Should I be running an oil cooler on my 87?

[HeloCrewChief]

Hey guys. I'm on my second 87 GN but, do not consider myself an expert on them compared to you guys. I have car ADD so I dabble in all sorts of stuff. When I replaced the radiator in my first 87 GN I went with an aluminum stock replacement from one of the board members and was very happy with it. That car definitely had the oil cooler hoses still installed and I kept them. I just acquired a replacement 87 GN a few months back from what I consider a GN expert. The radiator was questionable and this time around I just had it recored by a local guy as I don't drive the car much. What I did notice was this car did not have oil cooler hoses installed, just the transmission lines. Should I buy a set of hoses and make the oil cooler functional again or is the car fine without it. Like I said I feel the previous owner didn't have them installed because, he felt it didn't need it. Any thoughts or comments on pros/cons of running oil cooler hoses on a stock street car.

 

[ghost rider]

That's a good question, couple of my friends and the guy who build my motor told me don't installed the oil coolers lines it's not really necessary because the oil is traveling through a hot radiator. I haven't have any problem with my gn over two years since it was rebuilt.

Posted from the TurboBuick.Com mobile app

 

[Nick Micale]

That's a good question, couple of my friends and the guy who build my motor told me don't installed the oil coolers lines it's not really necessary because the oil is traveling through a hot radiator. ............

Just because a guy can build an engine, does not necessarily he also knows the conditions and use it will have?

Since I am not an "expert" on what goes on inside my engine especially when I have it with over triple the HP from the factory, an engine and trans oil temp gauge was installed so I could track these temps with the street and strip conditions.

With normal driving in a GN, he may be correct, but even with just "spirited" street driving GN oil temp [and trans temp] will be higher than the rad temp.

Under track conditions usually there is a time lag between runs, so there is a cool-down period, on the street, not so much?

If you consider the fact than oil contributes to 30% of engine cooling, it may not always be wise to eliminate the factory cooler?

Like in life, there can be many methods to accomplish of build something, so different situations be dealt with differently, but not necessarily right or wrong, so all factors should be considered when seeking what you should do.

 

[1952ray]

Nick, if you are not an expert, then who the hell is. LOL

 

[X Ray]

Removed ....oil not trans.

 

[HeloCrewChief]

Thank you guys. I'm ashamed to say I don't drive the car much and when I do it is a short trip somewhere anyway. I also live near Seattle so, it never gets quite hot. I think I will leave them off for now.

 

[earlbrown]

Never use a questionable oil cooler. You may ending up supplying a perfectly good engine with grit from a previous meltdown.


Plus, the factory oil cooler really isn't an oil cooler. It's more of an 'oil stabilizer'.

 

[Good2win22]

I replaced my radiator with an aftermarket aluminum one and it had provisions for the tranny and engine oil "cooler." I decided to not use them and installed 2 aftermarket tranny coolers that I mounted in the front of and at the bottom of the radiator. Also, like Nick said, installed oil and tranny temp guages to see where temps were at. I am still running my stock engine at 90,000+ miles. I flog on it quite often but keeping it on a safe tune. I know she'll make much more power but I'm saving for a rebuild on a spare engine and I want to keep this on the road for as long as possible. My opinion, for what it's worth, the exhaust crossover is just too close to the oil pan and allows too much heat transfer. We all know that heat kills the tranny so that's a no brainer.

 

[m233roller]

Well I look at it this way. Why would GM put it on there if it didn't help cool the oil ??
PS. Put an oil temp gauge on the car and make 3 or 4 half block stabs and see what the temp does ? Every LITTLE bit helps !!

 

[we4Mateo]

Well I look at it this way. Why would GM put it on there if it didn't help cool the oil ??

Easy, emissions. Warm oil gets better mileage to pass the test easier. Also, GM puts real oil coolers on cars that actually need them that are not attached to the radiator.

Posted from the TurboBuick.Com mobile app

 

[m233roller]

Yup I agree to a point. But why are they trying to cool the oil if hot oil is better to pass emissions ? As I stated above put an oil temp gauge on your car go hammer on it and watch !! It will surprise you and as I said every LITTLE bit helps.

 

[we4Mateo]

Yup I agree to a point. But why are they trying to cool the oil if hot oil is better to pass emissions ? As I stated above put an oil temp gauge on your car go hammer on it and watch !! It will surprise you and as I said every LITTLE bit helps.

