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Oil Cooler Location

Whitebear

Whitebear

Silent Prop
R. I. P.
Cowboy or some of you 4 cylinder A/C guys make the case for the best location of the oil cooler. Mine came mounted under the engine, if there is a good reason to move it, now is the time I can do it with no hassles.

Cuttin n Brassin
:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
Scotty
 
mine is mounted under the engine but see a lot of boats over top the engine. think the top may get more air & less dirt , but mine seems to work fine underneath.
 
Bear, I ain't an aircraft guy as you know but if you leave it below the engine it'll stay full of oil and you'll get oil pressure faster ..... above the engine you have to fill it every time you start.
 
Hey Scotty,
I can't really claim to be an expert, but I always have an opinion about some things.

I can say that I have noticed people I consider to be expert boat builders, mount them either way.
Just my obseravtions.

I think it just some down to a persons preference.

I agree with the opinions above also.

Now for something completely different Scotty:
Look at the oil cooler location on this old timey set-up.

Gator_Gitter.jpg


I have seeen some old pictures of coolers rigged like the above.
Perhaps a little lower on the upper rudder suppports, and further into the prop blast.
It may have been a passing fad, or they figured out it ran too cold thataway.

I think it's interesting none the less.

Later man.
 
Whitebear,

It is mostly a personal preference, as it will work fine either way>

Mounted under the engine it will tend to collect any oil that leaks from the engine, and once you get oil on the outside of the cooler everything else is going to stick.
Regular cleaning will solve this, its just a little harder to clean when stuck on there with some oil residue!
I have had them mounted both ways. I prefer up top.

Grant
 
Yes I have seen them mounted that way. Debris that the prop chews up tends to get forced into it. Sooner or later something big enough to cause a leak will hit it.
 
I thought about mounting an oil cooler above the engine but I could never figure out how to keep it full. I suppose if the intakes are pointed up that would work. I've seen them with the cooler upside down and wondered how they keep oil in it. It seems the cooler would drain the oil back into the engine when it is shut off.

I know they only hold about a quart of oil but when the engine starts it means I'm running the engine one quart short of the required amount of oil. I'll just keep my cooler below the engine until I get smarter.
 
Scotty, in the ongoing quest for optimum performance, keep this in mind
the farther above or below the oil pump you mount the cooler will be
robbing you of a few more micros of horse power required to push the oil
either up to the cooler ( mounted above) or back up from the cooler if
(mounted below) so there yes mount it level with the engine, on the left
side so the added weight can help counteract the torque roll.
or maybe not. I think I'm just gona go fishin. Kevin.
 
couldn't you just add a check valve in the oil feed line , that should keep the oil in the cooler instead of letting it drain back when the system is not pumping
 
The cooler just uses bleed off oil anyway, so it really doesn't matter if it bleeds down.
I have noticed you can pull the lines off a cooler that has been sitting for a long time and the cooler always seems to have oil in it.

Grant
 
Here's what I've learned after running the coolers in both locations on my a/c engine.


Below engine:

Cooler picks up every piece of crap while running through the marsh.

Sludge builds up on bottom of cooler.

Still have to remove it during oil changes to clean it.


Above engine:

Cooler very rarely needs cleaning

Hoses should be pointed up. Oil always remains in the cooler & working @ maximum efficency.

If hoses are point down, only 1/2 of the cooler ever has oil in it @ any one point hence, cooler is less efficiant. No sludge builds up in cooler.

With hoese up, you still have to remove & drain the old oil.

RUN THE COOLER ABOVE WITH HOSES UP FOR MAXIMUM COOLING
 
I already decided to leave it low where it is. I'll keep an eye on it for trash building up.

Thanks everyone :)

Scotty
 
While I'm thinkin' bout it. Don't forget to use two wrenches to remove the lines if you ever need to remove them. One wrench on the hose and one on the cooler will keep from damaging the cooler. Don't want anyone to find that out the hard (and expensive) way. :lol:
 
Talking about Oil Coolers, my 4 banger (150 Lycoming) has a small Oil Cooler mounted on the top of the cage. I've been told I should go bigger on the cooler. Question is, will regular Car Oil Cooler work on an A/C engine? Im looking at the Summit Catalog, and I see a nice one which would fix just right but wanted to be sure.......

Thanks,

Eddy
 
eddy,

It should work just fine. The main thing you need to make sure it can take 120 psi, as most lycomings will produce that pressure cold!

Grant
 
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