Oil cooler removal

Can I remove oil cooler and move filter to engine block without it causing any problems ,I will be using this as a weekend car and trying to keep it stock
Cheers Simon
 

Typhoon#747

Donating Member
Re: Oil cooler removal

Unless the remote mount setup is broken and replacement parts are not available, I don't agree with removing it just for the sake of "cleaning things up". You would lose oil capacity, the cooling capability, and ease of changing the filter. People usually add remote filter mounts and oil coolers to their cars and trucks. Why would you remove them just because? Just my 2 cents.
 

atkonkler

Is this your bush?
Re: Oil cooler removal

Been proven....no effect on temps hardly at all...another member posted readings of 10 degrees difference...but don't quote me on that...
 

berzerker

wookie
Re: Oil cooler removal

tear those lines out and forget the fact the oil filter may be a little tougher to get to. The fact that you eliminate the possibility of a leaking hose , the mess of a clean up after one splits and shoots oil all over the engine and under side of the truck. Believe me .. no ill effects to engine cooling and a way cleaner engine bay after the delete. plus installing new lines is a big pain in the a@@ !
 

Don W.

Stab it and steer it
Re: Oil cooler removal

I still have mine. Mainly to allow a full size oil filter. And it's easy to change. I crawl under unough as it is.

Old school: Why would GM install the thing if it wasn't needed? Also once the t-stat begins to open it helps to HEAT the oil.
 

0966Sy

Code what?
I still have mine. Mainly to allow a full size oil filter. And it's easy to change. I crawl under unough as it is.

Old school: Why would GM install the thing if it wasn't needed? Also once the t-stat begins to open it helps to HEAT the oil.


X2 no reason to remove, replacement hose/line assemblies are available from doorman
 

eviltwin

"junkyard syclone"
Re: Oil cooler removal

Ask anyone who has removed theirs if they would go back if they could. I'd be willing to bet most would not. I have worked on BlackKnight's Sy he currently has and his old one. Block mounted filter is the way to go on a stockish build.
 
Re: Oil cooler removal

Ask anyone who has removed theirs if they would go back if they could. I'd be willing to bet most would not. I have worked on BlackKnight's Sy he currently has and his old one. Block mounted filter is the way to go on a stockish build.

Is that all i need a adapter for engine block
 

sytyguy

Moderated User
Re: Oil cooler removal

Old school: Why would GM install the thing if it wasn't needed?
You act as if there isn't anything else on the trucks that "wasn't needed". GM wasn't a high end, specialty manufacturer who could afford to nitpick over every aspect of a potential model. Sometimes the answer is far simpler than that.....why not? It was SOE on base T-Series trucks, it does help (albeit very little) to cool the oil, it allows for a larger capacity of oil (4.5 vs 4), does not require the use of a different oil filter from standard T-Series trucks, and it was easier to change than an on-the-block filter with the front diff in the way. However, none of the these conveniences are *needed*. Deviation from business as usual would have probably costed more time/effort than it would've been worth. It's worth it us owners, now, 23 years later, but probably not GM/PAS at the time.

And there is no evidence to merit the "heating up the oil" theory. We actually observed slower heating (due to heat dissipation through the filter block and lines) with the cooler installed and t-stat open than with the whole system removed.
 

Don W.

Stab it and steer it
Re: Oil cooler removal

Like I said, I'm old school. IMHO GM, or anyone else is unlikely to install unneessary equipment. Granted some engeneer somewhere in a back room may have "spec'd" the thing but somewhere that got reviewed. I've always had the opinion that there is nothing on a vechicle that isn't there for a reason. Styling, required safety, manufacureing cost or ease, you name it, but I doubt it's just added to be added.

Just my opinion on the "warming" issue as well. I'll defer to you there because I don't have an oil temp ga. Admittedly subjective but I've watched it happen in big trucks with both water and oil temp gauges. Their oil capacity is in gallons not quarts so the differences are probably easier to see. And in the older engines that I'm familer with the water through the oil cooler is "full time" meaning it's unaffected by the t-stat or radiater water temp. A fully objective test on oil cooler effectiveness would require, IMO, a stock cooling setup (rad, & oil cooler) on a dyno to simulate different loads and temps on a repeatable basis.

Anyway, I've been wrong before and will be again, someday...:rotf: But always the chat and differing opinions.
 

sytyguy

Moderated User
Re: Oil cooler removal

Like I said, I'm old school. IMHO GM, or anyone else is unlikely to install unneessary equipment. Granted some engeneer somewhere in a back room may have "spec'd" the thing but somewhere that got reviewed. I've always had the opinion that there is nothing on a vechicle that isn't there for a reason. Styling, required safety, manufacureing cost or ease, you name it, but I doubt it's just added to be added.

Just my opinion on the "warming" issue as well. I'll defer to you there because I don't have an oil temp ga. Admittedly subjective but I've watched it happen in big trucks with both water and oil temp gauges. Their oil capacity is in gallons not quarts so the differences are probably easier to see. And in the older engines that I'm familer with the water through the oil cooler is "full time" meaning it's unaffected by the t-stat or radiater water temp. A fully objective test on oil cooler effectiveness would require, IMO, a stock cooling setup (rad, & oil cooler) on a dyno to simulate different loads and temps on a repeatable basis.

Anyway, I've been wrong before and will be again, someday...:rotf: But always the chat and differing opinions.
To me, there is a big difference in "unneeded" and "added to be added". Anatomical vestigial structures are often "unneeded" but I don't think the good Lord "added them to be added". Conversely, for 99% of the drivers, a rear spoiler on a car is "added to be added".

I don't keep an oil temp gauge in my truck. We did the oil temp testing back in 1999 or 2000 (IIRC) and tried to be as thorough as possible. We didn't emphasis the testing of the oil cooler heating up specifically because we saw the results we were after (overall temp without cooler/remote filter). A larger part of the heat up issue is that you don't have tremendously hot coolant coming out of the upper hose and hitting the cooler anyways (it's gonna be awful close to observed temp, maybe less). Combine that with heat dissipation and a heating "handicap" from having the cooler cooled by the radiator prior to the t-stat opening (as opposed to just a small filter on the block), and we found that the cooler-less setup warmed quicker *overall* (which is all I give a crap about personally).

I too enjoy the differing opinions and chat. It's healthy. :tup: I've been wrong more than I've been right in my life I think. :lol:
 
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