Would anyone recommend an Oil Cooler Bypass Valve

StreetSnake · #1 (**permalink**) 04-18-2009, 06:48 PM

My cockpit oil pressure gauge doesn't seem to be working so I was concerned my oil temp wasn't at the right temp. Anyway, I took it out for a little drive today and when I got home I shot the remote oil filter AN fittings to see what the temp was. When I first shot it, it was at 68 degrees C and as it sat for a minute or two, running, it raised to between 80-85 C. I'm under the impression my motor, a 427 W needs to be between 80-110 C. As mentioned earlier I have a remote oil filter as well as an oil cooler, all done in -12 lines. My question is, would it be wise to install a bypass valve to turn the oil cooler "off" when I'm not racing/tracking the car to keep the oil temp raised?

CHRIS DAMSCH · #2 (**permalink**) 04-18-2009, 06:56 PM

Check this one out. Nice piece, a few of the guys on this forum have it.

http://www.beaumontmetalworks.com/index-perf-ap.html

StreetSnake · #3 (**permalink**) 04-18-2009, 07:23 PM

Yeah that is who I was planning on utilizing if I got one. I picked up my windscreen mounts from them. But do you think it is necessary based upon the information I provided?

Pete Munroe · #4 (**permalink**) 04-18-2009, 10:22 PM

SSnake,

Many of us have the problem of low oil temperature, big or small block, even with the oil cooler blanked off to stop airflow.

I just ordered the Canton thermostat from Summit for $145. It comes set up for #12 lines which should work for your setup. Visually it appears to have more flow capacity than the MOCAL unit or the EARLS which are both set up for #10 fittings.

(that said I have not seen ANY measurements on flow rates for any of them).

I decided on the Canton as it is set to open at ~215. The MOCAL and EARLS are set at ~180. The MOCAL can be ordered to open at ~215 but then it is approaching the price of the CANTON.

My engine, stroked 289 runs cool, on the street oil is 150/160 stuck in traffic and drops as soon as the car has >airflow or >engine speed. Oil very rarely exceeds ~200 even at the track so I opted to go with the 215 setting.

MOCAL says their unit starts to open at 160 so I don't think it would do much for me.

The BEAUMONT unit is beautiful, very simple but at $330 too pricey for me. I still like the thermostat concept as my oil temp drops as soon as I am on a straight away or going down hill, I want the temp to stay up...but I have lots of reserve so getting heat soaked shouldn't be an issue.

I think all the thermostats will still allow about 10% of the oil to flow through them so the temp in the cooler isn't totally cold.

One downside to the CANTON is its size...6 inches high and 3.25 square...the MOCAL unit, and the EARLS are more compact.

Dean, aka ""RED-BARCHETTA" has a CANTON unit on his 351/390 stroker, maybe he or some of the other guys will comment.

RedBarchetta · #5 (**permalink**) 04-19-2009, 10:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pete Munroe

One downside to the CANTON is its size...6 inches high and 3.25 square...the MOCAL unit, and the EARLS are more compact.

Dean, aka ""RED-BARCHETTA" has a CANTON unit on his 351/392 stroker, maybe he or some of the other guys will comment.

Mine is mounted similarly to Jim's. We both fashioned a plate to mount ours on. He mounts his closer to the fans and mine is more offset toward the motor. Niether one of us centered it on the cross-member, as you will discover with the mounting bracket that this makes it difficult to do so. This isn't the best pic (Jim's is more of a close-up), but at least you get a feel for how it looks in the whole engine bay. I still haven't come up with a cleaner way to route the plumbing from the remote oil filter exit back to the intake on the thermostat. Have considered some hard line but the bends would be too tight. Maybe Jim can share with us an underneath shot...his looks cleaner.

Overall I'm pleased with this unit.

-Dean

Blas · #6 (**permalink**) 04-19-2009, 11:48 AM

IF you want a bypass valve that is manually controlled, check this site out. He make some great stuff...
www.beaumontmetalworks.com/index-perf-ap.html

twobjshelbys · #7 (**permalink**) 04-20-2009, 03:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RedBarchetta

Mine is mounted similarly to Jim's. We both fashioned a plate to mount ours on. He mounts his closer to the fans and mine is more offset toward the motor. Niether one of us centered it on the cross-member, as you will discover with the mounting bracket that this makes it difficult to do so. This isn't the best pic (Jim's is more of a close-up), but at least you get a feel for how it looks in the whole engine bay. I still haven't come up with a cleaner way to route the plumbing from the remote oil filter exit back to the intake on the thermostat. Have considered some hard line but the bends would be too tight. Maybe Jim can share with us an underneath shot...his looks cleaner.

Overall I'm pleased with this unit.

-Dean

I think I need one of these as my oil temp rarely gets off the bottom peg and when it does only goes up to about 60*C. Water temp is about 80-85*C. However, I'll also need to find the braided hoses in the right lengths. What lengths/sources did you use?

lovehamr · #8 (**permalink**) 04-18-2009, 10:39 PM

I'm in the process of building mine with a Canton.

Steve

jwoodard · #9 (**permalink**) 04-18-2009, 11:18 PM

StreetSnake,
I'd say based on your description your engine would benefit with an oil cooler thermostat installed. I have the Canton unit in my car and have noticed my oil temps are more stable and in the correct operating range than without the unit.

