wrenchmonster

Hi everyone. Just wanted to post up a quick write up of an install of an external oil cooler. I used a Derale 15405 set up which is sold by all the favorite online retailers. Here's the kit: http://derale.com/products/fluid-coo...-cooler-detail Why install an engine oil cooler? Doesn't the 3.0 already come with one? Why, well for a couple of reasons. One reason would be engine longevity. The other reason would be to lower overall engine temperatures. I'm honestly not going to defend my decision here or discuss the merits of an engine oil cooler, if you think it's dumb or unnecessary please keep the comments to yourself. In my particular case I pull a lot of long slow grades often fully loaded and sometimes pulling a trailer. I noticed this summer when ambient temperatures are above 90 degrees that my coolant temperature would fluctuate too much. While I was always within the normal boundary for temperatures, I felt adding an engine oil cooler would be a good idea. I'm happy to report that it works well and I am seeing much smaller variations in coolant temperatures, even under severe conditions. Yes, the 3.0 (well mine anyway) comes with what Toyota calls an engine oil cooler. It's really an exchange, basically allowing coolant and oil temperatures to mix with each other. This is done actually to help the engine achieve operating temperatures faster. It might be better to call it a "warmer" in terms of its operation. In any case, it's not doing squat to actually help cool the engine oil. To do that, there needs to be a cooler out front and in the airflow.

The 15405 is a nice little kit. In addition to this kit I bought a 45* 1/2npt male 1/2npt female fitting. The kit comes supplied with hose clamps, but I didn't use the cheap supplied clamps. Instead I replaced them with liner style clamps so as not to damage the hose. No sheet metal was cut to install this cooler. The grille doesn't need to be trimmed either. I'll let the pictures speak for the rest of it. I think it's fairly self explanatory, but if you guys have any questions, post them up. Okay, here we go...


After removing the grille, the first thing to do is to cut these flush. If these are not cut flush, they will hit the 45 degree fitting.


I installed the cooler on the right side. The red arrows here point to the mounting points I used. I had to build a couple of small brackets to hold it. The one bracket coming off of the center hood latch support has a slight bend in it so that it hold the cooler tight to the condenser.


Here's a picture of the hose routing. On top the hose goes through where the a/c hard lines route. The bottom hose gets routed between the body and frame. This also shows the cut studs behind the 45* fitting.


These next two pictures show the cooler installed and behind the grille. It's a tight fit, but sneaks in there without the need to trim the back side of the grille.


View from the top, cooler installed.


This picture shows the general routing of the lines along the bottom. I gently ziptied them to the power steering hard lines.


Here's a picture of the thermostatic sandwich plate installed. The lines end up being rotated at about the 7-8 o'clock position. I use Toyota filters and they work just fine with this adapter plate. I can't say whether or not another brand of filter will work, but I imagine so.


-Kevin

wyoming9

iTrader: (1)

What are your before and after Oil temperatures ?

ewong

Great write up

I run a remote Oberg Oil filter.
I first got the "Daytona" kit with the 5.5" filter and used the rubber hose in the kit
It worked great for a bit and then I had constant "leak" issue out of the barb fittings and the hose started to get "hard".

I finally switched it over to Earls -10 AN line.
Never a leak or problem after that!

*** I would DEF recommend switching to Earls -10AN lines when you can afford to... ***
Later I switched to a full 6" sized Oberg / Parker filter with the -12 AN side entry ports.

The "cast" oil filter take off from the block adapter are claimed to be problematic - my issue is that the gasket got "hard".
I switched to another "cast" adapter (Not sure brand it was long ago)
That one has been rock solid, but I still hear rumors that the cast adapters crack.
I have a "billet" Earls adapter and new fittings, I just haven't installed it yet.

Im running a 22Re with an Autometer ProComp mechanical temp gauge inserted into the oil line BEFORE the filter. The filter is in the forward part wheel well where it can get some cooling effect.

Once everything comes up to temp, and dependent on the ambient temps, the oil will "match" the water temp.

