I need an oil cooler (see on the attached schematics part number 141 and the actual pictures below that one) for my 1991 Camaro Z28 5.7 L G92 sports package; it is not available anywhere in the market:
1) Please advise if you may have a decent one, that is, one from a car that has been periodically maintained in terms of antifreeze, allowing the part to maintain its proper functionality.
2) Further advise about the reliability and durability of this actual part if I were to clean it and reuse it.
3)Also please provide me w/ a GM part number, if possible, which may greatly facilitate my after-market search. Thank you in advance.

 

I would clean it and reuse it.

 

If all that's wrong with that oil warmer is that rust accumulation, you can clean that up easily enough with a good blast from the garden hose followed by baking soda.

Reliability will be no different than if you didn't clean it.

AFAIK GM no longer has that available; and aftermarket oil coolers are actual coolers, unlike that one, which is a warmer designed for more quickly getting the oil up to temp during cold startups.

 

Interesting... The schematics I attached it to my original post designate it as an engine oil cooler; I am confused. I was thinking about going w/ an after market cooler ( https://www.ebay.com/itm/7-Row-AN10-...d/282424056557 ) since I figured there is a potential problem where the corrosion inside -if severe and probably is, due to continued and lengthened use w/o anti-freeze- may lead to an actual break between the oil/water barrier and to a catastrophe. PS: I have a plug inlet on the oil pan that literally attaches to an electrical outlet for severe weather to warm the oil before the start-up

 

Very common option purchased in Alaska, Canada, Minnesota, the Dakotas, etc.

The "oil cooler" on these cars brings the oil up to hot-water temp. Which would ordinarily be around 200 - 210 in a stock cooling system. I suspect that in a street-driven daily-driver type application the il would rarely ever get that hot. Intended for police cars and similar fleet applications, where the users crank the car up and more or less immediately hammer the throttle; also popular on trucks, for the same reason. That's VERY hard on a cold engine since the oil is more like candle wax on a cold morning. The "cooler" helps get the oil flowing quicker. It's not AT ALL the same thing as an "oil cooler" on a race car, which is designed to shed as much heat as possible, on the assumptions that (a) the driver is going to warm up the car correctly (acoupla parade laps etc.) and (b) SO MUCH waste heat is going to be produced that the oil needs all the help it can get to keep from turning to something about as thick as acetone or whatever.

Not much sense in continuing to use it if you install an aftermarket one.

You don't really lose much by doing away with it altogether. People do it all the time because the lines (steel) rust through. I haven't ever seen anybody post on here about theirs exchanging oil & water though, so it's probably not much of a concern.

 

Thank you very much for this very detailed and thorough explanation, I appreciate it

 

Oil gets hotter than coolant. That is indeed an oil cooler. But it also helps bring oil up to temp quicker because the coolant warms up faster than the oil. It serves both functions.

Cars that actually race need more oil cooling and often use an air heat exchanger. Those need to be tamed on the street though because there is too much cooling for normal driving. The solution is a temperature switch that mostly bypasses the cooler until oil is up to temp.

 

Boil it, flush it thoroughly, repaint, and you're good to go.

 

Remote Oil Cooler Thermostats are actually pretty inexpensive. Just be sure NOT to restrict the flow with undersized fittings.
https://www.summitracing.com/search/...stats?N=400434

This adapter has the thermostat built into it.
https://www.summitracing.com/parts/der-25702/overview/

 

I'm discussing details about an engine I bought at Lakenor over twenty-five years ago. I was planning on using it in my car retirement project and I turned out using the engine in my truck retirement project. It came out of a '90 Cadillac and it was a 350 TBI SBC. It was equipped with an engine oil cooler that routed the oil to the radiator rather than routing coolant to the unit you have posted. I think it would make more sense to use that type of cooler if you want to use one. I've seen them on Ebay for roughly $40 since I was thinking about selling the one I have and I wanted to price them. I'd give you the part # but it's hidden in the garage somewhere at the moment. It's similar to the oil cooler they use on the pickups.

 

Modine is the manufacturer, there is a new old stock one on ebay now...

 

PN# 14092135

NOS oil cooler assy

 

Clean it out with some CLR, rinse and install.

 

Personally I would just delete it and run a high quality synthetic that flows well at low temps, maintains proper viscosity at high temps and not worry about that heat exchanger. With modern oils, those are superfluous.

GD

 

Funny, I was just reading up on the BMW N62 engine and the document refers to the oil cooler as exactly that, a heat exchanger. I thought, wow, that is the perfect description for the 3rd gen oil cooler. I had found this thread interesting, especially when Sofakingdom referred to it as an oil warmer and had been thinking about it ever since. The N62 read brought me back over here to mention heat exchanger and whala - you already said it. Maybe someday I'll drop a N62 into a 3rd Gen. That would be awesome!

 

I don't understand the logic of putting something else's complexity into the beautiful simplicity that already exists.

 

Yep, I agree. And if you do away with the cooler your oil filter install can get tricky. The water to oil cooling is better than you'd think, compared to air to oil. If the hoses are good I'd clean it and use it.