who has done their own aftermarket oil cooler ?
I'm through screwing around with the unreliable stock fmoc, I'm on my third one and they have all cracked at where the inlet is, I have made the short oil line more time then I can remember and I'm done with any fc or fb oil cooler forever.

I want to find one with the inlet / outlet on the same side (left) I have been looking at misimoto (sp.) and they seem nice only they have inlet and outlet on opposite sides. Does anyone know of a brand that has inlet outlet on the same side ?
thx

 

I have no idea. I had my FMOC crack at the inlets because of overtightening. It cost me $20 to get it welded at a local shop.

 

oem is the only reliable way to go. aftermarket units are not able to efficiently cool the oil and thus engine failure will result.

 

i'm looking at some ebay specials and fd oil coolers has anyone had luck using a single fd cooler to cool their 13b fb ?

stock coolers may work, but stock mounting location really blows donkey n*utz. This may be the issue.

 

Factory units are a real sweet piece. If you wanna get clever mount 2 stockers...... Other people seek out our oil coolers for performance upgrades.....FWIW just my 2 cents

 

What you can do is buy two weld on AN fittings and have the inlet and outlet bungs cut off and weld the fittings in their place. You will have to use stainless steel lines and AN fittings, but once you go this route it's pretty much bulletproof. I've done this to mine and have had no issues at all. Otherwise you'll have to get a very large aftermarket FMOC or use more than one. The usual aftermarket coolers are built for piston engine cars that don't see the heat a rotary does. Also one of the biggest reasons for FD engine failure is colling issues, so do you really think the FD coolers are all that good?

 

if anything some people upgrade to the FC oil cooler.

 

yeah, i decided to stick with the stock one. I have more issues with the factory mounting locations sucking when using an fittings/lines.

I tried to tig weld one of my other cracked oil coolers but it was dirty and didn't work.

would using a sandblaster on the bung clean enough to weld it ??

I'm also having issues with relocating the thing i have a i/c blocking my radiator and if i go with the easy way i will have a oil cooler blocking the intercooler which is blocking the radiator which is blocking my air filter.... what a pain in the ***

I have a little space barely wide enough and deep enough and also half would be blocked by the front reinforcement and I would have a difficult time plumbing the stainless lines to the thing...uggh

 

good choice on sticking with the oem oil cooler!

 

When I prep the cracked bungs on the 1st gen fmocs, I use an 1/8" bur in the die grinder and cut a 3/16" deep groove. Then the cooler gets flushed with a couple cans of brake cleaner, you need to take out the thermostat and replace the plug. Blow the cooler out, repeat with brake clean and compressed air. Lasty, the groove gets brake cleaner and blown dry, then off to the welder. 3 repairs and no leaks so far. Depending on the crack, you may need to carry the goove onto mating surface of the crush washer. Tricky part then is to sand down the mating surface perfectly flush. I use a flat metal file to rough the weld bead down flush, then self stick sandpaper mounted on a flat piece 1/4" aluminumun plate or bar stock. 220 grit paper is fine enough for finish, use a little WD40 as a cutting lube, it's prevents buildup on the sandpaper.

If you keep cracking bungs, then you're over tightening the fittings. The best trick I've found is to hand tighten the fittings, then wrench another 1/4 turn. Start the engine and slowly/gently tighten the fittings until the leaks stop. New crush washers are a must.

One nice thing about going to the 2nd gen fmoc is they use bajjo fittings, much less likely to crack.

 

for tig welding you need it very clean acetone is what you need. but a little secret is that fingernail polish remover is acetone. so you can buy it for a buck at the dollar tree. also back gouging the area to be welded as trochoid stated above is a must for a long lasting weld. I'm sure the breklean method works also. But my two cents would be to clean the area with acetone also.

 

Just weld the fittings, the stock unit really only fails at the bungs and once you weld them you shouldn't have a problem ever if they are done properly.

 

i'm going to take the back gouging method an d I have a can of acetone to clean it with. what do i use to back gouge it, i have not done welding in a while? a dremmel? the crack goes through about four threads down.

 

I don't know if it will make any difference.. but when we welded my cooler, we fit a bolt or pipe piece into the threaded section back gouged the crack and then welded it. It helped to have the piece screwed in there to prevent warping and having to retap the threads afterwards.

 

did the exact same thing on mine, it worked well

 

qft

this is exactly the route I'm going to take. I just droppped the fmoc off at a speed shop and they suggested doing exactly this and it will eliminate any future issues
(fingers crossed)

i will update this thread with photos of the relocation if anyone is interested

 

that would be great.