I never said hot oil is better. I said getting oil up to temp quicker is better for emissions. I could care less if my oil sees 230 for short times and it's why I use synthetic. Most say synthetic isn't good in our cars bc it still needs to be changed often. This is true on change intervals but synthetic does take the heat from no cooler better than conventional oil. It's simply a preference thing on why I run the way I do. I prefer to never worry about an oil line breaking.

Posted from the TurboBuick.Com mobile app

 

[robzombie]

I agree with what Nick and Mike have said and will take it further.

The in tank coolers are marginal at best on these cars when run in stock configuration and serve two purposes. One is to maintain a minimum temp, and the second is to keep the oils in both the engine and trans at a consistent temp and recover faster [cool] than if you ran no cooler at all.

From the factory these cars weren't making 400 plus HP which is common place on most of these cars now. The abuse/heat that the oil commonly sees on a HP street motor should pretty much mandate additional coolers to control the heat generated and extend engine/trans life.

I will always run at least the factory oil cooler because of the way I drive and the climate in where I live. I also added a trans cooler with a 10" fan on it which is tied into the cooling system circuit to come on when my rad fan comes on.

After hooking up a temp gauge and seeing what the trans fluid temp was after a few hard blasts convinced me that it is mandatory to have the added cooling capacity and quicker recovery time of the added unit.

Like Nick said : Under track conditions usually there is a time lag between runs, so there is a cool-down period, on the street, not so much?
If you consider the fact than oil contributes to 30% of engine cooling, it may not always be wise to eliminate the factory cooler

Add 100* plus temps and the AC on and it should become mandatory.

For those that don't run an oil cooler and live in the west or where temps hit 100* plus, with the AC off if you have it, take your car on a couple hard/full boost runs and then note your oil pressure and how much it drops and then see what the recovery time is for it to come back up to where it normally is.

If you really want to get an idea of the abuse the oil takes and how it is used to not only lubricate but pull heat out of everything it touches and don't have an oil temp gauge use an I/R temp gauge/gun. Measure the pan temp before and after a few runs.

That will convince you that you need the factory oil cooler as a minimum and possibly an aftermarket cooler also.

As with anything else it all depends on the build and the way it is modded, driven and/or the region you are from what if any additional steps need to be taken for an engine to live a long happy life.

 

[turbo89]

OIL COOLER = a MUST !!

AS stated above .. just make sure what you are hooking up is clean and without debris from a previous melt down... ALWAYS run a oil cooler..

Do a before and after ... then post up a) what the difference is in avg temps b) the difference in your OIL pressure readings...

I think many will be surprised ... ok another note .. use a real engine oil cooler for the engine .. not a cheap trans cooler

 

[we4Mateo]

An oil cooler will keep oil temps down but no one has yet demonstrated engine failure from too hot of oil. Also true that hotter oil has less pressure but if you have enough oil pressure regardless of temps, then why is that an issue?

Posted from the TurboBuick.Com mobile app

 

[robzombie]

An oil cooler will keep oil temps down but no one has yet demonstrated engine failure from too hot of oil. Also true that hotter oil has less pressure but if you have enough oil pressure regardless of temps, then why is that an issue?

Posted from the TurboBuick.Com mobile app

Simple. Higher temps and loads results in faster break down of the oil shortening it's life and effectiveness.

 

[we4Mateo]

Simple. Higher temps and loads results in faster break down of the oil shortening it's life and effectiveness.

I already change the synthetic oil more often bc of boost and alky anyway so again, shouldn't be a problem and hasn't been yet for anyone not running one. Preference is fine but no one has had a 109 engine fail yet that I know of as a result of no oil cooler.

Posted from the TurboBuick.Com mobile app

 

[we4Mateo]

I'll be glad to be proven wrong.

Posted from the TurboBuick.Com mobile app

 

[we4Mateo]

Hot oil burns off contaminants better too.

Posted from the TurboBuick.Com mobile app

 

[Squid4life]

Simple. Higher temps and loads results in faster break down of the oil shortening it's life and effectiveness.

I found the same to be true. I ran without an oil cooler for a while (while collecting a new rad and oil cooler parts/hoses) and after about 1500 miles checked/changed the oil. It was like black water, super thin. Same weight of oil with a cooler on it I changed the oil at 2500 miles and the oil still looked new. Greenish brown and maintained its texture, viscosity, color, etc. I am a believer in oil and trans coolers, whether internal or external. My favorite all time setup was the ALRADCO radiator using the integral oil and trans coolers. Everything maintained temps, oil always looked great at changes, and my oil pressure maintained PSI because it didn't thin out as much.