DIY Oil Cooler on a NA HR
03-13-2011, 04:22 PM
#1
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Thread Starter
DIY Oil Cooler on a NA HR
I've seen a bunch of DIY's on how to fab up an oil cooler and place it on a Z with F/I and aftermarket bumpers... but what if you have an HR with the stock bumper? Hopefully this will help you out. First off... I want to give props "Ttschwing" and his fabrication of his oil cooler on his 370z. I used his information as a base guide, then made my own changes to make it work for the 350z HR motor and setup.
Also... since you're effectively tapping into the life-blood of your engine, I'm simply sharing my experience and in no way are at fault should your experience not be the same as mine.
Car: 2008 Nissan 350z with VQ35HR
Difficulty rating from 1(Stickers) - 10(Engine Rebuild): 6
Time: 2+ hours
What to expect: Not super "technical", but takes some ability to follow instructions and some base mechanical knowledge. I did not remove my front bumper, but some things may be easier if you chose to do so. A lift will keep you off the ground, but I did mine on some jack stands.
Reason: To save money from pre-made kits. To use 10AN lines instead of 8AN lines (what most kits come with). To allow for ultimate customization to fit my needs.
Tools you need:
Optional:
Okay... now the parts you'll need. You'll be able to buy all the lines, fittings, cooler, and thermostatic sandwich plate from Racer Parts Wholesale. The rest can be had at your local hardware store.
Parts List:
Total Cost: About $315 ($300 cooler parts, $15 for bracket and tubing)
Okay! Let's get down to it...
Remove your lower pan cover, drain your oil and remove your filter.
Assemble your thermostatic plate and your fittings.
Now we decide where we want to mount the oil cooler. I decided I wanted to mount it on the drivers side in front of the radiator. There was the most room here and, while I played around with the idea of mounting it to the actual aluminum bumper, I didn't like how it looked and how I'd have to run my lines. I ended up choosing this location because of the pre-existing holes that we could use for mounting.
Next... wrap your 90 degree elbows with your teflon thread tape (only on the cooler side! I did NOT use the tape ANYWHERE ELSE!!!) and screw them in. Use your cresent wrench to tighten them down but don't tighten it down too hard to where you may damage the threads. I kept the inlets pointing to the "right", where I eventually decided I would run my lines. Now, let's see how our cooler is going to look mounted up here and take some measurements.
As it turns out, a 10" by 2" piece of metal would work perfectly. Now we grab our metal we're going to use for our bracket. I chose an aluminum strip that came in a 2" wide version that I got from an Ace Hardware and measured 10" out.
You mock it up and mark the original holes where you'll put your screws in the cooler. You'll drill these spots out with a drill and whatever size bit that matches your bolt size (I used 5/32nds for mine).
Now mock it up the same way to the holes in the lower radiator housing and drill them out. I unhooked the top-locks for the radiator to give it a little more freedom of movement. They just twist... so turn them in the direction indicated as "unlock".
After that I used a pry bar to slightly lift the radiator (held in place by the sway bar) and a pen magnet to guide my bolts through the holes and bolt the cooler up to see if I liked how it's looking.
Next, I took it back apart and then hit the bracket with some flat black paint. I didn't use anything special... just regular flat black. I figure it won't get very hot or anything, so it shouldn't need anything special.
After that dried, I mounted it all back up one last time, using lock-nut washers and tightened them all up.
At this point you should use your 1" socket (should be thin-walled) to tighten down your thermostatic plate (follow the instructions included with it where you tighten till it the plate seals, then 3/4 a turn more). Once it's in place you can get an idea for how you want your lines to run. You can simply mock up how they will route by running the lines along the approximate path you were planning on using, then mark the line where it needs to be cut. I ran my lines from the plate, along the front of the engine, around the side (in the fender well), then back to the front cooler (scroll to the end to see a picture of the routing I used). You're going to have to cut your single 10' section to create your 2 lines. Here are the proper instructions for line creation, which I followed. I used my 2 crescent wrenches to tighten and assemble my hoses.
