i found an origanl oil cooler still in good condition at a junkyard from a 1988 GTA 350 TPI i have heard bad things from the oil cooler is it really that bad i know technically its not a oil cooler its just like radiator and transmission lines well let me know if it does work and if i should get it or if i shouldnt let me the know the pros & cons i know they have aftermarket ones but i really dont have that kind of money thats why im at a junkyard in the first place please leave youre opinions it will help make my decision based on it

 

to be honest, i wouldn't waste the time or money on a factory oil cooler. i have bypassed mine due to a coolant leak and haven't noticed a difference in operation temps of anything. when i researched it, the general opinion was that it didn't do much in the first place and i have found that to be true.

 

If you do it you will also need the pipes that go with it. But I wouldn't bother. What cools the oil with the facroty setup is burning hot antifreeze from either the heater core or diverted directly from the intake. And those pipes get in the way of other repairs at times.

A real aftermarket air-to-oil cooler would be better.

 

The factory oil cooler heats up the oil quicker on cold days too, it's a heat exchanger. Also, if your coolant is running @ 200F that's a good temp for your oil, not a problem at al. Oil temps at around 160 will double the engine wear over those around 200. Cooler is not always better. You need temp to get rid of water in your oil also.

I have a factory cooler on my cars, purposely reinstalled them after checking them over. I also use the later 91-92 setups, they use the same heat exchanger as the 4th gen stuff, uses a mounting block much like on the back of an R4 AC compresor. No hose clamps like the early stuff.

 

Thanks for your opinion that being said I won't be buying it I will save money to buy an aftermarket oil cooler now I know something new thanks guys

 

For an aftermarket oil cooler to function properly you need an adapter, a bunch of -12 hose, hose ends and npt adapters and, most important....a thermostat so your oil won't run too cold. Price the thermostat and then think again. I have a couple of CV products ones, they are mighty expensive. The one from Earls is a nice piece too but not cheap either. The mocal one is junk, it's a rough machined casting with a crappy mounting bracket.

 

i have given much thought to this on another post about the same topic and there is more pros to it than cons and alot has to do with what twin turbo had to say about oil temps and i will be geting it for the purpose of oil temp and longevity of the engine

 

Obviously the factory thought these cars needed an oil cooler. They spent the time and money to engineer the system and install it, they wouldn't do that for no reason. Anyone that bad-mouths the factory setup doesnt understand it's purpose.

 

Just a FYI
There are some older caprice cop cars and 3/4 HD 350 trucks that have a oilcooler with aluminum rubber lines that has a diff style adapter that can be installed on our 3rdgen cars. It doesnt use engine coolant, its more like a race car setup, it sends oil thru its lines to a air-oil cooler infront of the radiator.
It even has a built in T-stat


This is all of it but the cooler from a 3/4 ton truck

 

i would tend to think that an oil cooler on trucks or police cars would help cool the oil under severe conditions. you do want the oil to get to at least 200* to burn off things. the fact that they run it thru the radiator is to help keep it cool but also to heat it up to burn off the bad things in oil. i would do it.

 

most of the oil cooler setup on my car was salvaged
from an '83 caprice cop car,the block adapter is the
same as pictured by TTOP350-in stock form the
adapter had some flow areas that looked pretty
restrictive so i ported those areas for better flow.
At first i used the cooler plumbing from the cop car,
but the plumbing was pretty klutz so i replumbed it
with -10 aeroquip line.I mounted the oil radiator
under the hood in the area to the left of the main
radiator and mounted a specially built high power
8"electric fan to pull air through it-the fan
thermostat controlled to regulate the oil temperature.
setup has been in place since 1995 and very effective.

 

The factory setup does not have a thermostat directly. I think it uses the factory water pump stat, I can't remember the routing, or why I took it off the car.

I would put it back, but all of the pieces are long gone.

Here's something to thing about thought. Both the LT1 and LS1 engines do not have oil coolers. Maybe the gains aren't worth the extra complexity in the cooling system.

 

GM specified synthetic oil for the LT1 and later cars and
decided the oil cooler was not needed as the synthetic
could withstand higher temps without losing oil
performance.If i had an LT1/LTX f-bod,i'd still add an oil
cooler if the oil temps got up over around 240*often.

 

The oil cooler I have in the pix above has that cool lil oil T-stat in the middle of the adapter. helps keep oil the proper temp. I think the stock 3rdgen cooler has something like it in the adapter also. (in not sure) we need to find one thats damaged and pull it apart to see.

 

Roller rockers and roller cams will also reduce oil temps.

 

Oh really? Then why does my 383 cook the oil up above 300* after 3 hard laps? If they reduce temps at all, its such a small amount that it doesn't make a difference.

 

cuz when you go around a corner it "leans"
sorry couldnt help it.. haha
I'm guessing that if you put a flat tappet cam and stock rockers in your car your temps would be even higher than 300.. how much? Im not sure...
Samething happens to headers but its a faster cycle, oil/water take a bit longer to drop temp but same idea..

 

They don't have much effect on temps, its a small area compared to the heat generated by combustion itself.

What roller rockers and roller cams do for you is increase your RPM ceiling, as well as allowing more aggressive lobes to be used.

The temp difference between the two is minor, they help in other places. Yes, its less friction, but not so much that you'll see a huge difference.

