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You may want to add a In-Line Oil Thermostat like below. Maintaining oil temperature, not too hot or too cold. Sending cold or cool oil back into a hot engine. Can be bad, from what I have been reading. Even Olds diesel engine oil line went into the radiator. Cadillacs with HT4100 do the same.
You may want to add a In-Line Oil Thermostat like below. Maintaining oil temperature, not too hot or too cold. Sending cold or cool oil back into a hot engine. Can be bad, from what I have been reading. Even Olds diesel engine oil line went into the radiator. Cadillacs with HT4100 do the same.
I installed an oil cooler and thermostat on my Mopar hot rod. If your oil gets above 240° on long trips, you need to do this too.
Look for an oil thermostat that opens at a minimum of 200°. This will let the oil get hot enough to boil off water and other blowby contaminants.
Higher-temperature thermostats can be hard to find. I used Canton 22-480 that opens at 215°.
Earl's 501 opens at 160°. The Mishimoto MMOP-EXTFC opens at 185°, but it's available with an optional thermostat opening at 200°. Improved Racing FSM-215 opens at 215° and costs less than the Canton 22-480.
I installed an oil cooler and thermostat on my Mopar hot rod. If your oil gets above 240° on long trips, you need to do this too.
Look for an oil thermostat that opens at a minimum of 200°. This will let the oil get hot enough to boil off water and other blowby contaminants.
Higher-temperature thermostats can be hard to find. I used Canton 22-480 that opens at 215°.
Earl's 501 opens at 160°. The Mishimoto MMOP-EXTFC opens at 185°, but it's available with an optional thermostat opening at 200°. Improved Racing FSM-215 opens at 215° and costs less than the Canton 22-480.
They have one that goes to 215F now
FSM-215215°F (Engine Oil, Road Racing) $169.00
How did you come off the oil filter adapter or you went another way? Thanks John
I drilled and taped the block for mine and use a water cooled unit. I have taken some measurements and I think that the diesel adapter (which is sitting on a shelf) would require some "clearancing" of my 2" Hooker headers in order to fit a filter. I like the idea of the oil thermostat, but what happen in case a failure? I think that water cooling (and warming) in the radiator or with a remote water cooled unit is the way to go. That is the way SRT and LS motors are done. Hellcats do have an air cooled unit with a thermostat but I think that is pretty unique on a production vehicle. There is room in the pass side tank of the radiator for a 6 or 7 plate cooler. Don't use anything smaller that 1/2 in for any oil cooler lines. I think 5/8 in would be better. My oil temp will still get to 230³ on a 90° day at 70 mph with the AC on and that is with the water staying at 190³.
Oh, and I don't think you even need a cooler if you are just driving 1/4 mile at a time. The engine doesn't run long enough.
I plan on using the squat Wix filter to fit. For diesel adapter and diesel oil pan with skid plate. Bent 1/2'' steel lines before. Not sure I can do 5/8''. But will have to see as I need custom headers for Batten heads. And fit in a G body..
How did you come off the oil filter adapter or you went another way? Thanks John
John, I did this on a Gen III hemi engine, so I only needed a Moroso sandwich adapter between the block and the filter. No stack-up problems as on an Olds. Best, Gary
I drilled and taped the block for mine and use a water cooled unit.
I like the idea of the oil thermostat, but what happen in case a failure?
I think that water cooling (and warming) in the radiator or with a remote water cooled unit is the way to go.
Where in the block did you D&T?
In failure, the thermostat will either go full open (90% oil to cooler, 10% sent back to engine uncooled) or full closed (90% sent back to engine uncooled, 10% to oil cooler).
Cooling and warming with engine coolant may be all an Olds would need. My Gen III hemi oil temperature would blow past 260° with only water cooling. Adding an oil-to-air cooler ahead of the water cooler kept oil at 230° even during mountain ascents.
The holes on the side of the block that feed the filter housing can be tapped for 1/2" NPT pretty easily.
I also used the Moroso redirection adapter (sandwich adapter with no filter) with a remote filter as an interim until I had the block torn down. The Moroso item is a nice piece but I opened up the internals a touch.
The cheap Derale thermostat - the one that's just a chunk of bright aluminum, it's sold under a bunch of brand names - is, well, cheap. I cracked one in half trying to get the NPT fittings to seal. Currently using parts from Improved Racing which are extremely nice. And they have wax cartridges from 145 to 215.
