Date: Fri, 24 Sep 2010 08:17:43 -0700
Reply-To: Don Hanson <dhanson928@GMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Don Hanson <dhanson928@GMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: Coolant/Oil that oil filter interface.. reasons
In-Reply-To: <5807D501-BBE0-4BF5-8205-E50EDDE4991A@shaw.ca>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
I ask a real question and I get back "Well, VW went to all that trouble,
it has to be worthwhile"? VW never makes a silly mistake, tries anything
without it being just perfect? I dunno about that.
No need to be sarcastic, Mr. Bell (grin). I never said anything about an
analysis..I was asking if anyone here on the Vanagon list had any input,
prehaps someone HAS actually quantified the results of one of these
devices... It occured to me, as I looked at that thing and my whole little
pint-sized motor hanging there on the engine stand...The motor itself is
just a large-sized coolant/oil heat exchanger, too. I looked. I thought. I
cogitated. but I didn't test. I ask, right now...maybe later I might test..
There are plenty of posts about leaking oil filter heat exchangers on the
various VW forums.
I am a 'simpler is better' fellow. Simpler is less likely to fail
and requires less maintainence. For example, I like to roll down my windows
when I get hot, rather than maintain a climate control system in an
automobile, and maintain switches and relays to control the windows.
If my other motor and millions of other VW watercooled motors run fine
without these heat exchanger oil filter mountings, and it's only there,
really, because "VW put it there, hadda be some good reason"...I might opt
to leave it off..and therefore eliminate an extra complexity that may or may
not be worthwhile..
Is it really worthwhile?
Don Hanson
On Fri, Sep 24, 2010 at 7:43 AM, Alistair Bell <albell@shaw.ca> wrote:
> sure cut it off, just why the heck did VW go to all that troubled adding
> one.
>
> (And continued to use it in various models through the years)
>
> But you seem to have done a thorough analysis.
>
>
> (it actually does work. it helps oil to get to op. temp during warm up and
> does moderate oil temps during running)
>
>
> alistair
>
>
>
>
>
>
> On 24-Sep-10, at 7:08 AM, Don Hanson wrote:
>
> I understand that many VW motors, some WBX included, have the oil
> filter/coolant heat exchanger like the one 'above' the oil filter that I
> found on my 93 Jetta (recent) transplant block. I just swapped this new ABA
> motor into my 84 vanagon in place of a 92 1.8liter inline VW. The
> 1.8l motor has no exchanger like that. Looking at this thing, it seems a
> bit....useless?
>
> Is it supposed to 'cool' the oil? Heat the oil? Up or Down to the temp of
> the coolant? That temp. is about 188f with an 87c
> thermostat...about normal oil temp anyhow. The temperature difference, as
> influenced by the coolant circulating around the oil filter pipe, is that
> same condition not present all over the motor? As coolant circulates
> through the head and block, it shares the same contact with the metal as
> the
> oi/ in adjacent passeges, right? Is there a real advantage to adding that
> extra small 'interface' at that "cooler? Heater?" ...whatever you would
> call
> it? It looks like there might be very little thermal exchanging going on
> there, between the oil and the coolant, given the surface areas involved.
>
> It seems like that device just a couple of extra hoses and clamps to an
> already painfully complex cooling system, for not much 'real world'
> difference, other than another possible failure point to lose coolant..
> Looks a litte cheesy, too..that stamped chamber of flimsey alloy.
>
> My 1.8 liter without that type exchanger had no issues whatsoever
> involving oil temps in the 60k hard hard miles I put onto it..
>
> Just curious..any body else have an opinion or give a darn about this
> little widget?
>
> PS...I am leaving mine on there, for now, without any coolant circulating
> through. I might sometime hook it up and monitor the oil temp...see what
> happens in the motor...I bet Not Much..
>
> Don Hanson
>
>
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