Tim Hunt Posted September 30, 2015 Share Posted September 30, 2015 I recently spotted a drop in oil level after quite a short run in the 4A. I had a look round the engine for possible leaks and saw a film of oil over the radiator, the front mounted Kenlowe fan and motor and the radiator overflow bottle. I then noticed oil under an oil cooler mounting and over part of the cooler matrix - the cooler, mounted just behind the grille, was the culprit. It's an ill wind since I had planned to check out the ten-year-old cooler and change the hoses this winter anyway. I wanted to use the car yesterday so disconnected the cooler from the thermostat and linked the inlet and outlets with a short length of braided hose, which I have always carried in the car for just this possible use.(See attached).Under any conditions of road use my oil pressure never drops below a gauge reading of 70psi at 2,000rpm and 25-30psi at the (rather low) idle of an indicated 700rpm. I was interested to note yesterday that after around ten miles of dual carriageway, when the oil was fully warm, the pressure was 60psi at 2,000rpm and 15-20psi at idle. The oil is Millers Classic Performance 20w50 and has only done 2,000 miles. It is clear that when the engine is working hard the oil cooler is worth an additional 10psi. I have heard it said that for normal road use the 4 cylinder TRactor engine does not require an oil cooler. It may not strictly require one but I now have very good evidence that it does provide a benefit.Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony68 Posted September 30, 2015 Share Posted September 30, 2015 I had one fitted to my Vitesse/2.6 but found the oil was over-cooled. The oil cooler just filled up with mayonnaise due to lack of circulation. I disconnected it in the end, figuring that on pubic roads I couldn't get enough heat into the oil to make it worthwhile. And I think oil needs to get hot to absorb the combustion products properly.It's also my belief that on a big iron-block engine, the oil and water both swap heat with the block, and so they *tend* to arrive at the same temperature. Obviously the oil temp will vary according to where you measure it, and it is possible to make it smoke. If was going to change it again, I'd use a water/oil intercooler which would help the oil temp rise as well as cool.Re pressure, I can't help feeling that keeping the oil over-cool *may* merely be hiding a bearing-wear problem that will get worse, though I do accept that the purpose of the pump is to get the volume flow through the bearings, rather than just to build pressure per se. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GT6 M Posted September 30, 2015 Share Posted September 30, 2015 Tim, ye maybe got a high oil pressure due to a restriction in them wee pipe unions. they are smaller thn the inlet / outlet feeds frae pump.!!I noticed yonks ago, that oil temp goes up v v fast on a GT engine if driven spiritedly, thats why I fitted a cooler yonks ago,BUTT, wid a termostat wid 1/2 inch bore inlet /outletsno the 5/16th or 3/8th that most pundits sell.Back to cooler, wheres it leaking, my olde one split just below the fittingin the core stackM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heraldcoupe Posted September 30, 2015 Share Posted September 30, 2015 Quoted from Tim Hunt Under any conditions of road use my oil pressure never drops below a gauge reading of 70psi at 2,000rpm and 25-30psi at the (rather low) idle of an indicated 700rpm. I was interested to note yesterday that after around ten miles of dual carriageway, when the oil was fully warm, the pressure was 60psi at 2,000rpm and 15-20psi at idle. The oil is Millers Classic Performance 20w50 and has only done 2,000 miles. It is clear that when the engine is working hard the oil cooler is worth an additional 10psi. I have heard it said that for normal road use the 4 cylinder TRactor engine does not require an oil cooler. It may not strictly require one but I now have very good evidence that it does provide a benefit. That's one way of interpreting the result. The other interpretation would be that the oil is excessively cooled when the cooler is in circuit, d that the oil is not reaching it's optimum temperature, remaining thicker than it should be. I would be happy to see 60psi on most fully warmed Triumph engines.Do you have an oil temperature gauge?Cheers,Bill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Hunt Posted October 1, 2015 Author Share Posted October 1, 2015 Good thought Bill, I do not have oil temperature gauge however. Workshop manual figure for the 4A engine is 70psi at 2,000rpm hot. Marcus - can't see exactly where matrix failed, will investigate when I have removed it from the car. As for the bore of the thermostat inlets and outlets I have 1/2" i.d. cooler hose so these bore cannot be more than 3/8 max I guess. However, the Mocal OT1 stat was the one recommended for the TR4A cooler kit when I bought it over 30 years ago and apart from replacing what will now be three coolers I have had no trouble with it. I have a sandwich plate between filter head and block, retaining the original canister and disposable element filter. I tried a spin-on conversion twice but could never get it to seal so junked it and reverted to standard. Have a pit so filter change a doddle anyway.Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hogie Posted October 1, 2015 Share Posted October 1, 2015 Hi Tim, using nice new shiny snap-on sockets and spanners, remove the oil cooler and throw it as far away as possible.You know it makes sense.Roger Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.thumb.jpeg.b15b81ef10abeea1c3039ae03c4a9f3a.jpeg)
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.