Anyone hooked up an oil cooler?

[Accordtheory]

Has anyone done this? I know the vtec B series engines have oil coolers, and I figure it's about time I do this..anyone know off the top of their head if an aftermarket B series sandwich adapter thing will fit the A20? Thanks

[PhydeauX]

Just get a permacool one or what ever brand from summit. I believe the permacool one fits just about anything and uses a PH-4 (or what ever the standard ford small blocks use) filter. The filter is massive and available anywhere. I use one of their remote with cooler kits on my nova (corolla), works great, alot easier to change the filter too.

andy

[rjudgey]

Mocal do sandwich plates and air coolers plus fittings thats what i have on mine. Also get one with a thermostat.

[smufguy]

The one thing i have seen on aftermarket are adapters that bolt on to the oil filter base and has fittings to either relocate the filter and also outlets to run ur own seperate line for the coolers.

[hondamanlxi]

could 5spd peeps use an A/T radiator and use the trans cooler for an oil cooler?

[smufguy]

could 5spd peeps use an A/T radiator and use the trans cooler for an oil cooler?

they are the worst cooling coolers ever. If i was you, i wont use that shit.

[hondamanlxi]

How are they the worst coolers ever? They seemed to do the job on all a/t 3rd gens thru the first 7 or 8 yrs of their life! I mean if your oil wasnt cooled b/f, any amount would help. I think it would be a pretty good, cheap, and easy alternative.

I thought about the heat transfer from the water side, but thats colder than oil! I wish my oil stayed at 150-170 ;)

[smufguy]

they are the worst coolers as in, they are cooled by the coolant and normally on an aged motor/radiator the rust deposits on the very bottom of the radiator forming a brown sludge. I had an at rad on my 5spd and when it crapped out, i broke it apart to see how it looks and the "used to be tranny cooler" was just a straight copper tube submerged in the bottom end tank. I got a new replacement and the autozone one is an universal with the tranny cooler fitted one. It had the fins in it rather than a straight tube, but still the coolant is not that cold enough to cool it down.

SO for a turbo car that needs high efficiency cooling of its oil, an external oil cooler would be the best bet, and u can pick one up for as little as $40 from summit and rig it using regular braided hose and screw on clamps.

[PhydeauX]

The idea of cooling the oil with the engine coolant actually isn't that bad. You actually want your oil to be around 180° which is pretty much where the coolant is when it exits the radiator. The coolant will actually regulate the oil's temprature well, heating it up when its too cold and cooling it off when its too hot. There is no need for a thermostat on the cooler etc. That said the trans cooler in the radiator isn't going to be up to the task, its too small.

andy

[Accordtheory]

f it, maybe I'll just try a factory vtec b series unit. Running an external cooler with lines, etc, sounds like kind of a pain in the ass, especially considering that would mean I would have 3 radiators in the front of my car.

[PhydeauX]

Its fun finding space for all this stuff isn't it. I still don't have my oil cooler mounted on my nova yet. I'm already using an air-water intercooler to save space up front. I'm starting to think that I should heed my own words and look for a water cooled oil cooler if a universal one exists, I've only ever seen them as oem. If anyone happens across any let me know.

andy

[smufguy]

f it, maybe I'll just try a factory vtec b series unit. Running an external cooler with lines, etc, sounds like kind of a pain in the ass, especially considering that would mean I would have 3 radiators in the front of my car.

right where the horns are, are your best place. The external coolers are very light weight and can be ziptied if u want. I know it sounds kinda wacky, but i have seen road course cars with their radiators ziptied (heavy duty) besides, the external coolers are small enough to fit there without a problem.

[b20a86lude]

if im not mistaken doenst the b20a have an oil cooler i knwo we are talkin about vtec motrs but i was just wondering cause i read it somewhere

[adams86lxi]

if im not mistaken doenst the b20a have an oil cooler i knwo we are talkin about vtec motrs but i was just wondering cause i read it somewhere


yea, i believe we do. Its built on to where the oil filter goes and has a couple of coolent lines run threw it and cool down the oil alittle. Im guessing it wouldnt do much though.

[lostforawhile]

i just ran across this thread and wanted to correct some info before someone damages their engine. you CAN NOT use a transmission oil cooler for an engine oil cooler,the cooler is far too small and the passages in it are way too small to properly flow engine oil. you will cause a huge restriction in your engine oil system and damage your engine. you MUST use a cooler designed for engine oil cooling. and the cooler in the bottom of the radiator is def not suited for engine oil. a water to oil intercooler though is an excellent idea, and there is a good one made by aeroquip. this saves a lot of space,and doesn't require airflow. it's just on the expensive side. i have a cooler project going right now, if you want to take a look at it. you do need a thermostat, i am loooking at a flowtech right now. you have both lines from the sandwich adaptor that go into it,and two lines out to the cooler. when the oil is below 185, the oil bypasses the cooler,and goes back to the engine. it's a 90/10 percent thermostat. that means 90 percent of the oil goes back to the engine,and ten percent goes through the cooler all the time. this prevents air bubbles in the cooler and cold oil shock. here is the project. http://www.3geez.com/forum/showthread.php?t=62042

[LX-incredible]

How are they the worst coolers ever?

Because they look like this:

http://img211.imageshack.us/img211/9498/1oilcoolermq7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img211.imageshack.us/img211/2508/2oilcoolerii1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[Vanilla Sky]

The thing you guys seem to be forgetting is how well water moves heat.

