Retro Fit 2.1 oil cooler to early van

[Robsey]

Hi All,

You are bound to ask, but yes I still haven't fully plumbed in my 2.1 wbx into my 1983 van.

I have read a few posts where people have retrofitted the oil cooler despite having the early cooling system in the van.





So a very simple question.
Has anyone got pictures or advice on how to achieve this?

I assume that I will need a later thermostat housing to plumb into

I am sure with some thought I could suss it out, but why re-invent the wheel if others have done it successfully already?

[silverbullet]

You will need to find a way to bleed off a small amount of coolant from the pump to the interwarmer (it also helps to warm the oil before the thermostat opens, helping the engine get up to operating temp faster for better emissions)
Not a problem with the late pump because it has such a feature, however no use to you with the early system...
The coolant then has to return to the "cold" side of the system, essentially creating a small circuit running parallel to the main coolant flow, much the same as the heater.
On the late system, this is via a spigot on the engine side of the thermostat housing which has a restricted bore, about 6mm or so.
In truth, the flow path is probably the other way round: coolant bleeds off from the stat housing, through the interwarmer and is drawn back into the pump.
HTH?

[Robsey]

Thank you dear chap for your in-depth reply.

I have a later type thermostat housing on my desk at work.
I have a few ideas to play with,
Possibly fitting the later thermostat housing, but with the thermostat removed.
More or less acting as a distribution / junction point for the various pipes.

I am making up a GW / DH style cross engine pipe, so can potentially add the necessary additional take-off spigot as I go along.