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DIY: Greddy Oil Cooler Install
Were you so tired of your FA20 running HAWT at the track or on the highway, that you decided to do something about it?
You looked at all the options, but you decided to ball out and pick up the Greddy Oil Cooler, for 2 reasons:
However, being a JDM CLOUT GOD does not come without a price; your new cooler only comes with Japanese (JDM AF BOYEEE) instructions, and lameo-ass USDM English instructions don't exist! Well, today is your lucky day. I paid the cost to be da boss, and below is a DIY on how to install your Greddy Oil Cooler. Took me about 6 hours including cleanup. Before we start, big thanks to @CSG Mike for convincing me to buy it (I got it for a steal) and @Chuckable for his thread which had super helpful photos and info! Tools/things you will need:
Optional but good to have:
Note that I forgot to note some of the sizes of specific bolts during the install. Where I remembered the size I've called it out, but if I didn't, sorry! It will be one of the sizes noted in the tool list above; just fish around your toolbox a bit. Also, you may notice the pictures get thinner as the work proceeded. I forgot to take photos in a few key areas, but I'll fill in the gaps where I can. Part 1 - Bench Work Prior to installation, you will want to lay out all of the pieces of the kit in-front of you; we will need to do some prep work before going out to the car. https://i.imgur.com/xGn1CAb.jpg Lets start with the cooling core. Place the provided foam strips on the cooler core as shown to seal the ducting around the interior edges. The two thick pieces of foam strip will go on the sides of the cooler, and the thinner roll can be cut in half and run along the top and bottom. Then place your duct onto the cooler by slipping it over top. Since the large piece is only 3 sided, this can be done very easily. https://i.imgur.com/TPSLXhC.jpg https://i.imgur.com/BW5rHxr.jpg https://i.imgur.com/rYjfLqt.jpg https://i.imgur.com/sdE8lgk.jpg Then, take four (4) of your small bolt/washer/lockwasher/nut combos, as well as the thick u-shaped bracket, and affix them to the left side of the cooler. The order should be as follows:
The same can be done on the right side of the cooler, however instead of the U-bracket in the middle, there is an S-shaped bracket that needs to be mounted on the top of the cooler. Order as follows (thanks @TwinFTW)
From there, we can mount the 4th side of the ducting using the four (4) button-head allen bolt/washer/nut combos. Washers should be on the nut-side. https://i.imgur.com/l1y4VVS.jpg https://i.imgur.com/LbZ83ln.jpg And just like that, our cooling core is ready to be mounted! https://i.imgur.com/i4pd7L6.jpg Not so fast though! We need to prep our sandwich plate as well. As fun as it is to eat gabagool straight from the fridge, it does taste nicer in a fresh ciabatta. Grab your sandwich plate bag and lay everything out. Also, make sure you have your oil handy. You can first install the two bolts that sit in the lower holes of the sandwich plate. Crack open your bottle of fresh oil and lube up those o-rings, then rest the o-ring in the dedicated ridge on the bolt before threading into place. I find it's helpful to hold the sandwich plate vertically so the o-ring doesn't fall out or lose its seat while threading it. Get them finger snug for now, we will tighten them later. You can do the same now with the upper bolts. On the right side, the AN fitting bolt will sit right on the sandwich plate. https://i.imgur.com/peISlHM.jpg https://i.imgur.com/upBPAOl.jpg https://i.imgur.com/nWzt6EW.jpg For the left side, you will first install the sensor port adapter, than the AN fitting bolt. For the sensor port adapter, make sure that you apply some Teflon Tape (recommended) or high-temperature thread sealant on the three (3) hex bungs prior to install. This will make sure they don't leak later (I learned the hard way, had to fix it once it was on the car). Otherwise, the same prep steps apply for each piece, lubing your o-ring then threading on. https://i.imgur.com/qFCPLTC.jpg Then, tighten down each fitting. 19mm for the lower bolts, 22mm for the upper AN fitting bolts, and the sensor port is a 24mm (maybe? I just used an adjustable wrench). HUZZAH! Part 1 is complete, now to attack vehicle install. Part 2 - The Cooler Core Finally, we are in the garage and ready to go. https://i.imgur.com/zWm78XA.jpg Now, for some movie magic - I will save you the 40 minutes of swearing at clips that it took to take my bumper off. There are many DIYs for this, uSe ThE sEaRcH fUnCtIoN. https://i.imgur.com/ShBnNCF.jpg That's better. The cooler will mount in this area on the passenger side of the vehicle. There are obviously a few things in the way here, so lets deal with that. https://i.imgur.com/zDVHcjJ.jpg First, remove the plastic air ducting piece. There are two clips for it - one on the plastic lower chin which you can see easily, and one on the longitudinal bumper bar support towards the top of the duct piece. https://i.imgur.com/iNWUhNI.jpg Now, remove your high-tone horn and outside temperature