Next, unhook the plastic pins under your car's drivers side wheel-well where it connects to the front bumper. You don't have to remove the whole wheel well housing, just enough to get it out of your way. Once it's out of the way, there's a small plastic piece that it connects to up near the side of the engine. I didn't take a real good picture of it (I was starting to get tired at this point), but this is what the panel looks like after you've drilled holes in it with your 1.25" hole drilling bit. You'll use this for your lines for routing and support.
Now... I re-mounted that plastic piece and used my drill and bit to drill through this reinforced plastic piece in the front (make sure the hole is pretty low for the closest line), then routed the first line.
Because stainless steel will (with the movement of the motor) saw it's way through just about anything... any place the lines may come in contact with one another, metal, or plastic... I took my clear rubber tube and covered that area with it, then used zip-ties to keep it in place. When it was all said and done... my line routing ended up looking like this...
After this... put your filter and plug back in and add your oil. I put in about 5 quarts and started the car for just a second, then shut it off (we don't want to starve the motor from oil if there's a problem). It's going to make some "squish" fluid noises as the air clears out of the cooler, so that's normal. Check to make sure you have no leaks. If everything's clear... make sure oil is showing up on the dip stick (won't necessarily be up full yet, but I hadn't set the car back flat yet so I knew my readings weren't going to be right yet).
Now... start the car again. This time we're going to let it run (at idle) and warm up. Keep watching your lines. After it's warm... if you still have no leaks, turn the car off, bolt all your plastic under-tray and fender well bolts back up and lower the car. Check the oil again and top it off. My car took about 6.5qts of oil after the addition of the cooler, but yours may vary.
Take your car for a test drive! Be easy and stick close to your house/shop and keep your eye on that oil pressure. If everything looks good after a while, check the fittings one more time. If they still look dry... then you should be good to go! Take it out, give it hell, and enjoy your added cooling!
Also... since you're effectively tapping into the life-blood of your engine, I'm simply sharing my experience and in no way are at fault should your experience not be the same as mine.
Car: 2008 Nissan 350z with VQ35HR
Difficulty rating from 1(Stickers) - 10(Engine Rebuild): 6
Time: 2+ hours
What to expect: Not super "technical", but takes some ability to follow instructions and some base mechanical knowledge. I did not remove my front bumper, but some things may be easier if you chose to do so. A lift will keep you off the ground, but I did mine on some jack stands.
Reason: To save money from pre-made kits. To use 10AN lines instead of 8AN lines (what most kits come with). To allow for ultimate customization to fit my needs.
Tools you need:
- Screw Driver (flat head and phillips)
- Hack Saw w/ fine blade (or a cutting wheel works too)
- 10mm Socket
- 1" Socket
- 2x Crescent Wrenches
- 1/4" and 1/2" Ratchets
- 1.25" Hole Cut Drill bit
- Drill
- Teflon Thread Tape
- Other Tape (Painters, Scotch, Whatever)
Optional:
- Tabel-Top Vice
- Zip Ties
- Pry Bar
- Pen-Magnet
Okay... now the parts you'll need. You'll be able to buy all the lines, fittings, cooler, and thermostatic sandwich plate from Racer Parts Wholesale. The rest can be had at your local hardware store.
Parts List:
- 1x Mocal 1/2" BSP x -10 fitting - MOC-2BM810A
- 1x Mocal Sandwich Plate- 20mm Thread - MOC-SP1FT
- 1x TRU-Cool 24 Row Racing Oil Cooler - TRU-L7B
- 2x Aeroquip 90 Degree Male Elbow, Alum. -10 to 1/2" Adapter - AER-FCM2039
- 1x -10 Aeroquip Stainless Steel Braided Hose, 10' section - AER-FBA1000-10
- 2x Mocal Reusable 90 deg Hose End -10AN Red/Blue - MOC-F90-10
- 2x Mocal Reusable Straight Hose End -10AN Red/Blue - MOC-FS-10
- 10"x2" Steel or Aluminum Plate
- Bolts, Nuts, and Locking Washers
- 2' of 1.25" clear rubber tubing
Total Cost: About $315 ($300 cooler parts, $15 for bracket and tubing)
Okay! Let's get down to it...
