OIL COOLER Question

[pimpin81]

I just put this 6 bolt motor in my 95 gsx, it has a pte 50 trim turbo with all stainless headers,02 housing, down pipe ect. I think the oil is getting too hot and thinning out too much because when its warm oil pressure drops off at idle according to my digital gauge, but the idot light never comes on. At what pressure will the dash light come on anyway ?

The Pte turbo doesnt require it to be water cooled, and the previous owner just blocked off the lines at the coolant neck, and isnt running water to the oil cooler anymore..

My question is should i hook the lines back up to the oil cooler and just have it loop back bypassing the turbo and going to the water-jacket?


Does anyone have pictures of which line is the in and which is the out, for both the oil cooler side and the coolant neck side ?

I know lots of questions , but I really need some other peoples input on this.

Thanks

 

[agentorange313]

You will only benefit from running coolant to the oil cooler. The oil in our cars gets really hot, and the coolant that cools the oil helps. I would run those lines again so that coolant can cool the oil.

The water cooling for the turbo is so that the oil does not get clogged in the lines when it stagnantly cools. If you dont have a turbo timer, I would run coolant through the turbo.

You can always get a 90 oil filter housing and running two lines off of it to a cooler. Very popular choice for modify dsms. http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/articles-engine-fuel/220259-installing-upgraded-oil-cooler.html

its not mentioned in the article because it was a kit they guy bought, but the fitting for the oil filter housing are m14 x1.5 to AN8 I believe.

goodluck

 

[Absit]

What oil pressure are you seeing and where is the sender and at what operating temperature and RPM?

 

[pimpin81]

Alright i took some pictures of the coolant situation, i went to my buddies and looked at a stock setup.

This is most diffently not the stock waterpipe for this engine, it may however be a stock water pipe just not from a 92 gst. I put this engine and setup in my 95 GSX,

<a href="http://s279.photobucket.com/albums/kk124/partiesplayin/?action=view&amp;current=DSCN4375.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i279.photobucket.com/albums/kk124/partiesplayin/DSCN4375.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
As you can see in the picture above, the 2 lines are both blocked off because this isnt a watercooled turbo. So i thought nothing of it until i started noticing all these things .

I believe the one closest to the camera goes to the oil cooler on the bottom side and the top of the oil cooler is suspose to go up to the waterpipe.

But as you can see in the picture below the waterpipe doesnt have a nipple to accept the water from the oil cooler. And im missing the hard line that runs along the engine from the water neck to the oil cooler.

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Engine temp is 203-206 when fully warmed up, dont know about oil temp. Rpm is 750-800 somewhere in there. And the sender is in the stock location so i no longer have the dash gauge , just have the idot light now

The oil pressure gauge i have is a cheap ebay digital gauge but it seems to be working, so i dont know if its right or not, but the oil pressure can drop right off after driving it and comming to an idle, but while cursing oil pressure is between 35 and 45 psi when fully warmed, when i get on it i see pressures in the upper 60's to 80 psi. So im thinking my prolbem might be my oil getting to hot or my gauge not working right .

During exactly what conditions will the Oil light come on in cabin ?

Do you think the air to oil cooler setup would work ? And how much is this setup gonna cost if i bought it today ?

 

[Absit]

Air oil coolers work great, if you use a thermostat, they're better than water cooling in my opinion.
And 60-80 PSI is fine at the oil filter housing.
Re: The oil light - I've never had one come on, but I've been told you have to all but completely drain the oil for it to turn on.

You're worrying for nothing. You should search to see what oil pressures are common before you go looking for something broken.

 

[pimpin81]

you must not of herd the part where i said after driving it my oil pressure gauge drops off to below the factory safe zone. Ive seen it say 0psi lots of times after its hot.

But once again no oil pressure light comes on, and I've search and searched and theres no refrence to what conditions the oil light comes on.

I do however know that if you ground the sensor the light will come on , this is how I determined weather or not the idot light would actually come on and worked which it did as expected.

I'm considering switching to a 15-40 or a 20-40 weight oil just to be on the safe side.What is recommended?

I've read that 10w-30 wich im running is the minimum weight oil suggested.

 

[T is for TURBO]

Thats a 6bolt water pipe. There for you have a 6 bolt engine. <---sorry, I fail at reading, I need to go to bed. I now see that you put a 6 bolt in.

Oil pressure that low at idle would scare the crap out of me, as it sounds like failing oil pump, or you may possible be close to losing a bearing.

I believe the light comes on at anything less than 5 psi. maybe 7?

I had a motor that did the same thing. Cold start I had REALLY good oil pressure, cruising oil pressure was great too. But at Idle, the light would flicker, and I would have between 5 and 10 psi. It did this for a little while, then I lost a bearing.

I would suggest getting a GOOD gauge and finding out what your oil pressure really is

 

[pimpin81]

I have a friend looking for his mechanical gauge.

The oil pressure readings do scare me, thats why im posting .

It just seems weird to me that if the oil pressure was below minimum Why the idot light doesnt come on.


Im going get another gauge to check things out, I have a new oil pump installed actually prety much every gasket is new on this thing, and the engine has a BSE kit in which has been there for the last 50k.

This has awalys been a strong motor, i was good friends from the guy i got it from, I dont think its a bearing, but i do think something weird is going on just dont know what yet .

 

[pimpin81]

I thought it was a pressure sensor, thats why it comes on.

If the car is low on oil its low on pressure .

 

[T is for TURBO]

Because it's not out of oil. It's just low on pressure. Idiot light measures the level of oil in it.

This is wrong

Idiot light comes on when the pressure is low. It is NOT a level sensor.

