Date: Mon, 10 Nov 2008 19:34:48 -0600
Reply-To: Max Wellhouse <dimwittedmoose@CFU.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Max Wellhouse <dimwittedmoose@CFU.NET>
Subject: Re: Oil cooler, D-pillar, Syncro - question
In-Reply-To: <6acc6ca40811101646ra9fc9b9gf091d76fb6bf1989@mail.gmail.com >
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Man, 240 on the road and 210 in the city(where you'd think it would
be higher) than on the open road), that';s pretty hot. I know the
synthetics do well in high heat, but I'm pretty old school on oil
temp. If I were you....
1. I'd keep the oil cooler hoses as short as possible to avoid oil
pressure drop.
2. I'd keep the cooler as low as possible so the pump doesn't have to
fight gravity and then all that extra oil overload the sump when the
motor is shut down. You can get one way valves to keep the oil in
the line, but then I'd also have a thermostat in line with a bypass
for proper warm up of the motor(regardless of where you live or what
time of year itis).
3 Our concerns about adding heat tot the fuel lines may or may not
hold water, but ANY extra heat in the engine compartment isn't
good. My suggestion is to build a separate inlet on the driver's
side with an aftermarket air scoop and get a heating and cooling
shop that makes custom duct work build you a box for the cooler to
get nothing but outside air(yeah, you'll have to cut on the rear
quarter panel, but it's more than worth it) so the incoming airflow
goes through the scoop, then over the oil cooler, and then cut
another hole in the horizontal surface with and exhaust ducting to
let the hot air flow right out the back of the van. This can look
very sanitary and will add years to your engine's life. YOu could
even rig up an old Rabbit(or Vanagon) fan motor to kick on in town
when the oil gets too hot, but then you're getting into some
complicated stuff. In my 79 Bay window bus with dual 44IDF Webers
on it, I had this very system and my oil never got over 210, and that
was hauling 2 canoes on top and climbing I-24 up that 8% grade to
Sewannee Tennessee in the middle of August.
YMMV
DM&FS
At 06:46 PM 11/10/2008, Luke Bakken wrote:
>Hello everyone,
>
>Having successfully completed my first newbie vanagon project with
>this list's help, I thought I would move on to #2. My van has a 2.5L
>Subaru engine in it with an oil cooler, however, I don't think the
>cooler is located in an optimal place (up behind the left rear wheel
>well) because on hot days the oil temp can get as high as 240 degrees
>if I'm going on the freeway - around town the temp stays at about 210
>degrees. I have been using synthetic oil as a precaution as well.
>
>What I would like to do is move the cooler to the passenger side
>D-pillar as these two people have done:
>
>http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/subaruvanagon/message/47107
>
>http://www.shoptalkforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=102662
>
>I removed the black plastic air flow box and water trap and everything
>looks OK except for the fact that the metal fuel pipe also runs
>through the area at the bottom of the D-pillar (the van is a Syncro).
>I'm wondering if the presence of an oil cooler here would radiate too
>much heat and create a dangerous fuel situation. If so, where do other
>Syncro owners put their oil coolers to ensure good air flow?
>
>And, while I'm on the subject, what brand of oil cooler do people use?
>
>Thanks in advance,
>Luke
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