 

That's true

 

I looked over some old pics, I don't think there was a thermostat in the factory system at all, at least not one for the oil. I think the just constantly pumped the hot side coolant through the system (same as heater core).

I dont' remember any external boxes at all with the system. I remember there being a Y connection near the heater core lines.

 

i bought the oil cooler from the junkyard was in good shape lines an all i didnt check if there goes a gasket from the oil cooler to the block?

 

Sorry, didn't mean to hijack.....will start a new post.

 

It doesn't need one.

 

its all good this was created for the purpose of info for me and everyone because in the end that is one of the purpose of this site knowledge

 

I don't like oil coolers. Just upgrade the cooling system. As long as the coolant doesn't get too hot, the oil wont either.

 

i myself just got the oil cooler set up from a c3500. not a bad set up. adds oil capacity to some extent. lol

 

take the rubber ring off an old oil filter and use that for the ring. i was going to but i need a new cooler now.

 

that is a completely wrong statement. My 383 in my IROC will stay at or below 200* coolant temp and cook the oil north of 300 degrees in about 3-4 hard laps. You're free to not like oil coolers, but don't spread bad info about them.

 

This thread makes me wish I had taken the oil cooler off my old L98 block instead of letting it go when I sold the block. I'd love to put it on my LT1.

 

Can anyone confirm this will work. I couldnt find a gasket thru the dealer years ago and re-used the old one, which now leaks.

 

Fel-Pro includes this square O-ring in their rebuild kits, so I know it's available... Call up Summit or Jegs and I bet they'll be able to help.

 

When I re-installed mine I just smeared some permatex black onto the cleaned seal and cleaned the mount as well. No leaks. Then I noticed that I got a replacement orange colored gasket with my new one piece oil pan gasket. If it developes a leak I'll replace it.

 

I would think the block to cooler side of the adapter would be nearly exactly the same as a normal block to oil filter gasket.

 

There isn't a normal block to oil filter gasket.

 

My LT1 had one. I assumed SBC had one as they are nearly identical. It was a PITA getting the old gasket material off when I had to do the rear main seal on it.

 

the setup i got off the '83 cop impala did have a gasket
where the cooler adaptor fits up into the block and an
o-ring where the outer rim fits against the block.
without the top gasket in place,there will be no external
leaks,but oil will be able slip past unfiltered...
BTW i "ported"some of the passages in my cooler
adaptor because they looked kinda restrictive in original
"as cast"condition with the sharp edges and casting
"flash"Also had to rework the area where the steel fitting
that the filter screws onto threads into the aluminum
adaptor as the port in the adaptor is partly covered by
the steel fitting in stock form...

 

My 95Z LT1 Has an Oil Cooler ??

I've been thinking about installing one of these into my ThirdGen for awhile. I've got all the thirdgen parts and will be upgrading to an LT1 motor soon. When I bought the LT1 engine it still had it's factory 4th gen oil cooler on it.

Other than line compatability,....... Can anyone recomend one style over the other ??

IIRC the thirdgen oil cooler coolant flow is controled by the coolant thermostat. All the lines carry coolant and not oil ( added capacity is to the coolant, not the oil.) If the thermostat is controlling the coolant flow than the lines will not carry water to the oil cooler until the thermostat is open - just under 200 in most cases. I think the AC coolant bypass might also effect flow,.... ?

Since the idea to to cool the OIL directly ( not cooling the engine thru passages in the block/heads ) I would think that this type of cooler WOULD be a quicker method of transfering the heat.

Back to my main concern; I currently use a Fram PF5 oil filter. It's much larger than the oil filter that a ThirdGen calls for - and adds a little extra oil capacity ! This 'mod' obviously leaves less clearence. My Reservations about installing an oil cooloer remains regradless of the type that's used,...... filter to ground clearence is probaly going to be a problem in my thirdgen when usung this larger filter - isn't it ?? ( the PF5 sits REAL low in my fourth Gen ! )

Anyone running a stock ( or LT1 ) oil cooler under a thirdgen hood that can explain how much of an issue clearence is ??

 

Post a picture !

 

If i pull my car into the garage this weekend,i'll see if i
can get some good,well lit pics of the cooler install and
the hose routing underneathPretty much unchanged
since '95,but i reworked the fan after the 5-blade
stamped aluminum one got bent up when a trouble
light cord got in it...A buick grand national intercooler
fan got trimmed to 8"and a new hub made to mate it
to the '82 citation fan motor;all working good again and
new fan is quieter than the aluminum one that made
kind of a ringing sound.

 

Cool . Do oil coolers put much more stress on an old oil pump ? Im thinking on holding off untill I do a rebuild of the short block (thinking of just putting in some flat top pistons , maybe a roller cam ).
Im thinking I would like to put in a strong oil cooler as well . I was thinking I could force hot air out of the side vents removing under hood heat at the same time .


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The GM block adaptor i used has a relief valve to bypass
the cooler if excess pressure builds up from cold oil or
other cause-will not place any significant extra load on
the oil pump.My cooler is plumbed with -10 line and i
avoided sharp bends to reduce restriction as much as
possible

 

Take a look under the hood at where those faux vents are located & you will see that it will be VERY difficult, if not impossible, to get underhood heat out through those.