Perkins 4108 without oil cooler.

[pcatterall]

I have a spare working 4108, the one on the boat works fine but you can never have too many!
The spare starts and runs fine but came ( from a boat) with no oil cooler fitted. There is an oil cooler which came with the big box of spares!

First question..........is the cooler essential ?? the one in the boat certainly has one! second question how/where is it fitted? the cooler in the box has the hydraulic pipes and a U bolt
I tried looking for mounting points governed by the hose length but cant work anything out!
I recall that the filter is mounted 'upside down on my boat to accommodate the cooler. I cant 'just compare' with the one on the boat as she is in Spain.
Thanks
I must apologise, in that i raised this question as a thread some years ago ( I can only claim old age as an excuse). The response then was varied with several forumites saying they had used a 4108 without oil cooler.

 

[ean_p]

I have a spare working 4108, the one on the boat works fine but you can never have too many!
The spare starts and runs fine but came ( from a boat) with no oil cooler fitted. There is an oil cooler which came with the big box of spares!

First question..........is the cooler essential ?? the one in the boat certainly has one! second question how/where is it fitted? the cooler in the box has the hydraulic pipes and a U bolt
I tried looking for mounting points governed by the hose length but cant work anything out!
I recall that the filter is mounted 'upside down on my boat to accommodate the cooler. I cant 'just compare' with the one on the boat as she is in Spain.
Thanks

if memory serves isn't the oil cooler usually only required for the gearbox and so will depend upon which gearbox is fitted and whether it needs cooling! The engine sump oil on the last one we had didn't require external cooling other then via general cooling of the engine block via the water circuit in the block.

 

[rogerthebodger]

I Agree oil cooler is for the gearbox oil

That's how my Leyland and my Perkins 4 236 are set up

 

[Refueler]

The Workshop manual shows two optional Engine Oil Coolers .... one is fitted to end of Heat Exchanger end on the normal 108 engine and fed by pipes from side of engine below the injector pump.
Other it is mounted to engine at rear below the exhaust manifold (low line engine). Fed by pipes below the oil filter

The fact is that the 108 comes in three basic forms .... so you need to get the Workshop manual and make sure you have the right version engine.

 

[scottie]

There are many variations of 4 108 depending on which end user decided the spec from a wide menu
the marine destined having it’s own subset

 

[penfold]

Very unlikely you will need an engine oil cooler unless you plan on spending a lot of time at full throttle; they tend to appear on plant that operates at high power settings like compressors, diggers etc.

 

[ean_p]

Drilling down deeper the function of the engine oil cooler is to maintain the oil within a pre determined temperature band. The need to have a cooler to be able to maintain this band is a function of many factors that will be specific to your application rather than specific to your particular engine. Environmental issues such as ambient air and water temps, the size and ventilation of the engine enclosure etc etc all feed into the application as does the usage of the engine ie work done and rate of work etc etc.
Reference to the workshop manual notes that the cooler can be omitted so long as the engine is used for 'light' duties and that the rpm is less than 3000 and the 'raw' water temp doesn't exceed a predetermined level (100degrees F). The idea being that reading between the lines that the oil is not over cooled and thickened....thus impacting on circulation and pressure values.
Only you know your application and hence the need for the cooler on your machine.
As an anecdote we pushed an 18 tonne 14mtr yacht across the North Sea from Ijmuiden to the Humber on a 4.108 without the aid of an engine oil cooler and that engine functioned well long afterwards.

Exploded View Of Heat Exchanger - Perkins 4.108M Workshop Manual [Page 100]