Remove your lower pan cover, drain your oil and remove your filter.
Assemble your thermostatic plate and your fittings.
Now we decide where we want to mount the oil cooler. I decided I wanted to mount it on the drivers side in front of the radiator. There was the most room here and, while I played around with the idea of mounting it to the actual aluminum bumper, I didn't like how it looked and how I'd have to run my lines. I ended up choosing this location because of the pre-existing holes that we could use for mounting.
Next... wrap your 90 degree elbows with your teflon thread tape (only on the cooler side! I did NOT use the tape ANYWHERE ELSE!!!) and screw them in. Use your cresent wrench to tighten them down but don't tighten it down too hard to where you may damage the threads. I kept the inlets pointing to the "right", where I eventually decided I would run my lines. Now, let's see how our cooler is going to look mounted up here and take some measurements.
As it turns out, a 10" by 2" piece of metal would work perfectly. Now we grab our metal we're going to use for our bracket. I chose an aluminum strip that came in a 2" wide version that I got from an Ace Hardware and measured 10" out.
You mock it up and mark the original holes where you'll put your screws in the cooler. You'll drill these spots out with a drill and whatever size bit that matches your bolt size (I used 5/32nds for mine).
Now mock it up the same way to the holes in the lower radiator housing and drill them out. I unhooked the top-locks for the radiator to give it a little more freedom of movement. They just twist... so turn them in the direction indicated as "unlock".
After that I used a pry bar to slightly lift the radiator (held in place by the sway bar) and a pen magnet to guide my bolts through the holes and bolt the cooler up to see if I liked how it's looking.
Next, I took it back apart and then hit the bracket with some flat black paint. I didn't use anything special... just regular flat black. I figure it won't get very hot or anything, so it shouldn't need anything special.
After that dried, I mounted it all back up one last time, using lock-nut washers and tightened them all up.
At this point you should use your 1" socket (should be thin-walled) to tighten down your thermostatic plate (follow the instructions included with it where you tighten till it the plate seals, then 3/4 a turn more). Once it's in place you can get an idea for how you want your lines to run. You can simply mock up how they will route by running the lines along the approximate path you were planning on using, then mark the line where it needs to be cut. I ran my lines from the plate, along the front of the engine, around the side (in the fender well), then back to the front cooler (scroll to the end to see a picture of the routing I used). You're going to have to cut your single 10' section to create your 2 lines. Here are the proper instructions for line creation, which I followed. I used my 2 crescent wrenches to tighten and assemble my hoses.
Next, unhook the plastic pins under your car's drivers side wheel-well where it connects to the front bumper. You don't have to remove the whole wheel well housing, just enough to get it out of your way. Once it's out of the way, there's a small plastic piece that it connects to up near the side of the engine. I didn't take a real good picture of it (I was starting to get tired at this point), but this is what the panel looks like after you've drilled holes in it with your 1.25" hole drilling bit. You'll use this for your lines for routing and support.
Now... I re-mounted that plastic piece and used my drill and bit to drill through this reinforced plastic piece in the front (make sure the hole is pretty low for the closest line), then routed the first line.
Because stainless steel will (with the movement of the motor) saw it's way through just about anything... any place the lines may come in contact with one another, metal, or plastic... I took my clear rubber tube and covered that area with it, then used zip-ties to keep it in place. When it was all said and done... my line routing ended up looking like this...
After this... put your filter and plug back in and add your oil. I put in about 5 quarts and started the car for just a second, then shut it off (we don't want to starve the motor from oil if there's a problem). It's going to make some "squish" fluid noises as the air clears out of the cooler, so that's normal. Check to make sure you have no leaks. If everything's clear... make sure oil is showing up on the dip stick (won't necessarily be up full yet, but I hadn't set the car back flat yet so I knew my readings weren't going to be right yet).
