I just got a first gen oil cooler for free for my rotary super beetle project car. Which is the inlet and which is the outlet port on the cooler? There seems to be a bypass in there and i dont want to run it backwards and risk wiping out the motor. I'm also wondering if mounting the cooler high would be a problem, that mother holds a lot of oil. Thats a long way to push all that oil and the pan isn't that big either... Any ideas here?

 

I don't think I can answer your questions just wondered how you made out. I am doing the same thing with a Ghia. Using a 13b from an 88, I mounted the oil cooler to the right of the engine about factory height (alittle close to the exhaust system colud be a problem). I have it upside down to it's original position. The lines are conected to fill from the bottom and draw from the top.

 

I remember it being the other way. You can try the 1st gen forum too, but IIRC from my FB, the oil comes from the pump through the upper oil line, out the bottom, into the rear, and through the regulator.

 

The correct way to hook it up is to have the oil fitting on the engine's front cover connect to the top fitting on the oil cooler (nearest the brackets). The longer oil line front the rear of the engine, which attatches to the rear plate with a banjo bolt, goes to the bottom fitting closest to the large (30mm or so) bolt/plug at the bottom of the oil cooler.

The oil flows out of the front cover, through the oil cooler, and into the rear plate. I could get more detailed, but that's the basic info for you.

I don't know if it's ok to mount the oil cooler upside down, or verticle or whatever, but if you do, please make sure to observe proper flow direction, as I mentioned above.