I've heard of at least one instance where there was a bunch of junk in the
oil cooler that got into the engine on start up and ruined the bearings. I plumbed mine so the filter is on the other side of the cooler. I don't know what the odds are of having a problem by putting the filter in front of the
oil cooler but they are practically zero with the filter in line after passing through the cooler.
Jack Z.