Ok, so Im working on another vehicle, but I trust the opinions of those here more than some of the others I know. Im working on my 84 Toyota 4x4, and Im thinking about retrofitting an RX-7 oil cooler (or any oil cooler for that fact, I just have RX-7 coolers laying around) onto it. Anyway, since the oil system on the Toyota is "sealed" and all the passages are internal (unlike the RX-7), there are no ports or anything I could use to "tap" in the cooler. So, I was thinking about buying an oil filter relocation kit, and then putting the cooler inline with one of those hoses. The problem is, how does the filter work? Is the center the inlet or the outlet? Is one part pressurized and one just kind "drain" out? If theyre both "pressurized", then should the cooler go before or after the filter? I would think you would want the oil thin to flow through the filter easier, then cooled down before returning to the engine. However, if its thick going through the filter by being cooled first, you have less pressure drop through the whole system, correct? Anyway, feel free to discuss.

~T.J.

 

Its best to have the cooler before the filter since any debris in or from the cooler,can be captured by the filter.
The filter is fully pressurized and the oil enters from the outer ring of holes,then exits(cleaned) to the engine from the center hole.Relocation kits are nice because they make the filter easier to change,they allow use of a bigger filter than stock(usually),and plumbing in a cooler is easy.I did it on my V-6 Samurai rock crawler with much success.
I wouldnt recommend using an RX-7 cooler though.They are MUCH bigger than is needed for 99% of piston engines.Theres way more volume with one,and likelyhood of excess pressure drop is high.Rotaries are much more dependant on their oil volume and temperature control than piston engines.Quite frankly,most non-turbo piston engines just dont need that much engine oil cooling,unless they are race,tow or extreme environment oriented.A smaller/compact oil cooler will work just fine.

 

Well, its just an idea Im kinda tossing around. I see a lot of pressure drop on my dash gauge when driving long distances on the highway, and I dont really like it. The gauge drops almost a whole notch after about an hour of highway driving. Its a rebuilt engine I built not too long ago with ALL new parts. It did it before the new engine too though. Anyway, it would just be a bit of peace of mind if I had one.

I dont really need the relocation kit as I can get to the filter SUPER easy (almost as easy as a 1st gen, haha), I just need it to tap into the oil system to plumb in the cooler. Thanks for the info on how it works though, thats a huge help. I think Im just gonna buy one of those "cheapier" oil cooler kits from Napa or something and use those zip tie thingys to strap it to the radiator or something and see what it does.

~T.J.