Thoughts on oil cooler location - Perkins conversion

[John O from Jersey]

Hi folks,

I'm finally "really" on the road with my '70 88 sporting a Perkins Prima TDI engine. (It runs GREAT by the way). I'd like to install an oil cooler. The Perkins originally had a small hot-dog shaped liquid-liquid cooler that was tied into the cooling system That thing is beat. I'm thinking of putting in a 13 or 16 row air cooled unit (Mocal or something) and am looking for thoughts on where to place it. I have the original Series radiator. Engine so far does not run particularly hot and I don't expect it to but haven't had a summer on the road yet.

Question - do I mount the oil cooler in front of or behind the radiator????

Front = cooler oil (obviously)
Back = neater installation + shorter more protected hoses

Thoughts??

Thanks,

John O

[siiirhd88]

Most factory installations have the oil cooler in front of the radiator. If your truck is LHD there might be enough room to mount it upright on the passenger side of the radiator.

Bob

[Donnie]

Hi folks,

I'm finally "really" on the road with my '70 88 sporting a Perkins Prima TDI engine. (It runs GREAT by the way). I'd like to install an oil cooler. The Perkins originally had a small hot-dog shaped liquid-liquid cooler that was tied into the cooling system That thing is beat. I'm thinking of putting in a 13 or 16 row air cooled unit (Mocal or something) and am looking for thoughts on where to place it. I have the original Series radiator. Engine so far does not run particularly hot and I don't expect it to but haven't had a summer on the road yet.

Question - do I mount the oil cooler in front of or behind the radiator????

Front = cooler oil (obviously)
Back = neater installation + shorter more protected hoses

Thoughts??

Thanks,

John O
I would mount it in front of the rad. or to the side if you can get enough air flow thru it.
If there is not enough room, you can mount it under the vehicle & use an electric fan to cool it.......Donnie

[SafeAirOne]

Here's how I mounted my chassis preservative dispenser. I will be omitting it when I install my freshly rebuild 2.5NAD soon. My driveway will thank me.

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4018/4526823459_2e538269ea_o.jpg

...No it's not bolted through the radiator--There is a support that runs up the side of the center bay of the radiator support panel that it's attached to. ;)

[Mercedesrover]

http://seriestrek.com/109/cooling3.jpg

http://seriestrek.com/109/cooling4.jpg

http://seriestrek.com/109/chassis25.jpg

[BackInA88]

I would get a plate style cooler like Mercedesrover unit pictured above.
I have read they are more efficient and cool better and have a lot lower pressure drop on the oiling system.

Steve

[JohnOFromJersey]

Thanks guys!!

I just ordered a similar one to Jim's from Mocal. I guess I'm going to go with the front of the rad mounting. I do like Jim's side mount but I'm holding on to that space in case some day I'm bored and decide to put an intercooler on this thing (yeah - like I need that :-)).

Thanks again!

John O

[ignotus]

John,

Where did you find the perkins? I've been looking online but no joy.

gene

[JohnOFromJersey]

Hi Gene,

I got the engine on E-Bay a few (actually probably 5 now) years ago from Mike at Britannica Restorations in Canada. Had a nice expedition with a friend and his pick-up truck to pick it up - complete with a very interesting time at the border ("what's that thing in the back of your truck??" "It's our spare engine"......."step inside Sir.").

I re-built it in my garage - first time working on a diesel, and couldn't be happier. I know they're hard to find here but parts are actually easy to come by. There's a Perkins parts dealer 5 miles from my house in NJ that get's me anything I need for this thing within days. Apparently this engine, while not in any cars in the US, has many applications as a marine and fixed engine.

I'm actually real happy with it. It's much zippier than I thought it would be. Real stingy too - 30-35MPG!

If you need any info, drop me a line.

John O