Canton Oil Thermostat Install
 

This is one of those projects that I arguably should have done over three years ago when I first acquired my car. Our oil coolers, as trick as they look with their dual -10AN braided lines and hardware, are horribly too efficient! That’s right…during normal street driving they do such a great job of cooling the oil that many of us have had to fashion block off plates or disconnect the lines entirely just to get the oil up to a proper operating temp.

Here are some pics of my install. I chose this location mostly because I didn’t want to relocate my existing oil breather tank (hey, I like the looks of the set-up and I NEVER get any oil residue on the motor) and I thought the t-stat would be functional there and easier to plumb. That part held true (functional and easier to plumb), but I also learned that you can’t plumb a thermostat without having A LOT of AN fittings and hoses going every which way. I'm still playing with the hose angles from the t-stat to/from the cooler.

The toughest part of the install was (1) figuring out how to best loop the line from the remote oil filter to the t-stat (second pic) and (2) thread the cooler lines through the front cowl with the -10AN fittings already installed. For (1), I chose a 45 degree fitting to improve the flow slightly over a 90 degree option. I’m still not sure this configuration will survive my aesthetics test for “clean”, but it will do for now. For (2), I was able to accomplish this on the passenger side (wrapping the fitting in electrical tape to protect it from scratches), but there was barely enough room on the driver’s side to feed the hose through. So I pre-installed the fitting at the oil cooler, fed the hose through the cowl, and then carefully installed the t-stat fitting using a couple adjustable wrenches with their jaws wrapped in electrical tape. No nicks or scratches, but what a PITA. If you track your car and run -12AN, you already know this all too well.

The Canton unit is quite robust and has a nice anodized look on the billet housing. It’s preset to flow oil to the cooler at 215*F. But the band clamp mounting bracket is a little flimsy and the stiff braided hoses actually keep it from flopping around. I added some rubber spacers below each end (you can’t see them in the pics) and this removes much of the slop that vibration will induce.

http://www.clubcobra.com/photopost/d...l_t-stat_2.jpg

http://www.clubcobra.com/photopost/d...l_t-stat_4.jpg

I'm not sure if locating the t-stat above the frame member will place a measurable amount of additional pressure on the oiling system, as I have to pump the oil uphill a little. Would appreciate inputs on this.

-Dean #747

BEEYOUTEEFULL....can't help with the diagnosis of how well it will work or what the incline should or shouldn't be, and if I tried, you shouldn't listen to me anyway.. I don't know sqwat...

Edit : I do have a question though... when does the oil temp gauge start reading correct engine oil temps, or does this system hinder that at all?

James

its better than having it below the frame rail where it might drag

Jerry

James, the oil temp gauge is at the filter housing, so it's monitoring oil temp BEFORE the oil is routed to the t-stat and/or cooler. Ideally, the oil temp probe should be at the oil pan, but most of our cars are not ideal (including my own). :LOL:

Great lookin setup.

Dean,

Looks terrific and nice complete description of the install.

:D :D :D

Hey,
Is That A Fleck Of Dirt I See On The Bottom Photograph???
Oh The Humanity !!!!
A Fleck Of Dirt.........
Beautiful...
Lol

Dean,

Very nice clean installation; looks professional! Can you provide us with a list of the vendor part numbers, costs, and an estimated installation time?

Thanks,

WHERE?!? WHAT?!? OH NO!!! :CRY: :LOL:

Thanks for the compliments. All up it's a little over $400.

Canton #22-480 oil cooler thermostat = $190.00 (includes shipping)
Canton #23-465A 1-1/16 -12 port to -10AN = $47.00 (2 packs of two)
Aeroquip AN10 fittings and 6' of hose (through Summit) = $160.00
Custom 1/8" aluminum mounting bracket (painted black in picture) = $10.00 (the local metals shop would only sell me a 2'x2' sheet)
Long rivets = $2.50 (local hardware store)

Tools and stuff that you will need: -10AN wrench, a couple crescent wrenches that can expand to more than 1" wide, electrical tape (to protect the fittings), a can of WD-40 (hose/fittings lube), a roll of paper towels (to capture dripping oil). A "nice-to-have" is a bench vise and the aluminum grips that you use to install AN fittings (I bought one a while back and it pays for itself quickly).

Plan on 3-4 hours start to finish. I took my time. Pretty easy stuff.