If you really want an add on trans cooler, take a look at Tim's project.

If you're looking for a trans cooler, DO NOT bypass the stock one. Simply add one IN LINE with the current cooler (after the OEM cooler, and before the trans).

[LX-incredible]

The thing you guys seem to be forgetting is how well water moves heat.

If you really want an add on trans cooler, take a look at Tim's project.

If you're looking for a trans cooler, DO NOT bypass the stock one. Simply add one IN LINE with the current cooler (after the OEM cooler, and before the trans).

That's the way I have it done for the auto, works pretty well and helps with warmup. I don't think it would work too well for the oil though, the walls are pretty thin and it's quite restrictive.

[Vanilla Sky]

Yeah, this cooler won't support the flow that the engine requires, just as Tim has said.

[Accordtheory]

wow..way to bring back a 2/1/2 year old thread..

[lostforawhile]

read why i posted in it
i just ran across this thread and wanted to correct some info before someone damages their engine.
besides tech threads don't get old info gets added to them from time to time,or corrections are made. if some newb read this and tried to hook up a transmission cooler,they might end up ruining their engine. so i'm correcting the info. here is the aeroquip cooler, you can reduce the AN fitting sizes with reducers. for this engine run -8 lines.. http://www.bakerprecision.com/aqp10.htm

[2ndGenGuy]

The 1st gen Accords came with engine oil coolers stock that bolted up right next to the radiator. All you'd have to do is plumb in lines to it with one of those sandwich adapters, and make a couple brackets to mount it up. It's pretty compact too.

[rjudgey]

Like the idea of trans cooler my car chews up gearbox's for breakfast lucky to get 20-30k miles before syncro's get shot. Do you think oil cooler would help this last longer?

[lostforawhile]

Like the idea of trans cooler my car chews up gearbox's for breakfast lucky to get 20-30k miles before syncro's get shot. Do you think oil cooler would help this last longer?
well this is an engine oil cooler,not sure what to tell you about the gearbox issue.

[thegreatdane]

Like the idea of trans cooler my car chews up gearbox's for breakfast lucky to get 20-30k miles before syncro's get shot. Do you think oil cooler would help this last longer?

oil coolers only work with the automatic transmissions, since they have an oil pump and very different internals. Manual transmissions just splashes around in the oil that's in the case.

But you could try getting the synchros ceramic coated, that did the trick for the fastest N/A honda here.

[Hauntd ca3]

If you're keen for getting you hands dirty.
Next time you have the g/box have a machine shop drill and tap a hole near the bottom of the box and have the filler plug done likewise.
Use an electric pump rated for a thick/ hot oil to suck the oil out the bottom hole, push it thru a cooler and back in the hollowed out filler plug.
Just make sure the cooler aint to big.
Dont want the oil to cold or it'll just be a bitch to shift.
Done same mod on 4wd turbo mazda familia's and seems to make they're weak arse g/boxs last better

[2oodoor]

With any oil or tranny cooler you have to be careful about fittings/orifices and the sort because you do not want to agitate the oil or fluid as it will cause foaming. Careful inspections and some driving experiments are probably a good thing to do when doing a design build type oil cooler.
I have seen some later model trannys that have heat sink or heat disipating structure designed onto the case,

[Hauntd ca3]

The oil will foam anyway being thrown around by the gears.
And most oils have an anti foaming agent which helps it stay under control.
have heard of people over filling the box but yuo run the risk of having it
hydraulic . As silly as it sounds it happens. There will be a way of doing it though.
The important thing if you do get a cooler working is that the temp isnt
to low.

[lostforawhile]

The oil will foam anyway being thrown around by the gears.
And most oils have an anti foaming agent which helps it stay under control.
have heard of people over filling the box but yuo run the risk of having it
hydraulic . As silly as it sounds it happens. There will be a way of doing it though.
The important thing if you do get a cooler working is that the temp isnt
to low.
the only thing that will happen to a manual box if you over fill it,is oil will leak out the drive shaft seals. it's just gears in there and the shifting mechanism. there is nothing to hydrolock. if the gears were completly submerged in oil,they would work exactly the same. i thought about the pump trick too,but all you have to do is drill and tap for a thermal activated switch. when the oil reaches a certain temp,the pump turns on. then when it cools off, thwe pump turns off. if i knew what the threads were for the fill and drain plugs, i could machine adaptors that screw into them. you would need to install a temp gauge ,so you could get a baseline for what normal operating temp is. i'm sure honda knows,but they aren't sharing the info.

[2oodoor]

The oil will foam anyway being thrown around by the gears.
And most oils have an anti foaming agent which helps it stay under control.
have heard of people over filling the box but yuo run the risk of having it
hydraulic . As silly as it sounds it happens. There will be a way of doing it though.
The important thing if you do get a cooler working is that the temp isnt
to low.

no kidding

[mdauriemma]

I'm resurrecting the thread here to add additional info. It was stated above that trans coolers could not be used as oil coolers; let me add on to that-- units labeled 'Transmission/ Oil cooler' are an even bigger no-no for the oil system.

I just installed my Transdapt 1158 filter relocation kit with additional ss braided oil line and a trans/oil cooler I bought some time ago from a mom & pop shop. The oil light wasn't turning off after 5 seconds so I shut off the engine. I used the search feature & found this thread & realized that the cooler may be garbage. Bypassed it & no more oil light; purrs like a kitten. I will order a real OIL cooler now.
Thanks guys!