oil cooler thermostat and fan switch relay

Is the temp sensor for the fan before or after the cooler? If it's before it will run all the time when there is oil flowing through the cooler. If it's after it will only come on when the cooler alone isn't enough.

Wow, good point!  I can switch the sensor to the bottom which is the outlet of the cooler.  Will it ever run then?

Frank- There's no reason for the fan to run all the time if the extra cooler will get rid of enough heat without it under most conditions. Depending on where the cooler/fan assembly is placed there may be some airflow through the area already and the fan will only need to run in really hot weather when you've been pushing it for a while. I've heard of guys in the VW world putting a light on the dash to tell them when the fan comes on. And if you live in brutally hot summer weather and are still occasionally having heat removal issues, there's water injection into the cooling airstream http://www.seinesystems.com/MPC-Home.htm

Yoda out... 

Keep in mind that you want to use the RETURN hose to the oil pump which may connect to either the top or bottom of the cooler. You'll need to look on the pump.

Al,

Does it make any difference which way it flows thru the cooler, top or bottom.  It will be easiest to switch the hoses at the thermostat valve. That way the sensor will be on the outlet of the cooler. On the Samba all the diagrams I saw had the fan swintch on the inlet side of the cooler so I did it that way.  You are right though, if it is the way I have it now the fan will probably run all the time needlessly.  Thanks for the wisdom.

I don't think so, Frank; I believe (and someone please correct me if I'm wrong) it doesn't matter which way oil goes through the cooler. And it's not so much wisdom as learning from mistakes and reading a lot.. Yoda out

 

PS- You might want to think about ducting air up into the cooler area from down below.... 

My double Setrabs have fans, but I doubt they will come on much, since the oil coolers are mounted in the front of the car.

I did wire in a small under-the-dash light to tell me when the fan comes on, and as Al mentioned, I put my fan sensor on the outgoing side of the cooler.

yes yoda it does make a big diffrance!!! the oil needs to go through the hose fittings and the air between the fins.if you feed the air through the fittings you will have a hell time collecting the oil & feeding it back to the engine and a hell of a mess of oil on the floor.pluss your engine probably wont last very long. I though they tought this on the first day of jedi school.along with dont let the batterys run down in your light sabre as it will suck up all the light& leave darkness on that side of the room.anniken was also absent on that day,he was sent to the dark side....

Does somebody know what Mark's on about? I know not to let the batteries run down in my light sabre, and I've been to the darkside, but only as a tourist...

 

Storm Trooper in Training:

 

 a little short for a storm trooper arnt you...siblings they never give up.

 

oil filters can be routed rong/backwards and cause cat0strawfic damage like my spelling,but coolerd are ok either way.as far as the temp switch or sender ...that depends on weather you want to see engine oil temp or cooled oil temp.be nice to see both. I dont like the above trans location if your pulling air from there to cool the engine.unless you box it and exhaust the hot air somewhere it wont get recycled by the engine cooling fan.

This is how I route oil lines. The inlets/outlets should never be on the bottom.

As my cooler is mounted above the trans, I feel it doesn't get much direct air flow naturally. I have an oil thermostat before the cooler along with the thermo controlled fan switch. I have my switch this way to have a head start on keeping things cooler. I also have a pilot light with a manual override switch on my console.

 

~WB

"The inlets/outlets should never be on the bottom."

 

Is there a specific reason?

I have read and been told that an air bubble can form in the top of the cooler preventing full cooling capability. The cooler may not fill completely with oil due to the air pocket.

 

~WB

Got it! Thanks.

You might be surprised how much airflow there is up top of the tranny, Bill. I mounted my heater core up there and there's a very noticeable flow of air from the heater into the cabin even with my two speed heater fan turned off. Or...come to think of it, is it high pressure there or low pressure in the cabin area ? or both ?

Inside the car is always lower pressure. I had a 32 Ford street rod and always noticed a blast of hot air coming out from all the door gaps and gaps under the seat. The floor was open under the seat and not well sealed. The only way to stop it was to open the windshield a little. This pressurized the interior. Interestingly the vacuum was there even with the top down. I wired the cooler fan as a pusher because with the cooler only about an inch from the body I was worried it wouldn't be able to pull enough air through. It probably doesn't make much difference though.