Has anyone flushed out there oil coolers? How did you do it? I want to do this since I had a main bearing go out on my engine and don't want oil filings to get put through the new engine. Any ideas on the best way to do this? Thanks

 

If you have the stock oil cooler, I.E., the single one on the left side, Just pull the thermostat out of the cooler and let it drain out. I am not sure about the R1's though.

After you put everything back together, run the car until it heats up enough to start circulating oil into your oil coolers. After this, change the oil and repeat. This should be all you need to do.

 

or go aftermarket oil cooler....looks better if you buy everything seperate should only be around $300.. summit has all the lines and fittings you need.. thats what I plan on and would do if that happend to me..

But if you dont want to go that route.. then I would think the only way you could get it completely clean would be to take it all apart....

 

There are places that specialize in cleaning and restoring heat exchangers, including oil coolers. Someone posted here or on the List about it a few years ago. They used a place in Texas that rebuilds coolers for the military.

Mazdatrix and others advise you to get new coolers, or have the old ones cleaned by such a shop. I believe (but I'm not sure) that they use hot solvents + ultrasonic cleaning tanks. Maybe Mazdatrix can tell you details and recommend a shop.

I have heard that engine rebuilders will not warranty an engine unless you use new lines & coolers (or clean properly).

Now, if it was my new motor, I would probably spring for new lines, hoses, coolers and radiator. Or, if $$ was tight, try one of those shops...

 

Shouldn't filings get filtered out by the oil filter? Those filings can be found in freshly ported motors too. You can't avoid them sometimes...

 

Well, in theory the filter should filter out all particles larger than what the filter media is designed to pass through. But the particles have to make it to the filter to be trapped.

I doubt that people are too worried about the metal particles that get in the oil as an engine breaks-in and continues to run throughout its lifetime. You can't avoid that. But, if you had a bearing fail, and relatively large pieces metal were in the oil system, your nightmare scenario is that a chunk gets fed into some type of seal, bearing, or gearset and chews something up.

Then there are the smaller particles that are big enough to get caught in the filter, but have not yet been filtered out. If they get stuck where they are, maybe it's not such a big deal, other than incrementally reducing flow, adding to existing sludge & buildup, or perhaps serving as a starting point for new sludge & buildup. But if they travel through any parts that are to be lubricated against friction, it's definitely not going to help the longevity of those parts.

 

Here's the post I was thinking of:

http://www.scuderiaciriani.com/rx7/o..._cleaning.html

Quote:

Mazdatrix and others advise you to get new coolers, or have the old ones cleaned by such a shop. I believe (but I'm not sure) that they use hot solvents + ultrasonic cleaning tanks. Maybe Mazdatrix can tell you details and recommend a shop.

Whoops, I also just checked Mazdatrix's website. Can't find a damn thing to support what I said yesterday, so I have to take this statement back. Now I'm not sure where the hell I heard this.

Quote:

I have heard that engine rebuilders will not warranty an engine unless you use new lines & coolers (or clean properly)...

Currently looking for more on this. I know I've been told this, but if I can't back it up in a day or two, I guess that my first post devolves into a "look what Carlos did" post. Grrrrr.

 

Thanks for the link I am going to contact American Cooler Service and my local RX-7 mechanic.