Does this engine have an oil cooler?

It will have an stock oil cooler in the shroud.  To determine if it has an external, aftermarket oil cooler you need to see a photo of the underside of the engine.

Here is the underside

Yup, there it is, tucked up under the front of the transmission (odd place to put it, but I guess it works).

Those black garden hoses coming off the bottom of the engine at the back are the oil hoses going to the front.  Can't really see if there is an external filter tucked in there anywhere.......

Good eye, Gordon; I see the hoses under the motor and what looks like a crimped on connector by the front of the trans, but I still can't say definitively there's a cooler there.....

I can't make out the cooler either.  I would imagine if it has an external oil cooler it also has an external filter-wonder where it is.

The crimped connector at the transaxle is probably for the A/C, but it IS full-flowed, so I'd be willing to bet it has an external cooler.

need to add some sheilding to the lines to keep the exhaust heet away.and if any hang down where they colud get wacked would also need attn.

Here are some more views...thanks for all the help!

Nope, looks like those crafty buggers put the external cooler up above the tranny in the "dead spot" behind thie rear seat.

Lane was pro'bly right about the AN fittings below the tranny going to the A/C or something but not to the oil cooler.

It also looks like there is no external oil filter - a waste, considering the hoses are already there, the fittings would be 20 bucks and a spin-on adapter costs another 20 bucks.

Pretty fast on the typing trigger!  

Do you NEED an external filter?  On that engine, no.  Just change the oil and flush the screen above the sump plate every 3,000 miles.   Would an add-on external be a benefit?  Absolutely.  The sump screen filters out stuff the size of grains of sand (think small pebbles) while an external filter captures stuff like fine, airborne dust.

There is no maintanence needed for an external cooler unless the engine oil gets sludge-laden from not changing it often and cloggs up the cooler passages.  If the oil is THAT dirty, you'll clog the internal cooler first, over heat and seize the engine.  That way you'll know something is wrong    ;&gt

i would have yur mechanic look for an external filter somewhere back there.  If VS went to the trouble to add a fuel pressure regulator that IMHO you probably don't need, then I would think they would add an oilfilter.

I'm brand new to the speedster.  Still trying to figure everything out.  Thanks so much for all the info.

I live in Oklahoma where it gets super hot in the summer.  The temps have been around 50-60 recently and I have never heard the external oil cooler turn on.  Is there a way to test it?  How do I know it is working properly?

Just for clarification, the two black "garden hoses" carry oil from the engine to the cooler and back?

Looking under the car, any other issues that you guys see that I need to address?

Thanks so much!

Adam

P.S. Anyone have a diagram on how to check the oil, I can not figure out where the "dip stick" is.  As you can tell, I am not mechanically inclined but I am really trying to learn as much as I can. 

Thanks for the info...

Just happening to be sitting at my computer tonight doing some work.

Do you have any pictures of the sump plate?

Thanks!

I would move the oil line away from the hot heater box, it can cause the hose to go brittle resulting in an line failure and the rest is hi$tory.

Dip stick is just to the right of the lower pulley, right behind the belt. Just look for the finger loop.

"The temps have been around 50-60 recently and I have never heard the external oil cooler turn on.  Is there a way to test it?  How do I know it is working properly?"

No easy way for you to test it, but a competent mechanic could jumper the fan (it should have one) to see if it's OK.  Other than that, wait for hot weather and see if it comes on as it should or spend the Spring finding someone on here who is local to you and has some experience to help you get used to your new toy.

"Just for clarification, the two black "garden hoses" carry oil from the engine to the cooler and back?"

Yes, that's correct.  And from what we've seen here tonight, you need to move them away from the hot heater box......an inch away (or more) would be fine.

I really feel like an idiot now, but which one is the heater box?  I'm guessing that it is the long silver thing attached to the muffler and exhaust?   If so, where do I move those 2 hoses?  More towards the middle of the car?

Yes....you have hot air heat (remember, the engine is air cooled) and the heater boxes (which provide the heat) are those long, silver/gray boxes attached to the muffler pipes.  They have some sort of a bracket attached to the driver's side box which holds the oil hoses in place - that's good, but it would be better if the bracket was changed to hold the hoses a bit farther away from the box, in towards the finned crankcase another inch or so.  If you didn't do this, the world wouldn't end......you might have to change the hoses every six years or so as they get brittle.

Thanks so much!   I really appreciate all the info!

Adam

Need in-depth info or the background as to why speedster things are done the way they are?  Email me.....   Speedstahguy at gmail.com

Adam-  Where do you live?  Chances are a Speedster-person lives near you and can provide some support (Or, at least meet you for coffee or something).

I too would add an external spin on filter (up in the drivers side rear wheel well) along with an external filter by pass valve.  Hoses could then be moved to along the chassis 2x2 frame which would put it away from engine heat.

Mine has plates on both sides protecting the hoses.  They managed to get broken where you see the little circular tab hanging down on the rear of the finned case.  The whole tab broke off, probably from me driving the crap out of it on a bumpy road, or me being careless over a speed bump.  The welds on the tab to heater box connection also broke, but that is an easy fix. I wish there was an easy fix for the finned case that looked good as new  Either way the protection is still there for the hoses from crap flying up and puncturing them.

Here's a good example of where you should NOT put an external oil filter.

^ Well, at least it's easy to get to.

Wow.

Yeah, by any rock he drives over.

... or brick... or chunk-'o-tire... or.....

just think of the plus side - you won't need to undo the drain plug to change the oil, just undo the filter.

easy peezy

I didn't have to undo the oil drain bolt the last time I changed my oil.  I just bottomed the engine out on a big pothole and waited a couple of days for the bolt to fall off.

My VS 1runs with external cooler runs every hot in the summer in CO.  I lowered compression from 9:1 to 8:1 and I'm hoping this will fix it.

i also installed an external oil filter.

Motor specs? doghouse shroud and cooler? what weight oil are you running? oil pressures at warm idle and highway cruising speeds? do you have more air intake into the engine compartment than just the holes in the lid? cylinder head temp gauge? is all the engine tin installed and the motor properly sealed off so heat from the exhaust (and spent cooling air) isn't entering the engine compartment? 

ALB. Reference CHT's where do you recommend locating the probes? 1, 2 or 4 probe(s)? Thanks

Underneath a spark plug works best (is closest to the actual combustion chamber and gives readings in "real time"); most people use 1 probe under #3. I believe Stan Galat runs 4 and says you can see something wrong with a cylinder at a glance. 

Hope this helps. Al

If it was my ride I'd find somewhere to mount it.

huh?  that is pretty much the worse place to mount an oil filter on that car.  it hangs down clearly lower than the oil pump.