I have a Autometer mechanical Water Temp gauge inserted into a 22RTE outlet pipe. This means I se the temp AFTER the thermostat opens.
And yes - on cold mornings, you can watch the thermostat "cycle" open and closed - it cycles faster and more frequently than I would have expected!!!

So, its still "summer" and both temps will match up at 200F when at operating temps.

Under hard driving load - I can see the OIL temps climb HIGHER than the water temps.
That surprised me somewhat.
Worst I have seen is 210F.
At that point I saw no pointing flogging the truck and backed off the go pedal.

wrenchmonster

To be honest I'm not measuring oil temperatures. I'm strictly watching coolant temperatures. Here, I'm seeing a 20-30 degree difference in temperatures under severe conditions. What this translates to in terms of oil temperature reduction I can't say. Derale states up to a 50* drop... I suspect that's a bit optimistic. Sorry I can't answer your question with more data. I can tell you from watching the coolant gauge and oil pressure (which is also more stable and doesn't go down as much under loads) that the cooler is definitely working.

Thanks ewong, I appreciate the kind words. Yeah, the hoses do kinda suck. I've had that thought too. But they came with the kit and I thought I'd try them out. According to Derale they will operate up to 250psi and burst pressure is 300psi. This is of course, plenty enough for an engine. Anyway, the hoses are *okay* but you're right, certainly upgrading them would be much better. The thought has definitely crossed my mind. Thanks for the heads up on watching them for hardness. I've been keeping a close eye on them and no problems yet, but I also carry a hose splice, extra clamps and an extra chunk of hose with me just in case I need to do a field repair.

Ewong, so you are running both an oil cooler and a remote oil filter relocation? I'd love to see pics of this set up.

*****************************

A general note on fittings... I've gotten in the habit of checking and cleaning the threads before installing the fittings. In these days of cheap mass production, it's not uncommon to find a burr here or excess cutting oil in the fitting. I visually inspect them, run a small pick through the threads to check for burrs, and clean the crap out of them. I personally like to use a liquid thread sealer, and give it enough time to set up properly. Fittings are snug, but never over tightened. This is especially true dealing with aluminum. Taking these steps I've never had a leak problem, but YMMV.

-Kevin

space-junk

iTrader: (1)

think there'd be enough room to mount a similar sized cooler for the trans on the opposite side of the grille?

wrenchmonster

I believe so. On my truck there wasn't any way to mount on the left side because there was no place to route the lines on that side since my custom fresh air intake stuff is in the way. I do however plan to install a 7" fan over on that side. FWIW, this cooler is available separately from the kit.

-Kevin

wyoming9

iTrader: (1)

Is there any thermostat in the oil cooler set up??

For those cool mornings around -30 F or lower or is the plan to idle the engine to the coolant temp gets up to operating temperature .

If the oil temp is around 195 F how is the condensation removed from the oil .

I ran a oil cooler(small block chevy) back in the seventies that was a major headache oil needed changed about every 1000miles

wrenchmonster

Good question. Yes, there is a thermostatic spring in the sandwich adapter plate. It's hard to see on the Derale page. If you do a search for the Derale 15405 on Amazon where the picture can be expanded, it's easier to see. So basically when cold the spring is up and the oil will bypass. The spring thermostat covers a small hole, so there's always a small amount of oil that will be allowed to flow through the cooler, even when the engine is cold. It's not a hard on/off situation, but rather a path of least resistance for the oil. When the engine warms up the spring will close off this hole and that will allow full flow through the oil cooler. Anyway, because there is always some flow, condensation should not be a problem. I have not noticed any milkshake or excess water buildup.

This small hole that gets closed off by the spring also will allow oil to return (most of it) to the pan when cold, which is good for oil changes. This is also important to note because of oil level. Obviously the system capacity is made larger due to adding the oil cooler and lines. So if you check the oil bone cold, it can look overfilled. What you want to do is have the engine at full operating temps, then shut it off, wait 20-30 seconds and then check the oil level. In this way, the spring inside the plate is still closed and the oil in the cooler is kinda trapped, so the level can be accurately checked. When changing the oil, the temperature will have to be allowed to drop, so plan on letting it sit for 30mins when draining it out... which honestly is a good practice anyway.

-Kevin