Where does the oil cooler go?!

[contessaman]

Hopefully this question isn't as stupid as it sounds....

Bowman oil cooler - for the engine not transmission oil.

Where should it sit in the cooling circuit? I've seen several permutations. Should it have raw water flowing through it? Or will this prevent the oil from getting warm? It would seem to me that it would be better somewhere in the freshwater cooling circuit, cooled by water maintained at a sensible temperature. But even here there are options as the water leaving the heat exchanger stack will be at its coolest and water that's just been through the block at its hottest.

I can draw a list of pros and cons for each option but there must presumably be a convention?

Grateful for all your thoughts on the matter....

 

[fisherman]

Can't comment on your specific engine, mine are both between the raw water pump and heat exchanger/header tank.
Some engines don't have oil coolers, if yours needs one then I suggest the oil needs cooling, so raw water.

 

[Tranona]

Unusual to have an oil cooler on a low output marine engine. The usual place for an air cooled one on an automotive engine is using an adaptor on the oil filter housing so the oil is pumped from the housing through the cooler and back. Whether you cool it through the raw or freshwater, or after the HE will depend on what temperature reduction you are trying to achieve.

 

[contessaman]

Can't comment on your specific engine, mine are both between the raw water pump and heat exchanger/header tank.
Some engines don't have oil coolers, if yours needs one then I suggest the oil needs cooling, so raw water.

Yes that is the arrangement I have seen on other engines like mine. Its a lancing / ford xld. I just worry that too much cooling would be achieved this way and the oil would never get up to temperature to do its job properly. I used to have a boat with a raw water cooled Perkins 4108. This always had to run really cool to avoid salt forming in the block. Due to this it used to suffer from sludging of the oil.

 

[smb]

Fwiw mine is also in the raw water circuit between the sea water pump and the heat exchanger (VP md30)
There are opinions as to whether the engine is over cooled or under stressed, but the coolant runs at around 54c and never troubles the thermostats.
I would bypass the oil cooler but I suspect that the cooled oil might reach parts that other coolant cannot reach.
One things for sure, the engine ran hotter before I stripped the oil cooler to repair a leak and in the process removed several bits of impeller from the tubes.

 

[fisherman]

My engine, also Ford, as a road engine would run at 96deg, which it did until the correct thermostat was installed, 84 or so. This may be necessary due to it being in a closed atmosphere in a boat. I bet your Perkins had no thermostat, or a stuck one.

PS: I have heard that a Gardner would seize at the temp the Ford runs at.

 

[PCUK]

Xld, raw water side after pump.

 

[lw395]

Yes that is the arrangement I have seen on other engines like mine. Its a lancing / ford xld. I just worry that too much cooling would be achieved this way and the oil would never get up to temperature to do its job properly......

You can get oil thermostats, to bypass the cooler until the oil is warm.

 

[captainboo]

I have a Ford 1.6 Escort/Fiesta engine in my yacht in which the sea water cooling runs in the following order:

Sea cock to the gearbox oil cooler (PRM gearbox), engine oil cooler, raw water pump, syphon break and finally the heat exchanger/exhaust.

This is the recommended order according to Lancing Marine and I believe they are on the suction side to reduce the possibility of sea water being pumped into the gearbox/engine in the event of a leak.

With this set up the engine warms up really quickly and sits at 82-84C under all power settings.

 

[fisherman]

I have a Ford 1.6 Escort/Fiesta engine in my yacht in which the sea water cooling runs in the following order:

Sea cock to the gearbox oil cooler (PRM gearbox), engine oil cooler, raw water pump, syphon break and finally the heat exchanger/exhaust.

This is the recommended order according to Lancing Marine and I believe they are on the suction side to reduce the possibility of sea water being pumped into the gearbox/engine in the event of a leak.

.

I've seen that set up and never appreciated the reason, which is an excellent one, although mine leaked oil into the raw water.

 

[PCUK]

If there are any air leaks in the coolers then the water will not circulate. Not a system I would consider.

 

[contessaman]

Guys, thanks very much for all this good gen. Much obliged

 

[fisherman]

If there are any air leaks in the coolers then the water will not circulate. Not a system I would consider.

Ah, mine are below the waterline, so not a problem, although it increases the number of jubilee clips I'm relying on, whether before or after the pump.