you have, the better, but you will pay more for the part. The trick is to find the best balance between quality, capacity and price. Setrab makes some of the best cores available, so you want to have a setrab core. The lines and the fittings to attach the lines vary as well. Some of the best stuff you can get for the fittings is AN lines. As far as the lines go, the best thing you can do is get stainless lines. If you try to built a kit on your own, chances are you wont get as good a price even if you go directly to the manufacturers. Companies like stillen have the advantage that they can get bigger discounts on the parts and believe it or not, they are passing the savings over to us. I priced the same exact set as stillen offers and it came out to more if I got it directly on my own.

The other thing you have to take into account is that your engine is riding on this oil cooling kit. If something breaks then you are in trouble. So you want to get the best quality that you can afford. Personally, I think the Stillen is priced very well and it is made up of quality parts. You can't go wrong there.

I ordered the Stillen kit and it should ship on Monday. Josh from Stillen who routinely posts on this forum is looking into thermostats and should get back to me tomorrow as I plan to include one in the order. If things go as planned, I'll meet with my mechanic next Saturday to install the cooler.

This has been a double edged sword for me. I don't want my car running hot as it will shorten the engine life. However, if I install the cooler and the cooler fails, the engine damage may be severe. I finally figured that if I can get the cooler installed correctly, the overall result will be beneficial. If the engine oil warning light ever popped 'on', I'd pull over immediately and check the oil cooler system first.

I'd be down to ditch the voltage meter/clock for an oil pressure sensor.. that would be very useful.

Yeah... I'm going to be using Magden for digital gauges on a lot of the stuff our dash is missing, but oil pressure is something where I'd really like to have a hard real gauge hooked up. As I understand it, our cars have an oil pressure sensor already that feeds the ECU for a dummy light, but I don't see how you'd re-use that hole/sensor really. Has anyone looked into how to go about adding an independent oil pressure gauge (perhaps inline with one of the cooler fittings? where would be most appropriate? Post-cooler?) I think (someone correct me if I'm wrong) that with the standard sandwich plates, the basic flow is pan -> pump -> cooler -> filter -> top of engine -> drain back to pan, right?

It's not hard to put together a quality DIY Oil cooler for a reasonable amount of money.. I have the following parts on order to do one up. Went with a Tru-cool cooler...Very affordable, nice quality and good success on the last car I used one on. Also went with a Mocal 180 degree thermostatic sandwich plate that ran the price up about $50. Most of the prefabbed kits use a standard plate with no temp control which can be detrimental in cold climates as it takes a LONG time for the oil to get up to temp. Quality Aeroquip hoses and AN10 socketless fittings complete the package. Install should be a piece of cake.

Parts list:

10 AER-FBN1000 -10 Aeroquip Socketless Hose, Black $43.70
2 AER-FCM2039 Aeroquip 90 Degree Male Elbow, Aluminum - Aeroquip 90 Degree Male Elbow, Alum. -10 to 1/2" Adapter $22.48
2 AER-FCM1534 Aeroquip Socketless 90 Degree Elbow Fitting - -10 Aeroquip Socketless 90 Degree Elbow Fitting $33.36
2 AER-FCM1514 Aeroquip Straight Socketless Fitting - -10 Aeroquip Socketless Straight Fitting $14.50
1 MOC-2BM810A Mocal 1/2" x -10 ORB fitting $15.99
1 MOC-SP1FT Mocal Sandwich Plate- 20mm Thread $86.95
1 TRU-L7B TRU-Cool 24 Row Racing Oil Cooler $44.95

Shipping Rate: $8.85
Subtotal: $270.78

From Racer Parts Wholesale

Sounds like a good setup. Although I haven't come to grips with the socket-less fittings. Have you considered adding the Oetiker clamps to the fittings?

Let us know how it turns out!

On the last cooler set-up I built I used Stainless lines...Not awfully hard to put together, but a minor PITA...After 5 years one abraided a power steering hardline causing a minor inconvenience...Purely my fault though from routing..

I researched the Socketless setup since they seem to be pretty common these days...Lots of positive reports with no real issues reported.. They actually caution you Not to use clamps on the Aeroquipt fittings..From what I've read, all over the net in many Automotive and industrial applications this approach seems just fine. Easier to put lines together, 250psi rating, cheaper too..If this wasn't proven technology it wouldn't be so widely used. I honestly don't anticipate any problems here..

