Oil Cooler Adapter with Integrated Thermostat

[Ron Earp]

Jeff Young found this part a couple of weeks ago:

Earl s Performance 502ERL - Earl's Performance Billet Aluminum Sandwich Style Oil Thermostats - Overview - SummitRacing.com

I just received one and it is a high quality piece of work. I'd been looking for something like it years ago and never found one so I ended up with an external thermostat and a lot of additional plumbing. I thought it might be of use to anyone here doing a cooler on their GT40.

 

[Doug S.]

Thanks, Ron....I'm thinking about adding a second oil filter (an Oberg) to the Cobra, this will come in handy. I want to use the 28 micron filter size and don't think it's a good idea to try to push cold oil through that.

Cheers from Doug!

 

[JohnC]

I've been running the Mocal version of that thermostat for nearly 7 years on my 2JZ Supra motor. Works well - no problems. You can see it on the right in this pic, taken in early 2004 just before the motor went in the car.

 

[Mike Drew]

I've been running this Earl's unit on both my GT350 and 427 Cobra replicas for 15 years with no problems. I've never actually bothered to instrument my oil temperature in the GT350; instead I trust that the thermostat stays closed to let the oil heat up as much as possible, and then opens up to let the air/oil cooler cool it to keep it as cool as possible.

BTW the thermostat is set to open at 180 degrees F....

Mike

 

[Randy V]

Thanks, Ron....I'm thinking about adding a second oil filter (an Oberg) to the Cobra, this will come in handy. I want to use the 28 micron filter size and don't think it's a good idea to try to push cold oil through that.

Cheers from Doug!

Like this one was on my Cobra?

I didn't run a Thermostat on this system as it was race only and it was always allowed warm-up time before heading to the track..

 

[J. Salmon]

I just installed the Mocal for the LS engines. It's only been run a couple of times but I did at least verify that it worked.

 

[Ron Earp]

BTW the thermostat is set to open at 180 degrees F....

Mike

And open is something of a misnomer with oil tstats. They are always open to flow, they just flow more through the cooler at the set temperature. If the thermostat mechanism is failed completely it can't block the passage to the oil cooler or to the filter.

 

[Doug S.]

Like this one was on my Cobra?

I didn't run a Thermostat on this system as it was race only and it was always allowed warm-up time before heading to the track..

Absolutely, Randy!

However, I think I'll place it in the current oil-cooler opening....Oberg says their product functions to reduce oil temperature, too, so I may get some cooling as well as the improved filtration.

I once had one of the "Tattletale" Obergs.....never did see the "plugged filter' warning light go on. The Oberg was "downstream" from a regular Fram type canister filter. I never saw any debris on the filter screen, either, but then I was using the 60 micron size filter at the time and no thermostat.

Just curious here....does the oil go through the canister filter attached to the adapter before it goes to the "cooler" (or, in my case, Oberg filter), or once the thermostat opens does it send it out to the cooler and take it through the canister filter on the return side of the cooler? It seems to make more sense to me to have the oil filtered first....especially in the case of a problem with the engine, the filter might well eliminate the need to replace the cooler due to metal fragment contamination.

Cheers from Doug!!

 

[Randy V]

Hi Doug,

I plumb most all of my racecars this way..

* -12 or -16 hose
* Coming out of the engine (output from pump)
** Oberg (I use tattle-tales also)
** Oil Filter ( take the oil temp here on some cars - otherwise Oil Temp at the outlet side of the cooler)
** Cooler
** Oil input to engine.

I like the Oberg in front of the filter - that way I don't have to cut the filter's open looking for copper (bearings)..

Also - I put the filter in front of the cooler in order to protect the cooler from storing up any sediment / shrapnel..

The mount that Ron shows above is to be used with the oil filter screwed right onto it. When the thermostat is in the open position, the flow of the oil would be routed through the external cooler (or Oberg in your case) first, then the filter and then back to the engine (if I understand it correctly)..

In my opinion - the oil cooling capability of the Oberg filter is going to be marginal. Certainly it will cool some if it's exposed to the force of air that goes through the oil cooler opening at the front of a Cobra, but I think that this would still be marginal. I much prefer a good Setrab or Mocal Cooler (if Air Cooled - Fluidyne if water cooled).

 

[Mike Drew]

And open is something of a misnomer with oil tstats. They are always open to flow, they just flow more through the cooler at the set temperature. If the thermostat mechanism is failed completely it can't block the passage to the oil cooler or to the filter.

My understanding is that when they are cold, they are 100% shut off, and all oil circulates via an internal bypass in the gizmo, through the filter, and back into the engine. When the thermostat is completely open, the bypass is sealed off, and all oil flows out to the oil cooler, back to the adapter, then through the filter and back into the engine.

And when the thermostat is in an intermediate state, more or less oil is diverted one way or another.