oil cooler

[david9121]

Hi Newbie here first post.
I am now the proud owner of a 90 Atlantic high top 1.6TD (JX) and I guess like all new owners finding worries every day. But what seems the worst is on long hot journeys the engine is getting mighty hot, sometimes 3/4 on gauge and fan very rarely kicks in but does work. What I dont understand though is the fitted oil cooler, it is only just warm? Is it not working?or is there a way of checking it? does it get initiated by a sensor? enough questions for now, help and encouragement would be appreciated. Great informative site and I did search for answers first!

[ewenmaclean]

Hello and welcome,

do you have an extra oil cooler up front, or are you referring to the standard oil cooler, which is really a sort of heat exchanger between the water and oil at the filter housing.

Up a big hill with a high-top I might expect to see 3/4, but it should go down again when you're on the flat. The water temperature seems to be what you're looking at, and I would suggest that if you're worried about the temperature then a coolant flush might be in order, and possibly check the condition of the radiator itself.

It's good the fan is coming on - some people here have installed a "chicken switch" for the fan, which means you can switch it on if you're worried about overheating before the switch in the radiator gets triggered.

Ewen

[jamesc76]

Just a point to note , the temp gauge is read from the engine whilst the rad fan switch is in the radiator itself! you might find as prev. said give the coolant a flush out and change the thermostat ( sounds like its working but wont harm to change it) you might find all your problems are then solved!

[david9121]

Thanks guys for the rapido response
Yes my oil cooler is at the front, but it just didnt make sense it not getting hot when everything else was scorchio!! Anyway thanks and I like the idea of putting a switch in to put fan on when I wish. But I am sure the oil cooler should shoulder some of the work??
cheers
David

[ewenmaclean]

The oil cooler at the front is non-standard, but it's good you've got one. I don't know how hot you should expect it to get - the oil with an oil cooler will rarely get above 90 degrees celcius.

I think the temperature of the water is the issue here, and the temperature of the oil is a red herring personally - the radiator should be good enough to keep the water temperature at a reasonable level. As James mentioned - the thermoswich for the fan will only kick in once 85 Degrees is found at the radiator - which means it's even hotter at the engine. I would definitely question your thermostat and do a coolant flush it sounds like the radiator isn't doing its job.

There should be a thermostat on the sandwich plate which would allow the oil to circulate through the cooler - if this is malfunctioning then perhaps the oil isn't flowing through the cooler but I wouldn't start worrying about this until you've solved the hot running issue. You could also get an oil temperature gauge if you're worried about it.

Hope you get the temperature down soon!

Ewen

[david9121]

thanks
I have ordered a new thermostat and will flush the coolant. Sorry to be a bit ignorant but I am new to these things but where or what is the sandwich plate?
thanks again
David

[ewenmaclean]

Hello,

no need to be sorry! The sandwich plate I'm referring to sits between the oil filter and filter housing. It'll have two pipes coming out of it going up to the front of the bus where your oil cooler is. It should have a thermostat in it and look a bit like this:

http://cdn.racerpartswholesale.com/imag ... -SP1GT.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

(first photo I found googling it).

Hope the coolant flush goes well and helps your problems. Make sure you flush it and back flush it until it runs clear... I bet it's full of nasty brown stuff.

Ewen