damn o-rings just started leaking on my "beehive" oil cooler... anything I need to watch out for when I replace them?

Dan

 

Yea, look for the parts to convert to air to oil cooler. Your engine will thank you. Any '79 to '82 donor car parts will work, better yet a 84-85 GSL-SE.

John

 

mine are doing the same thing....still haven't changes them...planning on replacing the entire cooler and lines with a smaller unit but with a 450 hp rating...found one the other day,,,not sure who makes it...$89.99

 

HEEEEEYYYYY!!!!!

I posted in the forsale section.

82 oil cooler good shape, and STAINLESS lines to go with it.
the lines are brand new Mazdatrix parts. used for like 4000 miles.

$160 shipped fo both. Its all you need to convert to front mount.

PM me or email at theorganicmechanic@hotmail.com

 

be wary of aftermarket units. Usually it will not FLOW enough for a rotary.

since the rotary is 40% cooled by oil, you must have a very efficient, high flowing cooler.

The stock front mount unit is very good. Better than 90% of aftermarket units.

I am selling mine because the intercooler and chevy style radiator do not allow the use of such a long cooler. I plan on using 2 smalller ones run in parallel.

 

He would need the oil filter neck too.

~T.J.

 

oh, well I guess you need that too then.

 

Well to actually answer your question .......

Loosening/removing the stupid banjo bolt is a PITA. Also dont kink the hardline. Theres a bolt on the rear housing and 2 nuts and it comes off. Dont remove the wrong ones. Look at the manual. Actually ou can seperate the cooler from the mount even though it says not to. Youll just need 4 of the o rings instead of 2.

 

fix the one you have they are good to go once you get them orings replaced its no pie job though get your eng. cleaned up first and you will need some goood tools and watch the banjo fitting oh yeah those wonderful coolers under the rad. leak to

 

Fix what you have? Mazda admitted that the water to oil cooler was a mistake, since it can't keep the oil temperature down. You can do the conversion for around $100 with good used parts and if you are in need of a new radiator (most people do) go to the short 3 row for $130 more, put the early style oil cooler under it and the car will run a lot cooler.
I fix those o-rings more than once, only to have my dowel pin o-rings to leak, which mean a engine rebuild.
If they haven't started leaking already?
It is a fact that higher that average oil temperature will cause premature o-ring failure.
You put any type of power mod on the car and you sure will add to high oil temperature issue.

Find me 1 engine builder that builds race engines for SPEC 7 that will still run the stock "bee hive" oil cooler.

I know some of you don't have the money to do certain things to your car, but you price a engine lately?

My .02¢ take if for what its worth.

 

That rhino holds an excellent point...
Ah well... all about gsl-se power. Although i just recently had a problem. The fitting that connected to the oil line was cracked a little bit and it caused a little leak. I couldn't see the cracks so i tried tightening it and i ended up making the cracks way bigger so i had to pay 120 bucks to have a machinist cut off the fitting and weld a new stronger one on and i had to buy a tap for it. And THEN he didn't even give me my tap back... honestly...

Zachstylez

 

i know a guy that drag races 700hp 12a's and purposely uses the beehive oil cooler. he is 680rwhp on this forum.

 

Wow that is some serious HP, but what he running under 10sec, plus maybe startup time of 5 minutes. Running a radiator on the car that could cool a semi-truck.

If we are going to compare, lets make it apples to apples. I don't know too many people that only run 5 minutes trips and shut off the car.


John

 

just stating, if they're so bad why wouldnt he use the air to oil? to push that much hp using a turbo, your going to create heat. the beehive isnt that bad. i've never had temp problems with mine. plus, robert (680rwhp) also has a turbo 12a daily driver that still uses the beehive. customer fabrications keep the beehive. i am just stating that i think you guys just overate the horridness of it. if your car is overheating or your temps arent cool enough, maybe the problem lies somewhere else? it costs less than 10 bucks to get the o-rings needed to fix the leak and it's 3 nuts to take off. i would try that first and see how things work.

edit: the puerto ricans here with pp 12a's also stick with the beehive oil cooler and the stock clutch fan. if everything is in good working order; you'll be fine.

 

p.s.

the puerto ricans here with pp 12a's also stick with the beehive oil cooler and the stock clutch fan. if everything is in good working order; you'll be fine.

 

I sorta like the beehive. I've got one to play around with. I wonder if I'll ever put it on anything?

 

Here is what MazdaSpeed Motorsports has to say about it:
RX7's
The oil cooler on these RX7s is mounted under the oil filter. It should not be used for competition purposes. Early model (1979-82 RX7s) use a shorter radiator than the 1983-1985 RX7s that allows room for the oil cooler to be mounted underneath.


Good luck with your repair.

J.

 

yes, to each their own.