Thoughts on Oil Cooler Delete
Super Moderator
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 9,507
From: Okemos, MI
Well, before I knew that the stock cooler was crappy, I guess I just wanted to know why in the world anyone would remove it.
Now that I know more, I guess I'm just concerned. If you hot-lap at the drag strip, oil temps can get pretty high. You'd have a hard time actually causing any damage with the temps you'd see running it like that, but it will put a dent in your ET.
Now that I know more, I guess I'm just concerned. If you hot-lap at the drag strip, oil temps can get pretty high. You'd have a hard time actually causing any damage with the temps you'd see running it like that, but it will put a dent in your ET.
Registered User
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 1,027
From: Lansing, MI via Bowling Green, KY: Dalton, GA: Nashville, TN & Atlanta, GA
I'm planning to remove my oil cooler. I'm actually hoping that it's plugged and that I notice an increase in oil pressure after it's removed. I'm also installing some Kooks headers and I've heard it's necessary to remove the cooler. Does anyone know if it's only necessary with the stepped headers? I'm guessing no because it appears to be in a location where the collector would be the primary issue.
Registered User
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 727
From: Alcohaulin Ass
I ended up deleting the system because of an oil leak. The piece between the oil filter adapter and the oil filter splits into two and has a rectangular paper gasket between the two pieces. The original gasket went bad and was discontinued by SLP. They couldn't even tell me where to get another one so after doing some research in the LT1 section, I just removed the system.
Nick
Nick
Registered User
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 572
As has been noted, the factory "cooler" also helps the engine oil get up to operating temperature more quickly. This is GOOD, especially for "short trip daily drivers" in colder climates. If you have lowered the fan setpoints it also keeps oil temperatures reasonably under control. I believe most of the horror stories about clogged coolers causing spun bearings are usually after the fact so the debris is from the engine failure/abuse, not the cause. Where the cooler may be at fault it's often because of a cam change or other internal engine work and bits of old gasket and/or excess sealant has gotten into the returns. If you're going to do hot laps at Lime Rock then change to a conventional air/oil cooler if not stay with the factory water/oil heat exchanger.
Administrator
Joined: Nov 1998
Posts: 71,099
From: Hell was full so they sent me to NJ
Its not likely the cooler will affect your oil pressure, as measured by the oil pressure gauge. The oil pressure sensor is located downstream of the filter and cooler unit. What the gauge shows you is the pressure generated by the resistance to flow from the sensing point to the ends of the recirculation system.
I kept my factory oil cooler when the stroker was built, and its never provided any sort of problems in the 13 years I've owned the car.
I kept my factory oil cooler when the stroker was built, and its never provided any sort of problems in the 13 years I've owned the car.
Registered User
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 3,557
From: Carol Stream, Il.
Well, before I knew that the stock cooler was crappy, I guess I just wanted to know why in the world anyone would remove it.
Now that I know more, I guess I'm just concerned. If you hot-lap at the drag strip, oil temps can get pretty high. You'd have a hard time actually causing any damage with the temps you'd see running it like that, but it will put a dent in your ET.
Now that I know more, I guess I'm just concerned. If you hot-lap at the drag strip, oil temps can get pretty high. You'd have a hard time actually causing any damage with the temps you'd see running it like that, but it will put a dent in your ET.
Registered User
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 1,174
From: MI
I removed the SLP oil cooler option on my 97ss. Did a air to air cooler in front (Summit). Alum hard tube plumb with some socketless hose. Did see a drop in steady-state engine temperature. The SLP did tend to plug where the oil passed the heat trasfer fins.
Super Moderator
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 9,507
From: Okemos, MI
I have had my best runs with the car fully warmed up. A couple of times, 10 min. between runs. Never more than two runs in a row though without letting it cool down some for the next run. It doesn't like being pushed through the staging lanes, which is a good thing. If it cool outside, I actually let it idle a while in the lanes.
I'm talking about ~2 minutes between. You can heat things up in a hurry like that. My Grand National is particularly sensitive to it, but I've seen the Z28's times suffer too.
Registered User
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 3,557
From: Carol Stream, Il.
Stated my results, better oil pressure. I'm done now, thanks for the conversation and info.
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Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 4,405
From: Kantuckee Yo'
Registered User
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 568
From: Elkton, Va
This has been covered many times.
The factory f-body oil cooler uses engine coolant to operate. The coolant reaches operating temps much faster than the oil so GM passes warm coolant through the oil cooler to cause the oil to heat up faster to improve efficiency and reduce emissions.
It has the ability to cool the oil under extreme conditions only but overall is not very effective because it is dependant on the temps of the engine coolant
It is also well documented that the GM f-body oil coolers tend to clog up with junk and carbon, when I took mine apart after deletion I was shocked at the crap I found that had been in the oil system. When this happens it will cause a flow restriction.
The oil coolers that are worth it are the plain old technology air to air coolers that do not use engine coolant at all. IMHO the GM f-body oil coolers are more like oil warmers because they operate off of engine coolant.
The factory f-body oil cooler uses engine coolant to operate. The coolant reaches operating temps much faster than the oil so GM passes warm coolant through the oil cooler to cause the oil to heat up faster to improve efficiency and reduce emissions.
It has the ability to cool the oil under extreme conditions only but overall is not very effective because it is dependant on the temps of the engine coolant
It is also well documented that the GM f-body oil coolers tend to clog up with junk and carbon, when I took mine apart after deletion I was shocked at the crap I found that had been in the oil system. When this happens it will cause a flow restriction.
The oil coolers that are worth it are the plain old technology air to air coolers that do not use engine coolant at all. IMHO the GM f-body oil coolers are more like oil warmers because they operate off of engine coolant.
Registered User
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 1,027
From: Lansing, MI via Bowling Green, KY: Dalton, GA: Nashville, TN & Atlanta, GA
I finally started my car today after my header install, and removal of the oil cooler. Prior to removing my oil cooler, my cold idle pressure wasn't even 40, and was probably closer to 20. When we started the car today, the pressure was almost 60 at idle. The car was up on jack stands, and the front was slightly higher than the rear. I'm not sure if that matters. We didn't let it run very long either because the water pump isn't on and there is no coolant in the block. I'll post more updates later this week, but I appear to be experiencing a significant increase in pressure.
Registered User
Joined: Dec 1969
Posts: 27,727
From: Little Rock, AR
I finally started my car today after my header install, and removal of the oil cooler. Prior to removing my oil cooler, my cold idle pressure wasn't even 40, and was probably closer to 20. When we started the car today, the pressure was almost 60 at idle. The car was up on jack stands, and the front was slightly higher than the rear. I'm not sure if that matters. We didn't let it run very long either because the water pump isn't on and there is no coolant in the block. I'll post more updates later this week, but I appear to be experiencing a significant increase in pressure.