Date: Tue, 10 Feb 2009 18:43:38 -0800
Reply-To: Scott Daniel - Turbovans <scottdaniel@TURBOVANS.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Scott Daniel - Turbovans <scottdaniel@TURBOVANS.COM>
Subject: Re: Mocal sandwich plate plus oil cooler equals overcooling
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uh..........what's 'so wrong' with 220 F oil temps ?
Considering that oil temp is going to get up to coolant temp after a while
anyway....
which is 185 F we'll say ..........
225 is only 35 degrees higher than that......ie. 'not that much.'
also.......I think there is some unclarity about what exactly is 'too hot'
in oil temps.
I regard 250 F as 'getting up there' ........
Perhaps in an air-cooled engine .....and even that isn't 'just horrible,' I
don't think.
and this is for conventional oils. Synthetics provide protection at higher
temps than convenstional oils.
I think you're kinda chasing a problem that isn't there, especailly in
winter.
I'd want to see the stock oil cooler ( if 2.1 engine ) stay on the engine
anyway.....
since it also stabilzes oil temps by helping the oil to get warmed up from
the coolant.
yeah............block off the air flow to the oil cooler......
but that's just a bandaid.
I'd 'start over.'
where are you measuring your oil temp exactly ?
There is a braod misconception in the non=rofessional automotive world that
'cooler is always better.'
This is totally not true.
It's very important that engines run up to temp .......
In the coolant templ and the oil temp.
Granted, under high loads, high ambient temps, long grades, oil temp can get
borderline 'not that great' .......
but most of the time.......
I'd say a little over 200 degrees F is about right.
perhaps your oil thermostat isn't working as it should.
I've noticed that the oil cooler thermostat in a Porsche 911 engine is right
in the engine block........that makes good sense to me.
I run 15W40 Chevron Delo for a conventional oil all year round.
I once was into 20W50 , a lot.......but that doesn't seem like the best
viscosicty for winter use to me.
15W40 covers a pretty braod range of temps, assuming we're not talking
about below zero temps.
hey ! .......just thought of this .........since you are evidently very
concerned about proper engine lubrication......
send an oil sample out to an oil lab for analysis. That'll give you an idea
about how much metal from the engine is showing up in the oil due to lack of
proper lubrication or oil breakdown. You might like Amzoil. They claim
they are the only *true* synthetic oil.
Scott
www.turbovans.com
----- Original Message -----
From: "John Bange" <jbange@GMAIL.COM>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Tuesday, February 10, 2009 5:54 PM
Subject: Mocal sandwich plate plus oil cooler equals overcooling
> Since I've never been happy with the way my oil temps climb above
> 220degF when laboring up and over hills in my tool and part laden work
> Vanagon, I went and bought an oil cooling system. The Mocal 19 row
> cooler squeezes in nicely behind the left taillight and gets great
> airflow. Unfortunately, I'm now seeing EXCESSIVE cooling. Even after
> roaring up the mountain pass at 65mph+ with half a ton of junk in the
> back, my oil temp gauge barely manages to break 150degF. Previously,
> before the oil cooler install, I'd see almost 225degF after a run like
> that. My first notion was that perhaps the sandwich plate thermostat,
> which is supposed to close the bypass hole at 180degF, was stuck and
> was pushing oil through the cooler all the time. When I got to work
> this morning the oil cooler was hot to the touch, so it's definitely
> seeing oil flow. I'm wondering, though, if perhaps it's not the
> sandwich plate thermostat stuck shut, but that the bypass is too
> small. It's not a very big hole, and the cooler is plumbed with AN-10
> hoses (a bit under 5/8" ID) which is pretty sizable. I can imagine
> 20W50 oil being thick enough to create enough of a pressure
> differential across that bypass hole that enough oil would be pushed
> "the long way 'round" through the cooler, reducing the oil
> temperature. Am I over-imagining, or has anyone else ever run into
> something like this? I'll likely be pulling the sandwich plate off and
> stove testing it in my wife's best cooking pot this weekend to sanity
> check the thermostat, but I'm still curious... am I going to have to
> install a manually operated flap to block airflow to the cooler just
> so I can reach adequate operating temperature?
> --
> John Bange
> '90 Vanagon - "Lastwagen"
> '90 Vanagon GL - "Wiesel"
