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Vanagon External Oil Cooler Install - Rear Fender
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denwood
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Location: Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada
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PostPosted: Thu Oct 18, 2012 10:58 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

My last post on the topic to wrap things up.

The road test was a pleasant surprise. First of all, I drove the crap out of the van tonight including a top speed run, hard highway hills at max throttle, and a few rpm/pressure observations. Oil temp did not exceed 100C. With 5w50 Castrol synthetic, oil pressure has increased from .3 to .5 bar (5-7 psi) across the rpm range as compared with hot pressure using the same oil but stock cooler.. With the accusump and oil cooler an oil change requires about 7 litres.

It's also obvious that the engine coolant system, now relieved of its auto transmission and oil cooling burden is more efficient. The fan did not come on at all during the run. At shutdown in the garage, the rad fan also remained off..the first time I've seen this after a hard run.

A side benefit of the oil cooler location is that AC condensate drains down the d-pillar and ends up running over the oil cooler. Not sure how much this helps, but it can't hurt, particularly as AC loading will increase engine heat load. At idle during my AC pressure test today, with fan on the fourth speed, a surprising volume of water drained out over the cooler.

So ends a month of oil/tranny coolers upgrades, intake muffling, AC rebuilding, Koni shock installation, and air/fuel tuning. The Westy has never run so well Smile. Was great to get it off the jack stands tonight.
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denwood
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PostPosted: Sun Aug 24, 2014 9:16 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Just updating this thread with a recent pic. It does a better job of showing how the cooler is housed, and vents above the exhaust to low pressure:

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.

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1vw4x4
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PostPosted: Sun Aug 24, 2014 11:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

How are you going to regulate the oil temps. in the winter, like the
factory oil cooler/heater does?


denwood wrote:
Just updating this thread with a recent pic. It does a better job of showing how the cooler is housed, and vents above the exhaust to low pressure:

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.
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denwood
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PostPosted: Mon Aug 25, 2014 12:48 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

SP1T SANDWICH PLATE 3/4 16 THERMO

That's what the thermostat/sandwich plate is for. That said, I don't drive it in winter. The van is showing very good pressure with 5w30 synthetic, which combined with the thermo plate would actually improve a lot on 15w50 in terms of winter operation. The transmission coolant/oil cooler and engine oil/coolant cooler have both been removed to improve reliability.
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1vw4x4
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PostPosted: Mon Aug 25, 2014 6:37 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

If you follow the routing of the original oil cooler/heater, this device is
designed to heat the oil in cold weather. No place does it ever restrict the oil flow based on temperature. With this in place the oil is heated to the
temperature of the coolant, along with the heater cores.



denwood wrote:
SP1T SANDWICH PLATE 3/4 16 THERMO

That's what the thermostat/sandwich plate is for. That said, I don't drive it in winter. The van is showing very good pressure with 5w30 synthetic, which combined with the thermo plate would actually improve a lot on 15w50 in terms of winter operation. The transmission coolant/oil cooler and engine oil/coolant cooler have both been removed to improve reliability.
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denwood
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PostPosted: Mon Aug 25, 2014 8:57 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'm well aware. The Mocal thermo is well regarded, and used extensively in race applications. If it restricted oil flow as a result of the thermo plate, a lot of race cars would be blowing up..they're not. Will oil take slightly longer to warm up with the factory cooler deleted in cold weather? Maybe. Have I noticed any difference with respect to how quickly the oil comes to temp? Nope.

The most important change really is that I'm now able to use 5w30 synthetic, with well over 1 bar/1000rpm at full load/hot. 5w30 when cold obviously flows better than 20w50. I was unable to use oil at this viscosity before installing this external cooler, (previous oil cooler was coolant/oil) as when towing in summer temps, pressure was too low. Add in the Accusump that is installed for oil pre-pressurization, and this engine should last a very long time.

For someone wishing to stick with the coolant/oil cooler, the larger audi V6 larger cooler mentioned in another thread makes sense.
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