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Subject:Re: Add-on Oil Coolers
From:Joel Walker
Date:Fri, 12 May 95 10:40:02 CDT

On Fri, 12 May 95 10:25:33 CDT Gary Clayton said:
>One is add an extra oil cooler.
>I do not like the ones I've seen mounted on the outside of the van, but
>something that would fit in the engine compartment (in corner across from
>battery?) would be OK.

i did this on my 80 vanagon ... the kit had a little plate that fit between
the oil filter and the engine. two hoses ran off this plate, and went to the
litttle radiator (oil cooler). i installed a bypass thermostat in the lines
so that if the oil was cool, it was routed back to the engine and did not
pass through the cooler.

it worked really well, i thought ... i had planned on putting a switch-
controlled electric fan on the cooler, but never got around to it (guess i
never needed it, really). if i did it over, i think i would definitely add
the fan.

but a better investment is an oil temp gauge (and oil pressure gauge) ...
that will let you SEE what range of temps your engine runs, and then you
can decide if you want to lower that with a cooler.

and don't forget that you might be able to change brands of oil and get some
cooler temps (which you won't know unless you have the oil temp gauge). ;)

joel