In failure, the thermostat will either go full open (90% oil to cooler, 10% sent back to engine uncooled) or full closed (90% sent back to engine uncooled, 10% to oil cooler).
Cooling and warming with engine coolant may be all an Olds would need. My Gen III hemi oil temperature would blow past 260° with only water cooling. Adding an oil-to-air cooler ahead of the water cooler kept oil at 230° even during mountain ascents.
As Oddball said, drill and tap the holes in the block at the filter adapter for 1/2 npt.
Yeah, that hemi pancake cooler is kinda small; I wish someone made a thicker one. Maybe go with a thicker radiator to just cool everything better in general.
Did anyone ever confirm the best way to get a high flow capable, reliable thermostat controlled method of installation for an external oil cooler?
I know I could probably use one and I wouldn’t mind a remote oil filter mount also.
The headers for the Batten heads work with a stock style oil filter mount adapter now with a slightly shorter oil filter, but it is close, so I think a plate or custom adapter may be needed off the block for my setup. I need to look at angles of approach to the block to see how I can get hoses to it.
I have an Earls thermostat on the trans cooler already, and I am not running through the radiator with it, but to a large stack-plate external cooler.
I really should put an oil temp gauge on it to keep an eye on things with the Motec anyways…
I know the oil temp definitely goes up after highway driving for a while.
Last edited by Battenrunner; Aug 26, 2023 at 11:00 AM.
The threads on the Olds oil filter are 13/16-16 - this turns out to be the same as the LS1 oil filter adapter, which just so happens to have the same seat interface as our Oldsmobiles do. The CNC machined billet non bypass oil filter adapter on the engine block is a Mondello FA-455 - nice piece that I use on all of my builds.
The hoses I use are Aeroquip StartLite AN-10, which have a flame retardant Nomex / Kevlar cover that provide five times better abrasion protection when snaked through spots like mine between the oil pan, engine mount, and frame. Back when I used braided stainless steel overbraid hoses, I was dealing with excessive amounts of itching and fretting of both the hoses and the surrounding items, requiring me to cover them. Now with these Nomex / Kevlar overbraid hoses, there is no itching / fretting at all - zip / zero / zilch / nada (ok, ok, you get the idea...). If anything, this overbraid is slightly polishing any contact points, with no signs of anything to the hoses in the contact points.
These hoses then go to a large remote dual oil filter casting that has two HP1 Fram Racing oil filters, then from there it goes to a 12" wide x 8" tall x 2" thick oil cooler, then back to the 8 quart oil pan. This makes for an 11 quart oil change (!) if I blow all of the lines out, 10 quart if I just drain the pan and replace the filters. With the windage tray inside of the engine, I run the oil pan purposely one quart low to keep any excess oil away from the rotating mass in higher G maneuvers when I am in road race mode.
I don't have an oil temp gauge installed as of yet. When I fire it up, I know to stay under 2500 RPM's until the oil pressure gauge comes off of the max pegged position. After banzai runs, I have used the infrared temp gun on the top of the oil cooler as soon as I can pull over an pop the hood, finding the highest reading ever seen at 210. I do believe this is working hand in hand with the overall cooling system. The radiator is working to handle most of the heat generated in the cylinder heads, while the oiling system is working to remove all of the other heat. Don't get me wrong, with the A/C on during a 98 degree day, I'm fine while moving, but start getting into some higher temps I don't like seeing if I get stuck in bumper to bumper traffic. I am currently running a rather good three row aluminum radiator, but feel that CVF serpentine belt pulley system is actually blocking a considerable amount of airflow coming out of the fan shroud (running a perfectly responding Genuine GM fan clutch with a Hayden 6 blade fan). With the previous 488 with modified stock '86 G body brackets in spread out locations, air flow out of the fan shroud seemed to be unobstructed radially pushing air out keeping me out of cooling system issues.
Now with the Rocket Racing 540 build running the Twin TorqStorm supercharger package hopefully ready next spring, I am going to have to go all out and put a radiator in with a very high BTU rejection rating along with some very strong electric fans to keep that thing properly cooled. I don't believe I will be doing any changes to the oiling system though. If I put a larger cooler in, it may only end up preheating a larger area of air being drawn into the radiator, not wanting to go into a different oil cooler location with yet another electric fan on it (loading the alternator even further)....
If you do a general internet search for 13/16-16 oil filter adapter, lots of good results come up, including sandwich adapters / coolers.
Paul...
Last edited by Clark455; Aug 27, 2023 at 11:44 AM.
Moroso Adapter
