oil cooler

[ICCARS]

Originally Posted by SydneyChris

Purchased a small engine oil cooler (300 x 150) and oil pump take off with AN10 lines from VPW.

I wasnt happy with the take off pattern on their engine fitting so I grabbed the one as per the pic included that enabled better pipe routing.

There is a statement in the item description advising that the fitting must be installed with 'inline restriction'.

Not clear why you'd have AN10 fittings and lines too and and from the cooler then add inline restriction or how this would be installed. (AN10 - AN6 adaptors to form a choke point..?)

Look forward to some advice before creating any expensive engine issues..

Hi Chris,

I am 99% sure that the inline restriction is to ensure that the oil pump doesn't run the sump dry.
I ran a thermostatically controlled oil bypass to a cooler for my Twin turbo GT40 engine and noticed a drop in idle pressure when the engine was hot, so I removed it as I already run an oil cooler post turbos back to the engine via a scavenge pump set up, so I would presume that this would be the case with this set up also when using a standard volume oil pump.

P.S. my engine also runs an adjustable pressure high volume oil pump, and I run a 7qt HV sump, so the only way I was bleeding off pressure would have been through the additional bypass volume, so just be careful if you are using this set up with a standard volume oil pump.

Cheers

[Gaz64]

Any "restriction" as in a predetermined additional orifice like a carb main jet etc placed inline to an oil cooler would simply lower the maximum pressure that can buildup in the system after the oil pump.

So if you do this, your oil pressure gauge sender and warning light switch, cutouts etc need to be after the cooler which is then truly sensing engine oil pressure, and not at the oil pump.

Myself, if my engine runs 80 psi cold, then a cooler that is pressure tested to say 200 psi should be enough.

A thermostatic bypass valve allows a small amount of oil to circulate through the cooler as the engine warms, and gradually opens to take more of the flow through the cooler as the oil temp increases.

Allows fast oil temp warm up to, and controlled temps under adverse conditions.

I rather run a custom sump and pickup, trapdoors etc, and run a little less than most do in the engine.

This allows the oil in the engine sump to warm up faster and boil off the acid from each cold start.

My 2 cents.

Gary