removing the oil cooler

[Kershaw]

so i know there is a kit for it. and at $9 its pretty reasonable.

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?model=1113&mospid=47309&btnr=11_0119&hg=11&fg=10&hl=60

but if i can avoid ordering it, by just going to the local hardware store and buying 2 bolts, i will.

so, my question is: can i go to the hardware store and just buy 2 bolts and screw them into where the oil cooler lines go? i have a spare oil filter housing i can take with me and make sure they fit, so thats not an issue.

otherwise, i'll just order from blunt.

[jlevie]

That would be a bad idea. When the engine gets hot enough for the oil cooler thermostat to open all of the oil can't circulate like it is supposed to. Either have the cooler in place or spring for the stud that allows the filter to mount directly to the block.

[TrackjunkiE30]

Just find an eta block and pull the stud off of it. That is what I did.

[LowR3V'in]

The hardware store might have sizes but lows/homedept
will probably just have american stuff for pipes in that size.

I forget what size/pitch but here's a picture of a/n fittings
with caps.

[MonkeyMadness]

Confused please skool me?
why do you want to remove the oil cooler?

[TrackjunkiE30]

Confused please skool me?
why do you want to remove the oil cooler?

I cannot speak for everyone, but the reason I did it is because I wanted to remove it as my car is strictly for track use and wanted to delete the chance of having it break and potentially have a disasterous result. I consulted a BMW tech prior to doing it and he said that he actually recommended me taking it off for my purposes.

[Kershaw]

Just find an eta block and pull the stud off of it. That is what I did.

thanks.

reason im doing it: im giving my e30 to my ex-gf. i doubt she'll ever run the engine hard enough to need the oil cooler. in fact, she has a problem with not accelerating fast enough, cant keep up with traffic.

reason on why im messing with it: replacement oil cooler is leaking. this will be one less thing for me to worry about and for her to hit.

[jlevie]

I cannot speak for everyone, but the reason I did it is because I wanted to remove it as my car is strictly for track use and wanted to delete the chance of having it break and potentially have a disasterous result. I consulted a BMW tech prior to doing it and he said that he actually recommended me taking it off for my purposes.

While I agree that the stock oil cooler is less than ideal, partly because it doesn't get good air flow and partly because its location makes it susceptible to damage, I disagree with the recommendation to eliminate it on a track car. M20 engines don't have serious problem with excessive oil temperatures. But, within reason, cooler oil is better. So unless you are only ever on the track in temps below 70F I'm of the opinion that an oil cooler (and modified adapter) is a good thing.

I mounted a oil cooler somewhat larger than the OE unit in front of the radiator about where the A/C condenser used to be. By moving the spring to the other side of the thermostat in the adapter I have full time flow through the oil cooler. In cold/cooler weather I cover the cooler to keep from over cooling the oil.

[Kershaw]

i agree with that. on my rx8, i'd never think to remove either one of its oil coolers. each one is directly below a headlight.

but this will be my ex-gfs car. she'll never run the car hard. i've heard that the e34 525i doesnt even have an oil cooler. so i figure she'll be ok. one less thing to break.

[RangerGress]

How does the oil circulate if you plug the oil cooler holes on the oil filter adapter? I thought that if you had the oil filter adapter on the block, you had to have oil cooler plumbing.

I'm not convinced that the oil cooler is all that useful. I used to run a large aftermarket oil cooler 3.5X as large as OEM. During hot summer races I got ~14deg of cooling out of it, with peak oil temps at ~225. I had air flow ducted right at it and it was somewhat shrouded to ensure that the air had to go thru it. it was a far superior oil cooling set up then OEM.

Based on that 14deg, I'd figure that the OEM oil cooler is worth 5deg on it's very best day. And it's hard to get too worked up about 5deg when the air cooled boys routinely see 250deg oil.

Right now I'm running the OEM oil cooler, but down the road I may experiment with taking it off and seeing what affect that has on oil temps.

Where you measure oil is important. I used to measure oil temps right in the flow, but 2 weeks ago I did an event with an oil temp sensor in the pan instead. The sensor had no probe length to speak of so it was highly influenced by the temp of the pan. It indicated oil temps ~35deg lower then usual.

Different oils have different heat exchange characteristics. In general terms thinner oils will dump heat better then thicker oils. That makes it a little harder to compare data sets.

I'm not a fan of removing the oil tstat. The tstat provides a nice short route for your oil plumbing when your oil is cold. That means oil gets to the galley sooner, and at a higher pressure. Cold thick oil is going to lose a lot of pressure being pumped thru the oil cooler.

[Kershaw]

i pulled the adapter off an eta at the local yard. im very happy with it. my 2 oil leaks are fixed. more space in the bay and one less thing to worry about. it literally took 5 minutes to do.



in fact, i think i'll probably do this to my next e30 too.

[gone002]

but if i can avoid ordering it, by just going to the local hardware store and buying 2 bolts, .

page 0-9 of the haynes manuel says: "when replacing a fastener with a new one , make sure that the new one has a strength rating equal to or greater than the original"

grade 0 - 5 are called butter bolts in my trade....they are great for holding your gate to your fence . but really have no business on a sports car or airplane....

not dissin ...just fyi

[Kershaw]

well it doesnt make a difference. i used the oem-bmw-oil-cooler-delete-oil-filter-straight-to-block-connector.....

[E30Gus]

Just to clarify; #28 is for coolant from the head. But I understand what you are talking about with the oil "adapter" part from the eta block. I couldn't fiind that on OEM in my searches.

[Lunner]

i pulled the adapter off an eta at the local yard. im very happy with it. my 2 oil leaks are fixed. more space in the bay and one less thing to worry about. it literally took 5 minutes to do.



in fact, i think i'll probably do this to my next e30 too.

This is the wrong side of the engine, you're looking at a coolant outlet here.