Engine oil cooler question/
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Engine oil cooler question/
I have a 91 E250 w/460 and it has the factory engine oil cooler that is water cooled. Question is would a older (air to oil cooler)be better? I had one of those on my 83 E250 w/460 and they seem to be very effective. Any thoughts from you experts!
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The oil coolers that exchange heat with antifreeze prevent oil from overheating & breaking down during extreme use. As such they're not really coolers at 190 degrees. The efficiency & capacity of this liquid to liquid heat exchange is greater than typical liquid to air coolers.
Its not so much about the low temperature end, the concern is to prevent oil overheating, extending the useful life of oil.
Originally Posted by rebocardo
I am no expert on the subject, but, you probably do not want the oil too cool.
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Again, I thought the issue was the hot extreme. You probably don't even need any oil cooler under most normal conditions. Its in very hard use & hot slow conditions w/o good air flow that you risk oil overheating & breaking down. Not sure where a 460 oil cooler is located.
I'd think an air oil cooler relying on air flow from speed would be at a serious disadvantage in stalled traffic or rock crawling . Whereas the antifreeze oil cooler has a fan forcing air & water pump circulating the heat exchange medium. The air oil coolers that are placed in front of the AC condensor get a fan, but are also sitting on a hot object.
You'd need to have a way to compare the actual oil coolers' capacities & your use. I doubt there's as big an advantage to routinely keeping oil cooler under normal conditions, than there is to guarantee the oil doesn't overheat & break down under extreme conditions. That's just my opinion, I could be wrong.
Originally Posted by clubvanman
just looking to keep it as cool as possible in these Texas summers!
You'd need to have a way to compare the actual oil coolers' capacities & your use. I doubt there's as big an advantage to routinely keeping oil cooler under normal conditions, than there is to guarantee the oil doesn't overheat & break down under extreme conditions. That's just my opinion, I could be wrong.
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From: The dark carnival
Another way to keep oil cooler and keep it from braking down is to increase oil capacity. This can be done by adding dual oil filter relocation kit and/or by using a deeper oil pan.
As far as air cooled vs water cooled...I have never really looked at how these are set up, but I imagine that the air cooled version would eliminate the chance of coolant and motor oil mixing (thats really bad!) if leaks in the cooler were to occur. But then, where would you put the air cooled cooler so that it gets air flow?
Keep in mind that you don't want the oil to get too cool. You want it to get hot enough to burn off condensation to prevent sludg build up, but not hot enough to brake down and loose it's ability to lubricate.
As far as air cooled vs water cooled...I have never really looked at how these are set up, but I imagine that the air cooled version would eliminate the chance of coolant and motor oil mixing (thats really bad!) if leaks in the cooler were to occur. But then, where would you put the air cooled cooler so that it gets air flow?
Keep in mind that you don't want the oil to get too cool. You want it to get hot enough to burn off condensation to prevent sludg build up, but not hot enough to brake down and loose it's ability to lubricate.
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Both of the setup's are factory. Water to oil cooler is just plumbed in bottom radiator hose circuit. Air to oil cooler is just like a after market cooler, plumbed in front of radiator. Both are part of the factory towing packages. Not worried about too cool-just which one is more effective.
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From: The dark carnival
Effectiveness? I would consider them equal or close to it regarding their ability to keep the oil at the appropriate temp. But, if I had a choice, I would definetly opt for the air cooled version only to keep the oil and coolant from mixing if/when the raidiator leaks between the oil and coolant section...these are not leak proof. The air cooled version may not be leak proof either, but at least it is "mix with the engine coolant" proof.
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Maybe try switching to a synthetic oil?, cheaper than installing any sort of additional cooling capacity, also better for engine. I run Amsoil 0W-30 and a by-pass oil filter, with a pre-charger, this adds some extra capacity to oil volume which also helps in transient oil temp. changes.
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