I used the new hose to route the lines to the cooler (was just enough), while I re-used one of the existing cooler lines to fab the short loop from the remote filter housing to the t-stat. I ended up with one extra older cooler line that will probably become garage art. You can do this on a better budget by reusing existing cooler lines and fittings, but my cooler line fittings had faded over time and I just wanted everything to be fresh. I used the old parts to fabricate an "emergency connector" in the event that I ever get a leak in my oil cooler. I just bought two -10AN male to male connectors and now I can just unhook the lines from the cooler and connect the two with this joining piece if I'm ever in a pinch while on the road. :)

Dean - That is one big thermostat! Much, much bigger than mine (which is a piece of 3"x10" cardboard taped over the front of the cooler!!). I do have a serious question for you. How much did the oil pressure change from before you installed all that? The addition of a few feet of hose and the t-stat will have increased overall flow resistance, resulting in an increased pressure drop through the filter/cooler loop. So I would expect you would see a slightly lower pressure on the Smiths. Yes?
You do good work!
Thanks,
Jerry

Jerry, JUST THE OPPOSITE!

I fired up the car this evening to check for leaks (none) and the pressure at the gauge when cold was a good 5 PSI stronger. My theory is that because there is less line for the oil to run through (when the oil is cold and is not being routed to the longer lines to the cooler and back), I picked up more oil pressure. I recall reading the same thing from someone else.

-Dean

Is it possible for you to rotate the unit 90 degrees so that the oil cooler input and output are facing forwards? That way you might be able to get away with 45 degree bends instead of the 90s?

Can you provide more details on the mounting device and what portion of it is weak? What is the distance between the two mounting holes on the clamp?

-Nathan

Nathan,

Do you mean rotated like this? I still used 90's.
http://www.clubcobra.com/photopost/d...Hauler_004.jpg

I also experienced the same oil pressure change as Dean.
:D :D :D

Yeah, that's what I meant. His looks a bit further toward the engine side of the crossmember, but might not make any difference.

As I mentioned in my original post, if I didn't like my remote oil breather tank so much I would have oriented the t-stat just like Jim Woodward's. And as he just indicated, the same +5 PSI at the gauge and not much benefit either way (though I'm sure a physicist would argue correctly that the flow dynamics of the oil would be improved with Jim's set-up over my vertical one). :3DSMILE: The pic angles will fool you...there isn't any room (even with the 45s) to rotate the t-stat 90 degrees. I would have to fabricate a longer (and thicker) bracket and place the t-stat closer to the water pump pulley. Hmmm...maybe I'll mess around with that next winter (now you have me thinking about it...dangerous! :LOL: ).

The mounting device? It's basically a band clamp (don't know the proper name, because it's really not a true band clamp) that is riveted to a formed steel strap with two holes roughly 3" apart. The cross member is 2" square stock, so you are forced to fabricate a small aluminum bracket, fasten the bracket to the cross member, and then fasten the t-stat band clamp to the fabbed bracket. It's hard to see my bracket because I painted it the chassis color (including touching up the rivets...I'm such a detail freak) and I also rounded off the corners so that I wouldn't cut-up my hands when working on the front of the engine. I obviously paid $190 for the t-stat and they threw in the band clamp for free. :rolleyes:

Thanks to all for the compliments and to Jim for showing me his set-up...his pics pretty much made me decide which route I was going to go with. :cool:

-Dean

Isn't their an inline oil thermostat? Anyone ever used one and how well does it work.

Dean, I do like your setup though!

Mike

Thanks, Mike. As far as "inline" set-ups, this is considered one option. There is another one made by Mocal and on the surface does appear to be simpler (a cast housing with integral AN fittings vs 100% billet). However at the end of the day you will still need to plumb it about the same. A third option is to have the thermostat built into the sandwich block adapter. Clearance issues between block and frame (on many of our cars, not just SPF) prohibit using this thicker adapter. I think Earl's (the AN/hose folks) has also just come out with a unit that is similar to the Canton.

-Dean

The Earls unit and the Mocal unit don't flow enough oil......

The Canton will handle a large volume of oil thru it......

It actually has a Big Rig Truck oil Thermostat inside of the housing....and works excellant.....

I have seen manual bypasses that I liked the idea of as well, so in winter I could shut'er down and then depending on the temps outside adjust before the ride, but yours seems like a MUCH better plan to me. Here is one that I have seen, maybe somebody else has already posted this though...

http://www.beaumontmetalworks.com/oi...lve-final.html

James