[Steve91T]

Hey guys. I have some questions about oil coolers.

How do I plum to the engine? I'm using a sandwich adapter for oil pressure and temp. There are two unused ports in that adapter. Can I use those for the oil cooler? One of those ports would be for the supply, but where does the return go? It's an LT1 with a Moroso pan.

My other question is are there any problems with mounting the cooler above the engine in the hood scoop? I'm planning on securin the lines to the bottom of the hood and run them down the drivers side hinge then to the engine. I can't imagine there would be any problems with the location, but I thought I'd ask in case you guys know something I don't.

I'm not going to run a thermostat for the oil. I'm just going to tape the back side of the cooler for street use.

[CrashTestDummy]

Oil, or water temps?

[Steve91T]

Oil, or water temps?

Both. When am I going to do damage. I know there's really no hard number, but there has to be a general number for both.

This post has been edited by Steve91T: Feb 29 2016, 04:16 AM

[mr.beachcomber]

Oil, or water temps?

Both. When am I going to do damage. I know there's really no hard number, but there has to be a general number for both.

Rule of thumb that I use for any engine, DD or race, is never let the water temperature hit 260F. If it does, cool the engine down using forced air (all my engines have electric fans) or cut if off completely. I take my water temp off the cylinder heads and run a mechanical gauge in the race car for an instant response. (It's scary the first time you chill the engine in the pits only to see the water temp start rising to 230F or so!)

For oil temps, I use 230F max for conventional (dino) oil and 280F for full synthetic. These are safety limits only. Most oil can handle further heat, but I don't want to push it. (I ran dino oil in the B Production Vette in the 70's and pushed the envelop out to 250F. Changed the oil and filter after every race weekend, but still found an incredible amount of sludge in the engine when it was time for a rebuild. Racing oils back then didn't have any detergents in them to reduce the amount of ash build up in the combustion chamber.)

During the 80's I switched to RedLine synthetic for the race car and Mobil 1 for the DD. RedLine tech support suggested running their oil up to 300F on a regular basis; but change it if I exceeded 320F. (They also recommended a minimum oil temp of 185F during racing conditions so don't over cool your oil.)