TR6 Need help w/TR6 oil cooler install...

[Flummoxed]

Hi Guys-
You've always been such a big help, I think I need more of your advice. I live in Southern Oregon, we have temp. extremes. While my oil pressure is decent, I want to drive the 73 TR6 more, so I've decided to go w/the 13 row oil cooler from TRf (along with the thermostat). Can any of you experienced guys give me the run-down on where to install this set-up? I know to mount the oil cooler on the radiator protection plate just in front of the radiator. But, where do I mount the thermostat? If someone could give me the whole layout, I would appreciate it greatly. Thanks.

 

[Brosky]

I'm replying to keep this live, but I can't help you. That is one project that I've never done or have seen being done on a TR6.

 

[Guest]

dont get the setup from trf. get the mocal sandwich plate that fits inline with the canister oil filler conversion (which of course you have, right?). you then only need two lines to the oil cooler.

if you want the name of the vendor who provided my setup, pm me. it works out a little less expensive, and a whole lot cleaner looking.

i'd take pics, but i'm just too busy this weekend. this'll show the oil cooler in situ though:
oil cooler pic

 

[DNK]

I'm with Alan. Sorry I saw the post and it was way to complicated to explain without knowing the exact information.
I knew Alan was up on the subject and was hoping he was not to deep into the construction and might pop in!

 

[vettedog72]

The sandwich adaptor plate I use is a homemade aluminum round made from a design I got from a guy at an SCCA event. I bought a spin on filter apparatus from JC Whitney (mounted to the fender well, one that would accommodate the largest spin on filter that is commonly available in Wal-Mart etc. The cooler has never been installed but it is a used Mazda oil cooler with a built-in thermostat. I think it is an inexpensive high quality way to go. On the other hand, I don't generally run over 4k RPM's and now that you mentioned it, I don't know why one would run the oil lines all the way out in front of the radiator where the oil cooler would be mounted before returning the oil that does not need to be cooled.

 

[Bugeye58]

What oil temperature are you typically seeing without the cooler?
Jeff

 

[TR674]

Flummoxed
sorry I missed this post, but I have an oil cooler fitted to my TR6 as it was used on the race track by the previous owner.
It does keep the motor 'cooler' during a good thrashing, but does zip on a hot day stuck in traffic. I will be fitting an electric fan to the radiator before next summer to cure this problem, as the oil cooler alone will not.
I'll try and get some photos during my lunch break and re-post this thread.
Regards
Craig

 

[bunzil]

My two cents, if you have not bought the gear already...I lived in Southern Calif. and fearing excess temps, installed a cooler only to find a month later that a hose had popped off leaving oil everywhere. After then wondering if the loss of oil was indeed worse than excess temperature, I concluded simpler is better, ripped it all out, and had the radiator cleaned out professionally.

The point I learned (and observed from other hotter running cars without coolers) is that TR6's don't really run hot enough in regular use to warrant an oil cooler - even in the desert. After that, I drove the car to Arizona, Nevada, and continued to motor around the San Fernando Valley in LA where 100 temps in the summer were not uncommon. The temp gauge never passed halfway, with just the regular fan, no external electric fan. I put thousands of miles on the car under these conditions, as did my fellow club owners in SCTOA - and almost none had coolers. No doubt conditions in Oregon are less extreme.

Thus, I suggest you skip the romantic appeal of the cooler, for the sake of simplicity. Clean the radiator, watch the temp gauge, and run Castrol 20-50 in hotter conditions.

Good luck, let us know what you decide.

 

[piman]

Hello Flummoxed,

when I built my last engine, (basically TR5, injection engine) I installed an oil cooler with thermostat and also an oil temperature gauge. The thermostat came with a bracket which I fixed to the front engine plate where it connects to the engine mount.

When I started running the car, (admittedly in the UK, not like the ambient that Ned talks about) I was surprised to see that even on the hottest day the oil temperature doesn't get above 60 degrees C, so I doubt if the oil thermostat is even opening. This is with driving hard, I often see 6,000 rpm and generally cruise at 80 to 90 when I can.

So unless you are planning some competition use I would leave it off. Water temperature is not a reliable gauge of oil temperature by the way.

Alec

 

[TR674]

Flummoxed
a photo of my oil cannister conversion/adaptor showing inlet/outlet hoses.
The drawing is a sectional view of how the oil radiator is mounted. I can't get the camera in there to take a reasonable pic. Basically there are 2 L brackets bolted to the car body just in front of the radiator. The oil cooler is bolted to these brackets. There is no thermostat in the oil system.
I don't believe the oil cooler makes any difference in oil temps during normal road use and my car comes close to overheating on a +36C day if I'm not moving for a while.
Good luck.
Regards
Craig
P.S. the wet motor block is from an oil leak I had from the external oil line, I just haven't got round to cleaning it!

 

[Guest]

Hey Flum, I have a 16-row oil cooler without a thermostat installed on my TR6 with a Spal 16" electric radiator puller fan and no crank fan. Works for me. I would strongly recommend that you do install it with an Earl's oil cooler mount like below, however. These little oil coolers are rather fragile and can easily crack from vibration and leave you with a complete oil dump. Happened to a friend.

 

[piman]

Hello Bill,

as I understand, running an oil cooler without a thermostat can be a disadvantage, unless you are racing of course.
The oil needs to get nice and hot to get rid of water that gets into the oil.

Alec

 

[Guest]

Hello Bill,

as I understand, running an oil cooler without a thermostat can be a disadvantage, unless you are racing of course.
The oil needs to get nice and hot to get rid of water that gets into the oil.

Alec

Without a thermostat, all my oil recirculates all the time and will reach engine temp. With a thermostat, which I don't have, the oil in the cooler will stay there on a regular basis, especially on short drives or very cold temps. All my oil gets nice and hot all the time. Too, one additional advantage of an oil cooler is the extra oil capacity, my sump now holds about 6.5 quarts. That said, unless I disconnect an oil line, I tend to keep some oil in the cooler even during an oil change. I suppose this is not ideal. Sure not gonna drain the cooler and reconnect on a regular basis. I just change my oil every 2000 miles.

 

[piman]

Hello Bill,

do you have an oil temperature gauge?

Alec

 

[Guest]

Hi Alec,
No, I don't have an oil temperature gauge. Might be a good idea to rig one up, though. My engine, as you probably know, is set up more along the lines of the UK version of the TR6, that is, high compression, cam, etc. I feel that I tend to create more engine, thus oil, heat when I run. Having no fan, the electric fan and aluminum rad do an excellent job of keeping me in the safe zone. Having extra oil to circulate cannot hurt, imho.

 

[piman]

Hello Bill,

certainly extra oil volume helps, I have added 1" to my sump, and baffles. If you look at my earlier post I do have an oil temperature gauge and don't see high oil temperatures, in fact most of the time it's too cool. I also don't have a mechanical fan, and the electric fan only cuts in in slow moving traffic.
I know that we don't have the extremes of temperature that you have but I suspect that you would be surprised at the oil temperature if you fit a gauge?

Alec

 

[Guest]

Hello again, Alec. Where would the ideal spot be to probe the engine to monitor oil temperatures? Looks to me that the only logical area would be the sump. Would I have to weld a bung onto the oil pan? I already have one welded on near the top to allow oil to drip back into the pan from my GoodParts oil separator. This may give a false reading because the oil in the pan tends to be cooler than the active oil. Perhaps somehow tapping into my spin-on oil adapter for a more accurate active oil temperature?