Oil Cooler

[hinoonaz]

I have been looking at installing an oil cooler. I have not had much luck searching all the Cobra sites. Since my engine gave up the ghost i am not taking any chances. How big physically and volume etc. Quality is important.
Any suggestion will be appreciated.

Gary

[Tim Brewer]

Mocal. But I think a lot of guys in the know are saying they're not needed and if you want one, install it but don't plumb it up.

[WardL]

If I were doing it again I would put in a oil temperature controller in my oil cooler. I don't know if you plan on driving when it is cool in Scottsdale. There is a shop in your area that knows Cobras really well. They have some great work on my friend's SPF. Wish I knew who I'm talking about. Maybe others will chime in?

[hinoonaz]

The oil temp control makes sense. thxs. I am not taking any chances so the cooler will b e overkill. I am putting in bigger radiator and the taurus fan with correct shrouding. The good news is crank, rods, block and heads are okay. Pistons suffered heat failure and froze the rings and a couple cam lobes are now round. I am lowering compression to 9.7 which will help.

[Seagull81]

Talk to Gordon Levy. He is a vendor here on the forum and in your area.

[lippy]

I installed mine, ran the hoses into the engine bay, and capped them. As it is, my oil runs fairly cool. I'm fairly certain an oil cooler in my climate (NoCal) wouldn't allow the oil to reach a proper operating temperature during street driving.

[MFE III]

I used the oil cooler and shroud from Finish Line and the Earl's sandwich-style oil cooler thermostat.
I have been very happy with the setup. My oil gets up to 100c pretty easily and the cooler keeps it below 115c even when driving hard. As many have posted, oil rarely getting above 100c with an oil cooler and no thermostat can be damaging to your motor.
I mounted the oil thermo and filter off the cylinder head, like on FE's, and ran the lines over the radiator. Here are some pics:

[bobcowan]

Originally Posted by hinoonaz

Since my engine gave up the ghost i am not taking any chances.
Gary

It's pretty rare for an engine to be killed by oil temp that's too hot. But I'v seen more than one engine toasted because of a problem with the oil cooler.

What exactly happened to your engine? The reason that I ask is that it sounds like you're fixing the wrong part.

[hinoonaz]

The engine developed a miss and the temp was getting high very quick. I know the oil temp was not the problem. Preventive type add on. I was getting alot of blowby with oil out of rear seal and then front after fixing rear seal. All this was happening and new was not good. Machine shop took apart and found evidence of engine was possibly dirty when assembled on the crank. I am not going to put an oil cooler on. Racing is not in the future.txs

[WardL]

MFE III! Dude, that is a nice looking set up!