Now... start the car again. This time we're going to let it run (at idle) and warm up. Keep watching your lines. After it's warm... if you still have no leaks, turn the car off, bolt all your plastic under-tray and fender well bolts back up and lower the car. Check the oil again and top it off. My car took about 6.5qts of oil after the addition of the cooler, but yours may vary.
Take your car for a test drive! Be easy and stick close to your house/shop and keep your eye on that oil pressure. If everything looks good after a while, check the fittings one more time. If they still look dry... then you should be good to go! Take it out, give it hell, and enjoy your added cooling!
Last edited by Lrn2Go; 03-14-2011 at 05:27 AM.
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Zquicksilver (07-27-2015)
03-28-2011, 09:47 AM
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03-28-2011, 09:50 AM
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Have any of you ever gotten a mist of oil around the fitting after a few thousand miles? I get a mist of oil around the fitting. Everything is tight. I was tempted to put some teflon on teh fitting
04-26-2011, 01:08 PM
#7
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04-26-2011, 01:14 PM
#8
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Thread Starter
However... the left one was actually leaking and would "mist" up a decent amount. It'd never leave a puddle under the car or anything, but I could look down from the top and see where (at what I assume is really high pressures, probably when cold or under high revs) it was showing signs of some dripping. I broke down and removed the fitting on the cooler and discovered the "L" fitting had actually been stripped by the cooler (it's aluminum, the cooler is steel) on a thread. I filed the wounded thread down, cleaned it all up, and put some Teflon tape (I had some on both sides even in the beginning where the "L" fittings went into the cooler) back on it and cranked it down even more than before. After another thousand miles it still "mists", but not as bad. I will eventually need to replace the "L" bracket... but as it sits now it's so very minor (and such a hassle) that I don't think it's worth it.
Hope that shed some light on it for ya!
05-25-2011, 08:04 AM
#12
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Thread Starter
It's appreciation like this that keeps me motivated to go through the effort!
Kidding, of course, but yeah, I imagine that the space you DON'T have can get pretty annoying.
Last edited by Lrn2Go; 05-25-2011 at 08:07 AM.
05-26-2011, 04:26 PM
#13
Glad it worked out for you! I just recently came back from a track day and we had a G37 with the VHR motor go into limp mode twice while he was out in 5 laps or less. I never had any problems. I don't have anything hooked up to check my oil temps, but I never had any problems (well, other than my cooler leaking some, but I expected that and still need to replace the partially stripped elbow).
I would rather have 15 less HP and an engine that works versus a dead one with more HP.
07-07-2011, 06:14 PM
#15
Post Track Day Update:
I had my first HPDE with the oil cooler and it did great. The track was MSR Houston, which is actually closer to Galveston, and it was a hot and steamy 95 degrees. I pushed it hard every session and the highest I could get the oil temp was about 235. It was awesome.
I had my first HPDE with the oil cooler and it did great. The track was MSR Houston, which is actually closer to Galveston, and it was a hot and steamy 95 degrees. I pushed it hard every session and the highest I could get the oil temp was about 235. It was awesome.
07-08-2011, 05:41 AM
#16
New Member
Thread Starter
Post Track Day Update:
I had my first HPDE with the oil cooler and it did great. The track was MSR Houston, which is actually closer to Galveston, and it was a hot and steamy 95 degrees. I pushed it hard every session and the highest I could get the oil temp was about 235. It was awesome.
I had my first HPDE with the oil cooler and it did great. The track was MSR Houston, which is actually closer to Galveston, and it was a hot and steamy 95 degrees. I pushed it hard every session and the highest I could get the oil temp was about 235. It was awesome.