I hope you can supply a DIY on this set up with lots of pics. Looks very interesting.

That's the plan....!
Should actually be a lot easier than the one I did on my Audi TT....
Pics here if interested: Oil cooler upgrade album | Ttschwing | Fotki.com

That makes me feel better about the second cooler I put in my 993. I thought it was a pain in the rear. Yours was worse.

I agree on the SS lines. I used fabric shrouded lines on my last install.

Hey Modshack,

Great idea, thanks for sharing. I see this sandwich plate has a 180º thermostat. Just to make sure I understand it, this means that if the oil is below 180º, it will bypass the cooler automatically, correct?

Also, I assume there is no way to adjust this temperature threshold? Just trying to learn more about these sandwich plates.

Thanks!

I'm prepping for my Stillen kit install. How did you guys purge the oil cooler once it was installed? I've seen various ways listed for other cars but would prefer to know exactly what works for the 370Z. One method I heard of was fully depressing the accelerator while cranking the motor (not sure how to continuously crank the engine with a push button starter). The other way was to pull the fuse on the ECU (again, not sure how to do that yet) and crank the engine again.

Finally, how does the oil cooler stay filled when the car is shut down? Having not seen it on the car yet, it's hard to visualize. But if the cooler sits higher than the oil pan, won't the oil flow back to the pan and empty the cooler each time you shut the car off? (There is a good chance I'm just not understanding the mechanics of the system...the mechanic installing it better have more knowledge).

Advice welcome!

That's exactly how they work...You do not run the risk of the oil running too cool, or not getting up to the minimum recommended 180 degrees..Though since I believe the oil system is plumbed through the Water system, the temps should stabilize at at least the normal water coolant temp of 180-190. It just may take the oil a little longer to get to that point if the cooler is running all the time (no thermostatic plate). I'm in NC so it's probably not critical, but if I lived in any of the Northern states I'd do the thermostat. Outboard ones with AN fittings can be added..

Alan...I vivdly remember the first plug change on my old 993!! Not easy there either! The 370 Oil cooler install really looks like a piece of cake. The filter base is easily accessible, hose routing appears to be no problem, and there is plenty of space to mount the Exchanger. The only thing I would prefer is the ability to mount it somewhere other than in front of the radiator as I did in my Audi....The heat expelled from the oil cooler flows directly into the radiator putting a little more load on the cooling system. I understand the stock set-up also has an exchanger to the water system but I'm not sure where it is at this point. On my Audi this was removed and bypassed therefore upping the cooling threshold on the water system... I'll look into this..

Bought Stillen Oil Cooler
 

I've been watching this thread closely. Good info, I'm learning a bunch for my install.

Oil Cooler Placement
 

Has anyone considered placing the oil cooler in a different position than two inches in front of the radiator?

I noticed that on the pre-production 370Z’s the oil cooler was positioned in the front driver side wheel wells. The driver side fang cover was removed and large slots were cut into the wheel well to exhaust the hot air.

Another thought was to create a bracket extending the oil cooler farther away from the radiator and removing the fang cover. Then you could cut the portion of the engine bay air divider directly below the bumper allowing a path for air into the wheel well. All that would be left is to cut slots in the driver side wheel well and create a wind baffle between the oil cooler and radiator directing air to the wheel well. The oil cooler would still get air from the main grill and the fang opening should provide some direct air and maybe a venturi effect drawing hot air into the wheel well.

I used my best paint skills to create a crude sketch.

As I understand it there is no external water/oil heat exchanger, they rely on the block design and the routing of the oil and water channels to passively exchange heat to each other via the block. This was on one of their press blurbs anyway. It would appear as though their design is somewhat flawed however as there is no where near enough heat exchange between the fluids. I'm sure there was a method to their madness.

The water cooling system seems to be more than adequate, I've yet to see the coolant temperature move one ... um ... dot? It would be nice to know what temperature these markings represent, my normal temp is the dot left of center.

Although it would be really nice to just tap into the stock oil pressure wire that goes to the ECU but I don't think it's the the right type that can output to a gauge (as with most factory oil pressure sensors). I'll see what I can find about it.. and i'll look into a decent sandwich adapter setup.

