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Oil cooler

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Hey all,

I have no oil cooler in my MGB 1964. Should I get one? They're quite expensive :S How useful is it?
 
Hello, Dreas. Possibly the most important question to ask regarding your need for an oil cooler: what's your MGs normal operating temperature? Does it ever overheat?

If it overheats excessively, an oil cooler may not be your answer. Then, it may help to have the radiator checked for blockage/scaling. That's the first place I'd look if the car is tuned properly and the fuel mixture is right.

So, does it run hot?
 
Actually it runs extremely hot (90 or something) but it's at a professional garage right now to be checked for that and to re-tune the whole engine. The garage keeper tells me an oil cooler is not really necessary probably but I am just wondering if it would be wise to spend the money on it or not. The engine has actually been rebuild and the whole car has been restored so except for the tuning it's in a good shape ..
 
Over here 90 degrees would be a good thing ... Of course that would be fahrenheit, not centigrade. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Seriously, though, check into the other MGB's in your area. I'm guessing that most do not have an oil cooler, and if not, you probably don't need one, either. As stated above, it's more than likely a problem with the cooling system.

Mickey
 
An oil cooler should only be necessary in hot climates. If your hot season causes the car to overheat then you may benefit from an oil cooler. But as it has been suggested I would start by making certain the existing cooling system is functioning properly. Backflush the system and have the radiator checked. You can also recore the radiator with a thicker and more efficient unit. I had a MX core installed in my MGA radiator and it made a very noticable improvement. Of course installing an oil cooler will not hurt anything so if you are considering it, there is no reason not to go ahead. But if it is not necessary then it won't help much either unless you drive the car very hard.
 
Ok thnx. By Tuesday the garage should have fixed the overheating problem so I'll discuss it with them then.
 
I have just started this undertaking on my 1979 Midget. The oil cooler is installed but my lines didn't arrive yet. I'm in the deep south and was having a terrible heating problem. I changed the thermostat-then removed it .Replaced the radiator. changed hoses(blew top one ) and have fought this battle all year. runs fine in my shop for an hour-but on the road it went up faster in 10 minutes than I was willing to risk a longer experiment. We used a cut off at the heater and whether it was a combination of all she runs midline now. I still thought the oil cooler sounded like a good idea-now I'm half done and it seems unnecessary.I do check it and add water . My reserve looks questionable and I intend to replace it-should I fight installing the lines(when they arrive) or wait till it starts to run hot? Randi
 
thank you but how do I do that? my computer is the reason I drive old cars!!!!!!!!!!!!Randi
 
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