Getting oil oout of a Mocal oil cooler

[paul jacobs]

I'm in the middle of doing an oil change on a Vx 16v which has been fitted with an oil cooler, and was wondering on the best way to get the oil out of it?  I don't really want to take the oil cooler out, as it is fitted behind the radiator, so I thought that taking off the pipes at the filter and blowing some compressed air through may be the way to go, but it could get a bit messy...........

Does anyone have any better ideas please?

[Paul Deslandes]

if you have a vacuum oil removal pump could you pass the flexible pipe, catheter like, through one of the hoses, or attach a piece of small bore plastic pipe which might go round the bend more easily?  Might be a bit tight if you have a sharp 90deg elbow fitting.  I wonder whether there's enough oil left in the cooler to worry about though as there's always a fair amount left in the engine anyway after it's been drained.  Otherwise maybe flush it through with a bit of fresh oil using a syringe type oil sucker, blowing not sucking!

Compressed air sounds highly risky, as you say.

[6speedmanual]

As per PD above... Do you really need to?

[Guy Lowe]

I don't bother, but whatever you do, don't use a compressor. I'll post a picture of my garage ceiling if you want to know why not too  

[paul jacobs]

Thanks for the suggestion of the vacumm Paul.  I did wonder about the sense in putting an air line onto it, even with low air pressure. 

I did wonder whether, as has been suggested, it wouldn't be better to leave the oil in, maybe run some really cheap oil through and drain again, to dilute it.  The old stuff is pretty awful, as it hasn't been changed for years, so I wouldn't mind geting as much out as possible.

[Paul Deslandes]

Unless you know that it's been changed very very recently you really should replace the foam sump baffle as they clog and/or break up, especially with modern synthetic oil.  The original Caterham advice was to do this every couple of years but, to be honest, every six months would be closer to the mark judging by some that I've seen.  As this involves removing the sump, it would be a good time to check whether the pick up pipe has had  the end grooved to improve flow and reduce the risk of it blocking.  Maybe while you're underneath it might not be too much extra work to take the cooler off and clean it properly this time.

There have been a number of threads over the years about how to make refitting the sump easier, one quite recently.  It involves using a couple of short lengths of studding/nuts temporarily to locate and hold the sump whilst refitting the bolts.

You probably know all of the above but it's worth reiterating it, just in case.

Paul

[Paul McKenzie]

............and while you're at it ditch the oil cooler, as it's not needed in a Caterham VX installation.

[Paul Deslandes]

Whilst I agree that the oil doesn't normally need additional cooling, the oil capacity that the cooler and pipework add can help with oil surge and loss of pressure during fast cornering.  This can be helped still further by replacing the cooler with an Apollo tank. 

When I was still running wet sump years ago, in spite of doing all the recommended mods I had dreadful oil surge and loss of pressure when sprinting, particularly at Goodwood with its long, fast curves.  Thinking at the time that I had an oil temperature problem, I added a cooler and it improved things considerably.  I eventually realised that heat wasn't the problem and it was almost certainly the extra oil in circulation that made the difference.

If you have an oil temperature gauge and the oil isn't getting hot enough, blank the cooler off with ali foil, or swap it for an Apollo tank.

Paul D.

[paul jacobs]

Good advice Paul, many thanks.  I have bought a foam baffle from Caterham as it happens, but thanks for the reminder to check the pickup for a groove.  Back in the day when I last ran Vx 16v engines, I always had awful problems with oil surge, on left handers particularly, and thought, as you do, that the oil cooler will help with carrying a bit more oil.  I am in the process of fitting a sump plug mounted temperature sender which will then be switchable with the water temerature, easy but informative, I can then decide whether to blank off the cooler or not.  What is the optimum temperature that the should the oil run at?

[Paul Deslandes]

Once the engine has warmed up, my water and oil temp gauges read about the same, plus/minus gauge error.  A Laminova is designed to equalise fluid temperatures quickly so I've always assumed that's what they're supposed to be.  In my case roughly 85 - 90 deg although I don't think the oil temp is critical to the oil performance, within limits of course.