Jay

That's what I was thinking.....scratch that idea...
On water temps, I have a scangauge hooked up and the water temp usually runs 182-186 degrees for what it's worth (not up to temp in this pic). I haven't corellated that to the "dots" as I find that (poor excuse for a) gauge rather useless...:-)

http://images44.fotki.com/v1471/phot...MG_1438-vi.jpg

You will definitely need to "T" that sender and add one that is compatible with your gauge..... There are fittings available for this..

Steve,

The top plug on number 6 was a royal pain. I'll bet more than one person that paid to have their plugs changed didn't get that one done.

ResIpai,

I know what you are referring to on the fender mount. There does seem to be room in the fender. Apparently you can get a cooler in there and it must have worked. Setrab does make coolers with fans. In fact I have one in the garage. It is a smaller cooler with twin fans.

I'm going with the cooler in the front based on past experience with boosted 944 turbos. In the last one I built the intercooler and oil cooler were both mounted in front of the radiator. I had no problems with with water temperature.

Al....

On the fan setup, I did that on my side mounted Audi install... I found it didn't really make any dfference, but I had a large grill feeding air through it..
Might make a difference if flow is marginal, but I agree...Center mount seems best here..We only need to reduce temps about 20 degrees, and the Coolant system does seem pretty stout..

http://images112.fotki.com/v580/phot...SCF0034-vi.jpg..

http://images25.fotki.com/v950/photo...SCF0003-vi.jpg

Water temp gauges have been disconnected from true water temps for years now on most cars - it doesn't surprise me that this is the same. They want people to feel comforted about the car and not get stressed when coolant temps fluctuate, so they basically fix it in a middle position once it comes up to temp. It only goes higher if it get out of range.

Anyway, I know most other car manufacturers do this - not sure if Nissan did it in the 370, but it sounds like it.

This appears to be the case. #7 LED lights up at 155 degrees. There is no change from there up to 185 degree operating temps..

Yeah mine never moves off of that dot either (looks like the second one below the center mark to me), regardless of oil temps. Apparently the radiator is sized well (perhaps even overdone all things considered) for the amount of heat going into the coolant, there just isn't enough heat transfer from the oil to the coolant inside the engine block to get much oil cooling done, or we'd see the water temps go up when the oil gets extreme.

:iagree:.... the point was that the Water temp "Gauge" isn't a real indcator of temperature as discussed above. On my old Audi TT, there was a "smoothed" output to the gauge that essentially left it in the middle except for extremes..
The Z appears to be the same, and yes, the water cooling system seems to have enough overhead to handle most conditions which is good.....Just don't count on the indicator! My scangauge accesses the actual temp sensor output rather than the smoothed output and seems accurate to the degree. This car runs pretty cool water wise...

Wonder if there is a way to plumb a line along the oil pan for better heat exchange with the water cooling system.

Don't some the aftermarket turbochargers use an pan block/extender to tap into?

I'm not sure you really want to do that...Using 185-200 degree water to "cool" 220 degree oil (normal driving) seems a wasted effort. A true outboard, dedicated oil cooler is what is needed..

Just playing with ideas. If it would work satisfactorily, I'd much rather have the water cooling aspect take the brunt of the load and avoid installing an oil cooler. If I had a water coolant leak it's a much smaller deal than having a sudden large oil leak and loss of oil pressure.

As you noted, there wouldn't be a large temperature differential making it less than ideal and perhaps useless unless oil temps climbed into the 240s+.

With a careful install and quality parts that shouldn't be an issue..

Porsche went the oil/water cooling method in the 944 turbo. And they did run into problems with one of the gaskets in the cooling console. Think oil water milkshake. It wasn't pretty. My 944 turbo S had this problem.

Parts in. May do the DIY this weekend....

http://images43.fotki.com/v1505/phot...MG_1676-vi.jpg

http://images36.fotki.com/v1181/phot...MG_1677-vi.jpg

man you guys worry about oil leaks a cheep oil collers f'ing up. I would only use crimped on fittings on my oil lines not press on ones. Take your hose get the length you want then go to a hydralic shop and get them to crimp on some ends for you. Lookes like #6 JIC end maybe #4.

Aeroquipt socketless fittings are hardly cheap. They are widely used in industrial applications and good to 250psi. It is a simpler alternative to traditional AN10 connectors. Do a google like I did and your thinking may change..