Engine oil cooler

[choppinczech]

Anyone using one? I've got room for 2 fan cooled stacked plate coolers. Trans and engine oil.

Is it necessary or maybe even a down side? Am I over thinking again?

 

[PotvinGuy]

I used a tranny cooler because everyone else was. Then I got a tranny temp gauge and found I didn't need the cooler; indeed, it was keeping the tranny too cool! So I got rid of it. Our lightweight cruisers just don't make big heat. I'd get temp gauges for oil and tranny, and see if you need any cooling and, if so, how much. There are optimal temp ranges for oil and tranny; too cold is as bad as too hot.

 

[tdkkart]

With an engine sitting out in the open like these do, if your cooling system works at all you'll probably be running too cool if anything.
Definitely don't need an engine oil cooler.

 

[choppinczech]

I used a tranny cooler because everyone else was. Then I got a tranny temp gauge and found I didn't need the cooler; indeed, it was keeping the tranny too cool! So I got rid of it. Our lightweight cruisers just don't make big heat. I'd get temp gauges for oil and tranny, and see if you need any cooling and, if so, how much. There are optimal temp ranges for oil and tranny; too cold is as bad as too hot.

Awesome.
I've got both engine oil and trans temp guages coming soon.

Thank guys. I tend to over think things.

 

[choppedtop]

I am just using an aluminum finned cooler on my sedan, which is a bit heavier than the buckets, and all is well after 8k miles and quite a bit in the city traffic. That is using the 700R4

 

[2old2fast]

With the temp taken before the therm. , my .060 over stroked , 10.4:1 small block struggles to keep 180* w/ a 190* stat running down the road @ 60 mph , so I'd say no to a cooler.
dave

 

[Zandoz]

Unless you plan on pulling a sizeable trailer, an engine oil cooler is very probably unnecessary. Yes, there can be a downside...if positioned so that it impedes the airflow to the radiator.

 

[T-Test]

I had one on my bucket until the hoses burst. I then made a loop of steel tubing about 6" long and went from the inlet to the outlet fittings and have never had any trouble pulling my tag along trailer for the bucket or the 4X8 trailer I pull with my motorcycle on it for hundreds of miles at a time. Ted Brown said one [cooler] is not needed on a light car and not to run it through the radiator cooler either, as that gets the trans fluid up to the radiator temperature, and that could get too hot for the tranny oil . I agree with his opinion--unless you are running a real high stall torque converter which produces a lot of heat. JMTCW

 

[fletcherson]

If I were going to run an automatic transmission, I would plumb it with a loop for a cooler and install a T and a temp gauge and add a cooler later if warranted. Heat is the enemy of trannys, but they also need to be at operating temp so the fluid is at the correct viscosity. Thinner fluid allows for quicker, firmer shifts.

 

[Indycars]

I had a temperature gauge in the pan and it read 150°F, then I moved it to
the output to the cooler line. The temperature went to 225°F, so it really
depends on where your sensor is located. I have a 200-4R and a 2800 stall
convertor. I'm running a trans cooler and it still hits about 200°F on a 90°F
day in traffic.

 

[Zandoz]

If I were going to run an automatic transmission, I would plumb it with a loop for a cooler and install a T and a temp gauge and add a cooler later if warranted. Heat is the enemy of trannys, but they also need to be at operating temp so the fluid is at the correct viscosity. Thinner fluid allows for quicker, firmer shifts.

I like that idea! I'd just need a discreet location for the gauge.

 

[fletcherson]

I like that idea! I'd just need a discreet location for the gauge.

You could just mount it temporarily to monitor, then eliminate it if space is an issue. I personally like to see what's going on, so I would work it in somewhere.

 

[Zandoz]

You could just mount it temporarily to monitor, then eliminate it if space is an issue. I personally like to see what's going on, so I would work it in somewhere.

It's a long way off, but I won't want it fastened to the body to complicate taking the body off. My thought right now is to figure out where I'd put a cooler, and mount the gauge there.