I'm curious: Is the A/C condenser supposed to have a piece of metal on the bottom it that partially blocks the back side of the oil cooler, and part of the front of the condenser?

Because the one I put on my car from the junkyard does...and it looked like it was supposed to be there, but it didn't make much sense.

OTOH I haven't noticed any temperature or A/C problems even with it on there...

 

No, it wouldn't help at all.

While this is a logical assumption, it must be incorrect otherwise it would be a very common and well-know problem. There are plenty of people with electric fans and oil temp gauges, but I've never heard any of these people talk about idle oil temp being an issue.

Because if your temps are okay now, even at full load, then improving the oil cooler's efficiency will lower the oil temp, which isn't necessarily a good thing.

Yes it does, but that doesn't happen during driving, it only happens once the engine's been turned off and left to cool. I did say that...

 

I am confused, I don't get how it *only* closes when the engine is off. Does it works by temp and pressure?

I don't know the exact oil temp, but during winter time; even with a FMIC, the oil temps are considerably lower

 

It works by temp only. Considering while your engine is running and at operating temps, your oil temp should not get to 145*F, the bypass valve will be closed ABOVE 145*F. When we say closed, we mean that it closed the bypass hole for the oil which if opened, would allow the oil to flow directly through the cooler end tank without flowing through the cooler its self. When the engine is off, the oil will cool to and below 145*F and will open the bypass hole which you does nothing while the engine is off, but when you start the car up next time, if the oil in the engine is cool enough, the oil will flow right through the bypass hole untill it heats up to 145 and then the hole closes off and the oil flows through the cooler.

I suppose, but I havn't seen a whole lot of members with oil temp gauges either. Like I said before, I may not have an issue with the oil temp at all, I just couldn't see how it could be working to its full potential.

I don't think the oil will get to a temp that we have to worry about if we made it more efficeint.

Im still undecided.

hmm, could you take a picture?

 

Which has a shroud I am probubly thinking to hard on this subject.

 

I understand what happen when the valve closes; the question is when and how, since NZconvertible said that "it only happens once the engine's been turned off and left to cool"

As I stated, oil temps are are way cooler during winter time, unfortunately; I never recorded their readings.

 

Yes it does, but it only covers 3/4 of the radiator.

 

The oil temp doesn't cool enough to open the bypass until the engine stops running. How could it? It's circulating through an engine who's coolant never drops below 180degF.

How could something behind the oil cooler guide air that's in front of it? That makes no sense.

 

No no no, the air that is being pulled, the way im thinking of it is like 2 straws, suck in one and hold the 2nd straw an inch away from the first straws end and put your finger over the 2nd straw, you will feel no suction, now put the straws together or atleast so they are tuching, now the air you are sucking through the first straw is also going through the second straw. I don't know what you would call this, guiding vacuum?

So using the a/c condensor, which I forget exactly how close it was to each exchanger but I would think that it could help guide this.......vacuum? Again don't know what to call it, through the oil cooler, or somthing like that....

 

Well, on normal spring\fall days, the oil temp does match the coolant temp; however on summer\winter time thats not really the case. For example on a hot summer day, the oil temp will match the coolant temp, and then proceeds to climb above 200F (with a FMIC). In my experience, the coolant temp does not moves from 185F (normal every day reading on the autometer gauge, E6K reads +/- 3 degrees) untill the oil temps reach 210-215F, at that point the coolant temp starts climbing slowly.

On the other hand, during winter timel the coolant temp will reach 185F fairly fast; while the oil temps take its time to rach that level, however as soon as the car starts moving, oil temps go down from its normal readings. On my case, my daily route constitues of small up and down hills. During a 20 mile trip of up and down hills, oil temps do go under 160F (I know they go lower than that, but can't ramember the exact number); while coolant temps stay at 185F.

All readings are based on Autometer's phantom electrical oil\coolant temp gauges. oil temp is measured at the oil filter, and water temp under the water thermostat.

I am not arguing with you, just trying to understand who it works, based on my experience.

 

You got snow stuffed on the oil cooler during the winter. There is your problem

JP

 

You need an oil temp gauge

 

hahaha.

 

It's called making one long straw out of two short ones. As soon as there was any gap between the two straws, the air moving through the second one would drop dramatically because it's much easier for air to enter through the gap than down the second straw.

No, air simply doesn't behave like that. Besides, there is a significant gap between the A/C condensor and the oil cooler.

I'm not saying they do, I'm just saying there's no way the oil is going to get 40degF cooler than the coolant, which is the only way the oil cooler bypass could open when the engine's hot.

 

You wouldn't able to see if very well if I took a picture of it on the car.

It's basically just a peice of sheet metal that bolts onto the bottom 3 1/2 inches or so of the bottom of the front of the A/C condenser, and has a little lip that sort of catches on the top of the back of the oil cooler.

 

Exactly, this is why I mentioned the statment about the a/c condenser. Kinda lengthens the straw if you will.

Aight I couldn't remember how much of a gap there was between the 2.

 

Not to mention the fact there's a block off plate on the bottom of the condensor which would prevent the hot air coming off the oil cooler to be passed through the condensor.

 

That completly ended my opinion on that subject. So that idea is out the door. Thanks for commenting in.

 

just as a little side note here as i admit to skipping most of these posts.

I look at it this way, LOTS of people with different cars upgrade to our stock oil cooler.

if ours works so good that they upgrade to it, id figure it does a pretty good job.

and like one other poster said, colder oil isnt always the best thing, theres a sweet spot.

kevin.

 

I have my oil cooler mounted in front of my IC and higher, with a hole in the front bumper, and I experience the same thing you just said. During hot days my oil temps are about 15 degrees hotter while driving. Coolant always stays around 180-185, and oil temps are around 200. Cold winter days the oil coolant shoots up and stays, and oil stays super cool. Now if sitting in traffic, or with blocked airflow on hot days Im seeing maybe 210 for oil which is normal. This is with running a 60-1 which is only oil cooled. Everything this is fine at the moment, but I do want to upgrade to a batter unit. i know we have good oil coolers, but there are better setups out there.

 

Here's a couple of pics of the stock oil cooler, AC condensor and radiator set-up, showing the deflector behind the oil cooler. The deflector is actually mounted to the front of the AC condensor, and prevents air that's gone through the oil cooler from going through the condensor. All air that's passed through the oil cooler then goes under the condensor and through the radiator. The foam strips on the bottom of the oil cooler and radiator seal them to the undertray so air doesn't go under then instead of through.

 

Thanks NZ! Its been awhile since I have seen the a/c setup.