Ron61 · #10 (**permalink**) 04-19-2009, 01:05 AM

I used the Canton one for a while, but with our hot Summers here the oil and water are at operating temperature within 5 minutes anyway. And since I never drove it in the Winter, I took the valve out, and I was running a remote filter and my oil cooler had long lines to it also. The one that I had allowed just a little oil through before it got hot enough to open as that would start to warm the oil in the cooler. Then once it reached the set temperature it opened up wide and there was un-restricted flow.

Ron

StreetSnake · #11 (**permalink**) 04-19-2009, 04:56 AM

Let me ask you guys running a oil therostat a simple question, as I have never seen one. If I'm correct on my assumption, under the specified temperature, lets say 210, oil is routed straight back into the engine, therefore bypassing the oil cooler. Over 210, oil is sent through the oil cooler. Am I correct on this assumption. Thanks

Rwillia4 · #12 (**permalink**) 04-19-2009, 09:00 AM

SSnake,

We have similar engines and I installed a MOCAL thermostat for my oil cooler because the oil temp would never get above 75C. The only temp they offered was 80C. It performs exactly as stated, it opens at 80c and never gets warmer even on spirited drives. I wish it would get over 100C to ensure I'm evaporating all the moisture out of the oil.

As I searched for which one I purchased I now see that they offer a 200F model in 10 and 12. http://www.racerpartswholesale.com/c...il_Thermostats

I am thinking about installing a shutoff valve to the oil cooler that I can control when needed on track days. http://www.petersonfluidsys.com/plumb_bv.html. I would like to find an electronically activated valve.

Night Enforcer · #13 (**permalink**) 04-19-2009, 10:20 AM

I have a Canton in mine as well. Works great. Depending on the ambient temp and speed, it brings the oil temp up to 212F and keeps it close to that temp all of the time.

mrmustang · #14 (**permalink**) 04-19-2009, 10:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by StreetSnake

My cockpit oil pressure gauge doesn't seem to be working so I was concerned my oil temp wasn't at the right temp. Anyway, I took it out for a little drive today and when I got home I shot the remote oil filter AN fittings to see what the temp was. When I first shot it, it was at 68 degrees C and as it sat for a minute or two, running, it raised to between 80-85 C. I'm under the impression my motor, a 427 W needs to be between 80-110 C. As mentioned earlier I have a remote oil filter as well as an oil cooler, all done in -12 lines. My question is, would it be wise to install a bypass valve to turn the oil cooler "off" when I'm not racing/tracking the car to keep the oil temp raised?

Seeing that you are in Ohio where the ambient air temperature did not get above 50 degrees today I feel that you are rushing to conclusions on your oil temp. If you had gone for that same ride yesterday I'll bet you would have seen a marked rise in your oil temperature to beyond what you believe it should have been at today.

Bill S.

Rwillia4 · #15 (**permalink**) 04-20-2009, 04:10 PM

STL,
you are correct usually you can mount the sensor near the oil filter and get a pretty accurate reading.

STL Mark · #16 (**permalink**) 04-20-2009, 05:21 PM

OK - so without getting too far off topic. With my sensor mounted at the pan and usually reads 70C to 80C, what would the estimated actual oil temp be? +20C ? more ?

Garage10 · #17 (**permalink**) 04-20-2009, 09:32 PM

Hi redbarchetta
What are the dimensions of your canton thermostat. I couldn't find it on their site.
Thank You
Brent

RedBarchetta · #18 (**permalink**) 04-20-2009, 10:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Garage10

Hi redbarchetta
What are the dimensions of your canton thermostat. I couldn't find it on their site.
Thank You
Brent

6" L x 3" W x 3" H (does not account for fittings, just the primary thermostat housing).

-Dean

Garage10 · #19 (**permalink**) 04-21-2009, 06:00 PM

Thanks Dean
That was what I was looking for.
Brent

bobcowan · #20 (**permalink**) 04-22-2009, 03:03 PM

If you drive it on the street, you definatly need a thermostat of some kind.

Oil has an operating range. If you want it to do all things that oil should do, it has to be kept in that range. Maximum temp is not hard to find, but minimum temp is. It seem like minimum would be around 180* or so. But some thermostats open at 220*, so an engineer somewhere thinks that's the minimum. Maybe it is, I don't know. In any case, it should be at least 180*.

Some people say that if you don't get the oil over 212* the water won't evaporate. That's not exactly true. Water evaporates at much lower temps. If it didn't, your kitchen floor would never be dry.

I tried a couple of sandwich type thermostats. Worked great in the summer. Oil temp stayed between 180-190* all the time. In the winter, though, getting the oil warm was almost impossible. Even when I covered the cooler with cardboard and duct tape.

So, I put a separate electric oil pump in, and run that only when the oil gets hot. I was at the track last week and it worked really well. Now the engine oil pump only pumps oil through the engine, just as designed from the factory.

A good option for an occasional track car would be a heat exchanger. In the winter the oil is heated by the hotter coolant. In the summer, the oil is cooled by the coolant. It works to keep the oil and water temp about the same. Ford used that set up on a number of differant cars and trucks.