Many advantages for this type of oil cooler system. Increased oil pressure, especially at lower rpms. Increased oil pressure = more flow to the bearings, piston squirters (if equipped) and less chance of a rod knock. If your engine was not originally equipped with the stock bypass-type oil cooler, then this is a viable and excellent alternative to the stock setup. No need to change the oil pan or weld any fittings. Just bolt in place and GO!
I'd recommend this setup for any redtop (smallport) or 20v conversion. The 20v especially, because they were not originally equipped with the bypass type oil coolers.
Disadvantage? Cost and the amount of work involved.
We just installed a full flow oil cooler, with real AN hoses and fittings, plus a Mocal thermo-sandwich plate. You can use either dash-8 or dash-10 hoses and fittings. We found that dash-8 was easier to route due to more compact fittings, etc. It's kinda tight near the p/s bracketry.
Simplest (least expensive) quality setup with AN hoses for full flow cooler:
mocal oil thermostat sandwich plate adapter SP1-T ($80 USD)
dash-8 AN hose, about 6'
2x 90 deg AN hose ends
2x straight AN hose ends
1x 90 deg 1/2" NPT to dash-8 adapter
1x straight 1/2" NPT to dash-8 adapter
plus an oil cooler with dash-8 fittings.
(Mocal or Earls 13 or 19-row will work fine)
With these fittings, it will fit in an ae86 with powersteering, but not with a/c. You will need to clearance the engine mount bracket a little bit to fit this whole setup in place. The ports on the sandwich plate basically point towards the rad, and the hoses come off and then make a 90 deg turn. 1 90 deg adapter on the sandwich plate, plus 1 90 deg hose end on the other hose.
You'll need a 22mm wrench to assemble these fittings. Try not to scratch them
Mocal thermostatic sandwich plate, model SP1-T. Above pic courtesy of www.racerpartswholesale.com
The assembled hoses and componentry. Note the 90 degree fittings at the sandwich plate. These exact fittings will allow you to clear the p/s pump bracketry.
photo credit: brian
The fluid flow diagram.
The inlet of the oil cooler must be the bottom hose. The ideal mounting position of the cooler is shown, with the fittings on the side of the cooler. It's okay to run fittings pointing upwards (as in, fittings on top of the cooler) but it's not okay to run the fittings in from the bottom. If you do so, you'll have an air pocket in the cooler, and reduce the efficiency of your cooler to the point that it's like not having one in the first place.
Also, a few more notes:
The factory oil cooler CANNOT be used for full flow, as it's not rated for the pressures that the engine can generate. The budget cooler is made by B&M or Tru-Cool. The Mocal/Setrab/Earls oil coolers are way nicer than the economy coolers. But you get what you pay for.
Originally Posted by pitobread
