oil cooler

[NC325iC]

how can i tell if my oilcooler is even being used?

[nando]

what do you mean?

it's controlled by a thermostat inside the oil filter housing. unless it's clogged up, it should be working fine.

[jlevie]

Drive the car, then stop and feel the lines where they enter the cooler. If the oil temp is high enough the thermostat will open and both lines will be hot. I don't know what the rating on the thermostat is (and M20's aren't known for oil temp problems), but I've never seen one open even in 100F ambients. To gain a bit more oil pressure on the track from cooler oil I converted mine to a "full time" system by moving the spring to the other side of the thermostat.

[NC325iC]

well im just wondering, my car never (except when sitting still) goes up past 1/4 temp mark, so i was thinking that the oil cooler isnt being used therefore i dont need it

[nando]

oil temp and coolant temp aren't the same thing.

[Dinnertime]

I think he has a aftermarket oil temp gauge.

[asubimmer]

I think he has a aftermarket oil temp gauge.

I don't

[NC325iC]

^ what he said

and i realize that they are not the same thing but one would assume they are related

[asubimmer]

for what its worth, there are quite a few people that remove their oil cooler's to "free up" some power. I'm not quite sure the theory behind that but ohh well. You should be fine if you wanted to remove it.

[nando]

^ what he said

and i realize that they are not the same thing but one would assume they are related

no, not really. your coolant reaches full temperature waaaaay before you oil does. and running a colder thermostat (which is why you only get to the 1/4 mark) doesn't make your oil run cooler either.

[redhatpat]

^ what he said

and i realize that they are not the same thing but one would assume they are related

Very distantly related. Don't expect one temp to have much indication on the other.

[NC325iC]

no, not really. your coolant reaches full temperature waaaaay before you oil does. and running a colder thermostat (which is why you only get to the 1/4 mark) doesn't make your oil run cooler either.

i actually recently changed my thermostat one up from what it was (either 71 to 75 or 75 to 80) im pretty sure i changed it to 75 anywho before i changed it it never went above 1/4 and now it doesnt either i donno, im not too concerned about it

[mops]

Drive the car, then stop and feel the lines where they enter the cooler. If the oil temp is high enough the thermostat will open and both lines will be hot. I don't know what the rating on the thermostat is (and M20's aren't known for oil temp problems), but I've never seen one open even in 100F ambients. To gain a bit more oil pressure on the track from cooler oil I converted mine to a "full time" system by moving the spring to the other side of the thermostat.

Hello.
Sorry to revive old thread.
Do you have any details on that ? I just built a turbo m20 and turbo is making oil very hot, very quick. I got oil temp gauge fitted and highest i saw was 85 deg C (~185F), oil cooler tstat did not fully open, only open a little bit. I'd like to fully open my oil cooler, but i'm unsure how. Also I'm worried that if I open it fully, the oil pump will not make enough flow. there's quite alot of extra flow already through the turbo....

[jlevie]

If you want the cooler to operate full time, swap the positions of the thermostat and spring in the oil filter adapter.