'How-To': 13-Row Oil cooler 4 sub £70

[Rusty]

One thing I have noticed about this kit is that the oil cooler to hose unions have been weeping a small amount. I will be using some thread sealing tape to get around this but it's obviously not ideal, so be careful.

[re2500]

Thats not ideal mate, mine have been sealing fine, although i did boll**k them up quite tight.

[Rusty]

Yeah, I think I was a bit limp wristed with them to begin with. Will need to get a pair of spanners on it with the tape and do it up like a good'un.

[johne]

James,

Thanks for the write-up it was a great help and especially the find of the hoses at MGBHive.

Photo of my instal and bracket attached.

I couldn't get the shorter hose (AHH 8536 27") to reach on my car so I just ordered another 39" long hose. Also by using two long hoses I was able to get the hose fittings to line up without having to twist them.
[*]One MGB ½” BSP Oil cooler hose P/N: AHH 8536 (about 27” long with one 45deg fitting and one 90deg fitting) (£12)[*]One MGB ½” BSP Oil cooler hose P/N: AHH 8192 (about 39” long with one 45deg fitting and one 90deg fitting) (£12)[/LIST]


You suggested this which is a good idea:

Step three – Fitting of new:

Fit and fill the Oil cooler with oil. I did this as i was nervous about the quantity of oil required to fill the lines and the cooler. The cooler will not fill and self bleed until the car is warm and up to temperature and the thermostat opens. So to help prevent oil starvation once this happens i think it is wise to fill the cooler up to the brim before fitting the new hoses.

but note that the way the oil thermostat works means that the oil cooler does pressurise at start-up and the oil cooler is always under pressure. The thermostat relies on the (colder) oil in the cooler being thicker and more difficult to move than going straight through the filter as the only mechanism to "stop" flow when cold. When the oil thermostat does reach temperature and starts to open then there is a positive effect to force oil through the cooler. With it working this way, it means your cooler will fill up, warm up and feel warm as the engine warms up if the car isn't moving and there's no airflow over the cooler to keep the oil in it thicker and less keen to move.

John

[re2500]

Hi John,
Thats all good info, thanks for posting it up.

[waveydavey]

Just starting to do this conversion on my car after having a weeping oil cooler for the last couple of years.

Quick question though. To keep a stealthy look through the grill I'd like to give the new cooler and mount a coat of satin black. Will this affect the cooling ability or will the difference be negligible or not worth worrying about as it'll be bigger than the OE one anyway?

Cheers

David

[Rusty]

I painted mine. Won't affect cooling, as long as you don't plaster all the holes full of paint

[waveydavey]

I couldn't get the shorter hose (AHH 8536 27") to reach on my car so I just ordered another 39" long hose.

Same here. No amount of twisting and stretching would get the 27" hose to fit. I reckon this is mainly because I'm running a hybrid GT2871 turbo and the oil return pipe gets in the way.

Cheers

David

[Majorcina]

This is good and prety cheap mod.I am considering doing it on my S4.Anyone used braided steel hoses,or know where to get some?

[Rikki Kitto]

You could always go for one of these that fit in original position

[Tom_]

Guys, how did u tested if the thermostat in oil filter housing works properly?Before i install it and put Oil cooler to my 7A engine. Any ideas? Open it and use a heat gun for example? OR just leave it inside and heat whole housing...

[s0_big]

Guys, how did u tested if the thermostat in oil filter housing works properly?Before i install it and put Oil cooler to my 7A engine. Any ideas? Open it and use a heat gun for example? OR just leave it inside and heat whole housing...

You can for example put it in hot water to see if it opens. The thermostat in my s4 was opening at 100c. Also the opening temperature stod on the core/thermostat.

[Tom_]

Thank you so_big I have problem to remove the big banjo bolt from oil housing...it turns, but it cant turn out. Any ideas?I hope that the thread are not ****ed up

[Costash]

You could always go for one of these that fit in original position

More info on this please

[Rikki Kitto]

Vidar Skothiem hand built, look him up on here