[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.

[Steve91T]

So tonight I loosed the Y pipe and wrapped the y pipe with headed wrap I picked up from autozone.


(IMG:http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v199/Steve91T/Camaro/82D64828-C3B5-42C1-BCD4-A3F342202BCF_1.jpg)


I took it for a spin, excited to see how much it lowered my oil temps. The result? Zero. Nada. Zilch. Not a single degrees difference. Oil temps went right to 220 while just gently crusing around. Then I got on it a couple of times and they went straight to 230+.

I don't get it. I thought for sure it would have done something.

What else can cause high oil temps?

[mr.beachcomber]

....I took it for a spin, excited to see how much it lowered my oil temps. The result? Zero. Nada. Zilch. Not a single degrees difference. Oil temps went right to 220 while just gently crusing around. Then I got on it a couple of times and they went straight to 230+.

I don't get it. I thought for sure it would have done something.

What else can cause high oil temps?

Oil pooling in the heads and engine's lifter valley would cause higher oil temps as a smaller amount of circulating oil is handling all the heat from the engine. I'd check both heads and make sure the oil drain back holes are working properly, e.g., no debris blocking any of the holes. If you're using the engine valley oil baffles standoff tubes, I'd take them off as they tend to pool oil in the lifter valley and the amount of oil windage they reduce isn't worth it on a non-race engine.

If oil drain back isn't a problem, and you're not using the oil for any type of piston cooling, I'd next look at a partially stuck oil bypass valve in the oil pump. (You should have noticed a decrease in operating oil pressure if this did in fact happen though.)

Finally, I'd use a bore scope to check the Moroso oil pan's baffling to make sure that you are pooling oil behind a swing gate or baffle.

Hope this helps.

[Steve91T]

....I took it for a spin, excited to see how much it lowered my oil temps. The result? Zero. Nada. Zilch. Not a single degrees difference. Oil temps went right to 220 while just gently crusing around. Then I got on it a couple of times and they went straight to 230+.

I don't get it. I thought for sure it would have done something.

What else can cause high oil temps?

Oil pooling in the heads and engine's lifter valley would cause higher oil temps as a smaller amount of circulating oil is handling all the heat from the engine. I'd check both heads and make sure the oil drain back holes are working properly, e.g., no debris blocking any of the holes. If you're using the engine valley oil baffles standoff tubes, I'd take them off as they tend to pool oil in the lifter valley and the amount of oil windage they reduce isn't worth it on a non-race engine.

If oil drain back isn't a problem, and you're not using the oil for any type of piston cooling, I'd next look at a partially stuck oil bypass valve in the oil pump. (You should have noticed a decrease in operating oil pressure if this did in fact happen though.)

Finally, I'd use a bore scope to check the Moroso oil pan's baffling to make sure that you are pooling oil behind a swing gate or baffle.

Hope this helps.

How do I check the drain holes in the heads? Pull the valve covers? And what about the oil baffle standoff tubes? I don't know what those are.

Oil pressure is very good. 40 -60 hot.

I know I have over filled the oil by probably 1 quart. Maybe I'll drain some and see if that helps.

Maybe I should just install an oil cooler.

Thanks for your help. I've got another track day next week.

This post has been edited by Steve91T: Apr 1 2016, 03:01 PM

[mr.beachcomber]

...How do I check the drain holes in the heads? Pull the valve covers? And what about the oil baffle standoff tubes? I don't know what those are.

Just pull off the valve covers. The oil drain back slots are at both ends of the heads. If oil is pooling there, you would see it. The standoff tubes are aftermarket. They're usually aluminum, stand about 2" high with a breather hole in the end, and screw into the oil drain back holes in the lifter valley next to the cam.

Oil pressure is very good. 40 -60 hot.

It almost sounds like an aftermarket pump. I haven't had a stock LT1 in years, but that sounds a little high to me for a stock pump. Hey current LT-1 owners, what do you guys normally see?

If it's an aftermarket oil pump, most people add the Melling high volume pump (+25% volume) with the pink by-pass spring that would give those pressure values. (If the engine doesn't need high volume oil, it could be the oil is getting added heat from being by-passed from the pump directly into the pan and then going through the same process again and again.)

I know I have over filled the oil by probably 1 quart. Maybe I'll drain some and see if that helps.

Normally, adding a full quart of oil just increases your crank windage. If you have an aftermarket high volume pump, you'll need the extra quart of oil to keep from running low on oil around the pickup and possibly sucking air. More oil slows down the heating-releasing ability of the oil in the sump as the cooler oil then to cling to the surface of the pan acting as a buffer between the pan's radiating surfaces and the hotter oil.

Maybe I should just install an oil cooler.

It would help lower your oil temps. I prefer the thermostat controlled units myself especially for street driven vehicles. All the extra oil flowing through the cooler makes reaching operating oil temperatures that much longer. (I prefer 185F.)

Thanks for your help. I've got another track day next week.

Sorry that I can't provide anything more than suggestions at this point. Hope that you're able to find out what causing the additional heating of the oil before your next track day.