Great to hear it!The only thing I have is the Torque App on my phone and a bluetooth connector. It shows me a lot of things, but oil temp isn't one of them. That being said, I've done 3 track days now here in Oklahoma, 2 of them were above 101 outside, without too much of a breeze. My car's not gone into limp mode or seemed to have struggled at all. I fixed the leaking elbow that was originally stripped some, and haven't had any additional problems with that either.
Without being able to see my temps, I still feel good knowing that other people see good results, and running that extra 1.5 quarts of oil can't hurt either.
Now... I need to work on my brakes! That heat has beat my stock setup (with OEM Brembos) into submission. Better fluid, lines, pads, and rotors are in my future! Muhahaha 
07-08-2011, 06:52 AM
#17
My Setup that works now is:
fluid: Motul RBF 660
pads: Performance Friction PFC-01
shims: TiSpeed titanium brake heat shields
07-08-2011, 09:05 AM
#18
New Member
Thread Starter
I've had issues with my brakes too (Stoptech BBK). Knockback is my only issue now. Easy enough to fix with a quick pump of the brakes before the braking zone. I didn't know about knockback, so I thought that I was boiling the fluid. I think my current setup maybe a little overkill now that I know what the problem really was.
My Setup that works now is:
fluid: Motul RBF 660
pads: Performance Friction PFC-01
shims: TiSpeed titanium brake heat shields
My Setup that works now is:
fluid: Motul RBF 660
pads: Performance Friction PFC-01
shims: TiSpeed titanium brake heat shields
My problem is fluid. I have great braking that just grabs and grabs and grabs... then suddenly, it's totally gone. Pretty much zero warning. I know it's totally fluid, and pumping the brakes doesn't even really help. First time it happened was after a series of chicanes and turns (working fine), then I blasted down a back straight and went to get hard on the brakes for another chicane and they were just gone. Still not there after a cooldown lap, so I e-braked it into the pits to sit. After the fluid cooled, they were back and good to go. Second time was after all our hard laps (it was fine), I ran a cool down lap and right where I needed to brake to come in to the pits, the pedal dropped to the floor. I ran another cool down lap (no place to turn around) and still had no brakes so I E-braked it once more and let her chill.
07-08-2011, 09:37 AM
#19
Where'd you get those shields? Link?
My problem is fluid. I have great braking that just grabs and grabs and grabs... then suddenly, it's totally gone. Pretty much zero warning. I know it's totally fluid, and pumping the brakes doesn't even really help. First time it happened was after a series of chicanes and turns (working fine), then I blasted down a back straight and went to get hard on the brakes for another chicane and they were just gone. Still not there after a cooldown lap, so I e-braked it into the pits to sit. After the fluid cooled, they were back and good to go. Second time was after all our hard laps (it was fine), I ran a cool down lap and right where I needed to brake to come in to the pits, the pedal dropped to the floor. I ran another cool down lap (no place to turn around) and still had no brakes so I E-braked it once more and let her chill.
My problem is fluid. I have great braking that just grabs and grabs and grabs... then suddenly, it's totally gone. Pretty much zero warning. I know it's totally fluid, and pumping the brakes doesn't even really help. First time it happened was after a series of chicanes and turns (working fine), then I blasted down a back straight and went to get hard on the brakes for another chicane and they were just gone. Still not there after a cooldown lap, so I e-braked it into the pits to sit. After the fluid cooled, they were back and good to go. Second time was after all our hard laps (it was fine), I ran a cool down lap and right where I needed to brake to come in to the pits, the pedal dropped to the floor. I ran another cool down lap (no place to turn around) and still had no brakes so I E-braked it once more and let her chill.
Shim link
Yeah, sound like fluid. The shims should help and a high temp fluid. What fluid are you running now?
07-08-2011, 11:09 AM
#20
New Member
Thread Starter
See below for shim link:
Shim link
Yeah, sound like fluid. The shims should help and a high temp fluid. What fluid are you running now?
Shim link
Yeah, sound like fluid. The shims should help and a high temp fluid. What fluid are you running now?
My car's not got very many miles on it, so it's not real old or anything, but it needs to GTFO.