It might not come on because it might not work anymore. Your car is 16 years old. Or it might not come on because you have a bad gauge and you don't really have low oil pressure. However, it's not something to fool around with.

To suffer low oil pressure.
I hope you aren't driving this car anymore until you figure out what the problem is. Sounds like it's one drive away from a flatbed ride.

Also not true.

As bearings wear out, there is more play between the bearing surface and the crank journal. That extra "play" means there is oil escaping from the journal back you the pan. The will result in low oil pressure.

A failing oil pump will also cause low oil pressure.
If the oil relief valve is stuck open, you will have low oil pressure.
If the oil is too hot, you will have low oil pressure.

Low oil level is not the only cause of low oil pressure.

 

[Blurred Talon]

My oil pressure is like 15psi IIRC at hot idle in my 7 bolt with BS removed. I know lots of people with pressure this low at idle, I wouldn't worry about it.

However if you want to get a better oil cooler look at doing an air one.

 

[T is for TURBO]

A good rule of thumb is 10 psi for every 1000rpm So if you have stock idle with balance shafts, you would want to see ~ 7.5psi at idle. Without balance shafts, expect more, like stated above ~15psi. I cannot remember what mine is, though I have my relief valve ported to keep the pressure down with the BSE.

 

[pimpin81]

I was almost 100% sure that the idiot light was a pressure sensor, I just wanted someone else to confirm it which you did.

I grounded the idiot light sensor and the light came on , so it should be working properly, i have a newer one from a 7 bolt OFI , I could throw that in.


I see 13-20 psi at idle, until i drive it. So i think its a heat or a gauge issue, the oil pump is brand new, and the Balance shafts are removed.

I'm gonna hook up the stock oil cooler, put a mechinal gague in under the hood and run a 15w 30 or 40 and go from there.

 

[T is for TURBO]

Make sure you tap the mechanical gauge at the OFH. Infact, I would put a T-fitting in the OFH where the idiot light goes. Then attach the idiot light and the mechanical oil pressure gauge to that T-fitting. That way you know what oil pressure the idiot light is seeing.

 

[pimpin81]

Make sure you tap the mechanical gauge at the OFH. Infact, I would put a T-fitting in the OFH where the idiot light goes. Then attach the idiot light and the mechanical oil pressure gauge to that T-fitting. That way you know what oil pressure the idiot light is seeing.

Good idea, and thanks for all your imput's.

What T fitting will work at that location ?

 

[Blurred Talon]

I was almost 100% sure that the idiot light was a pressure sensor, I just wanted someone else to confirm it which you did.

I grounded the idiot light sensor and the light came on , so it should be working properly, i have a newer one from a 7 bolt OFI , I could throw that in.


I see 13-20 psi at idle, until i drive it. So i think its a heat or a gauge issue, the oil pump is brand new, and the Balance shafts are removed.

I'm gonna hook up the stock oil cooler, put a mechinal gague in under the hood and run a 15w 30 or 40 and go from there.

It is a pressure light. It's like 15PSI or something like that. Mine will come on sometimes at idle, I don't pay attention to it because my Oil Pressure gauge tells me what I need to know.

 

[T is for TURBO]

Good idea, and thanks for all your imput's.

What T fitting will work at that location ?

Okay, since you have a 90 oil filter housing, I believe that the thread size for the idiot light is BST (British Standard Threat) However, most fittings you will find are NPT or BSPT (National Pipe Thread and British Standard Pipe Thread respectively).

So a T-fitting might not work unless you have multiple adapters. You may have to source it from another location on the OFH. Sorry, I forgot about that. But keep in mind that, if my memory serves me well, all of the threaded holes in the 90 OFH are BST, so you may need to run a 1/8" inch NPT tap through one of the 1/8" BST holes for it to seal properly. BUT DO THIS CAREFULLY and put a little Vaseline on on the tap to collect an metal shavings.

 

[Blurred Talon]

Also, don't mount the fitting/adapter off the housing. Brass fittings have been known to break when mounted to the OFH. Make up a remote mount, it's easy and fairly cheap.

Autometer sells an Adapter for BSP to NPT.

 

[pimpin81]

I dont have a 90 style oil filter housing, i was thinking about getting one but in order to run the air to oil cooler setup would cost too much money that i dont have right now this is the OFH i have

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[/IMG]


Can someone link me to a fitting that will work for putting a T where the Idiot light is so i can put a mechanical gauge in?

 

[T is for TURBO]

Also, don't mount the fitting/adapter off the housing. Brass fittings have been known to break when mounted to the OFH. Make up a remote mount, it's easy and fairly cheap.

Autometer sells an Adapter for BSP to NPT.

This is very true! I only suggest this as a temporary test.

Also, with a BSE kit installed, you should have any electric oil pressure sending units on a remote line, as the added vibrations will kill the sending units.

Go to a hardware store and look for a fitting that looks like THIS.

2 female 1/8" NPT ends and one male 1/8" NPT end.

1. Thread the male end into the spot were the idiot light sensor is.
2. Thread Idiot light sensor into the end of the new fitting.
3. Attach the Mech. Oil guage to the middle section of the fitting.

If it doesn't thread in easily, DO NOT force it, or you will have a whole new set of problems. It should go in by hand. If it doesn't the threads may be BSP, in which case you'll need to find the appropriate adapters.

And as mentioned above, do not leave it set up like this. Remove it back to how it was after you finishing trouble shooting.

 

[pimpin81]

I was not aware the vibration was a problem with after market sending units, that could be my whole problem.

Still gonna test it with a mechanical tho .. Thanks Guys !!

 

[T is for TURBO]

When you get everything figured out, pick up one of THESE. Super cheap. Also, get a quality electrical oil pressure guage.

Also, Do you have a ballbearing or thrust bearing turbo?