sensor, including brackets. The horn bracket is two pieces, it can be taken apart. Make sure you save the horn-bracket chassis side mounting bolt for later, as we will use this to mount one side of the cooler. https://i.imgur.com/LVgCqrD.jpg Using the provided black M6 bolts in the kit (two bolts, but only 1 nut) the large L shaped bracket piece can be mounted onto the car. The lower hole is pre-threaded; the upper hole is not and will require the nut. https://i.imgur.com/2Bsz1RP.jpg Now we are ready to mount the cooler! Or, nah. Upon fitting the cooler, you will realize that you will have to split the ambient temp sensor from the horn harness for it to fit in its designated location on the side of the cooler ducting. So, pull the damn cooler off and start splitting that harness. Take your time and make sure not to cut any wires. The split loom cover on the wiring makes this easy, but the wires are still very thin. Split that loom right back to the top of the bumper bar, and then rewrap those now loose wires in a solid layer of electrical tape from top to bottom. Then, send the ambient temp sensor down the other way as shown. https://i.imgur.com/9KeEz9w.jpg Okay, now you can actually mount up your cooler. Using the 12mm bolt from the old horn bracket, mount up the right side of the cooler to the corresponding M6 hole underneath the bumper bar. Take this time to attach your ambient temperature sensor to the side of the ducting - it will click into place. https://i.imgur.com/PUgJs5e.jpg Then, take your four (4) large 14mm bolt/washer/lockwasher/nut combos and the two remaining long bracket pieces (I will refer to them as longbois below for simplicity), and thread into the L-bracket on the car, then thread the other side onto the U-bracket that we mounted on the left side of the cooler. Make sure you mount up your horn too, as shown. I put them in the following order:
Your cooler core is now mounted! https://i.imgur.com/HbGBHcF.jpg Part 3 - Pop The Hood, It's Time For That Sandwich (Plate) Now it's time to piece the rest of this thing together. But, before we run our sandwich plate, lets run our hoses. Put the split-loom provided onto each hose, positioning the split-loom towards the 120 and 180 degree ends of the hose, as these will be closer to the cooler core. The 180-degree end will be run along the channel closest to the radiator, then behind the cooler core where it can then be fitted onto the left side of the core. Finger tighten for now. https://i.imgur.com/Zyk98jQ.jpg Then, connect the 120-degree fitting to the right side of the cooler core, once again finger tightening for now. https://i.imgur.com/411o21k.jpg Now we can run the lines up to the engine bay. Run the lines along to the drivers side, going underneath the drivers side air-duct towards the washer fluid reservoir, with the 120deg hose sitting in front of the 180deg hose. Make sure they do not cross over at any time, as their orientation is important when they reach the engine bay. You may have to trim that drivers side air-duct a bit so that the hoses can pass underneath it without binding, but you shouldn't have to. https://i.imgur.com/vdsEipk.jpg Bring them up around the washer fluid reservoir, then into the engine bay underneath the AC hardline and the washer-fluid neck. Once again, make sure they don't cross over. https://i.imgur.com/Dr7K4cw.jpg WE MADE IT INTO THE ENGINE BAY! Take out that OEM oil filter and throw it out. You won't be needing this where we're going. Then, take your sandwich plate riser/adapter and lube up that big o-ring with fresh oil. Place it on the oil filter location, o-ring side down and take the black threaded adapter that it was packaged with and snug that boi down. I used an adjustable wrench for this but admittedly, a large deep socket would be better suited. I think its a 26mm, I will confirm soon. (EDIT: 27mm deep-well socket is confirmed) https://i.imgur.com/M4bTOtT.jpg Now, get your thermostatic sandwich plate and lube up that o-ring with fresh oil as well. Place it down onto the sandwich plate riser, then take the silver threaded adapter and snug 'er down with the sandwich plate clocked to where the plate is as close to the engine oil cap without touching. Once again, I used an adjustable wrench for this, but a large deep well socket would be better suited. I'll confirm size shortly. (EDIT: 27mm deep-well socket is confirmed) Now that the sandwich plate is mounted, take the opportunity to snug up all of your fittings on both ends of the cooler kit, and secure each 90-deg AN fitting onto the sandwich plate using the adjustable wrench. Provided you haven't crossed your lines, they should be orientated correctly. If you want to verify your connections, it will be as follows:
https://i.imgur.com/0CvnFvg.jpg If you need to, you can clock the left-side hose so that it clears the back of the airbox. https://i.imgur.com/SrZp2Xm.jpg Home stretch! Tighten down your fittings on the cooler core side, and verify your lines aren't snagged anywhere. Once you're happy with placement, you can use the provided tie-wraps to secure the hoses together as required, which is recommended as follows once again from @CSG Mike: "Use some zip ties to space the lines in intervals for posterity. One big tie going around both lines, and a second going in between the lines making a loop around the big zip tie. Tighten the center one first, then the big ones." Ready to start? Almost! Add 1L of oil to your vehicle. Before 1st start, you can prime the oil cooler by putting your car into the on-position, then holding down 100% throttle before pressing the start button. This will prevent the car from turning over. I did this for about 5 seconds twice over before firing up. Now, start your car and check for leaks. If your AN fittings are weeping, you can tighten them up. Mine were all good. If you can, take it for a bit of a drive, making sure you get the oil up to temperature. Since it's the first time getting heat into the system, heat can expand seals and cause some weeping. Tighten stuff down if you need to. After my first drive, I noticed a slight bit of weeping from the sensor adapter on the sandwich plate. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...26fafae4b7.jpg A little bit of tightening while things were hot seems to have remedied that. You're now done! Put your bumper back on, and enjoy the cooling. https://i.imgur.com/KIKZzzU.jpg https://i.imgur.com/XjnkJ6r.jpg Now, where to put the clout badge... https://i.imgur.com/7w0NS02.jpg |
Awesome write up.
Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk |
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Second that! Very thorough and even entertaining! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk |
That was a nice write up. Entertaining :)
I assume that the OEM oil filter fits the Greddy Sandwich plate? Or is the oil filter a specific one? Would love to hear more details down the line about time taken to reach full operating oil temp from cold. And how good/bad it is when street driven ? Many thanks. |
Great write up !
Can someone explain to me why the cooler is always mounted on the passenger side while the oil filter is on the driver's one ? To me its uneeded hoses extra length but maybe it's easier / cheaper ? Thanks |
You've now become the English install instructions!
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Basically any oil filter made for the 3S-GTE will fit (think 91-95 MR2 Turbo). Examples are the Greddy OX-03 (what I'm running on my car), Fram XG4386, Toyota 90915-10004, etc. |
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Ok thanks for the explanation. Looking at this picture I was thinking it was ok on both sides : https://fecompetition.files.wordpres.../nose-off1.jpg |
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3SGTE oil filters are widely available, so its not an issue. If one is really fussy about mounting the cooler on the left side ( for its passenger side as I'm RHD, the proper side :))))) ) then is it possible to relocate the washer bottle to the right side. It shouldn't be so difficult, just some wire extension and small hose is needed. The question is, the reduction in hose length that will result after the relocation of the washer bottle will have any considerable effect on the oil pressure? Thanks for your inputs. PS: I thought Greddy sold only blue cooler cores. Haven't seen red ones. |
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No meaningful effect on pressure, as this is way far back in the chain. |
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Got mine on. Fits nicely behind the 17+ bumper
[IMG]https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50230798653_dc92***13a_b.jpg[/IMG] The only thing I will say though... is that I found it to be 1000x easier to mount the lines going to the cooler prior to bolting it into place on the bracket. I went with the initial order of instructions, but I didn't see any real way to properly access the fitting directly behind/under the crash bar/bumper support. So I removed the cooler from the car, left the bracket, installed the lines, and then remounted the cooler to the bracket and went from there. So long as the lines are clocked correctly when tigthened, there's no issue. |
Very nice! I wish I had this post when I fitted mine.
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DIY: Greddy Oil Cooler Install
Nice write up. Love that color and wish I had found one before the blue one I bought.
3 notes and a question: I need to try your method of mounting the ambient temp sensor. I put mine as far from the oil cooler as I could and it reads wicked high. Outdoor temps 80 to 120 no matter what on the dash now. Can’t use my auto temp interior climate control because of it. Maybe it needs to be in direct airflow or something. I’ve found the EJ motors oil filters for the current gen STI bolt up nicely (M1-108a, Mobil 1 filter see photo). Not sure if it’s better sized than the one you mention above (I think it’s smaller than the Greddy) but it is much easier to find at your local store than special ordering the Greddy filter and will be around longer than any 90’s era motor part. For shits and giggles I installed this sandwich adapter plate on TOP of my Forester XT oil cooler sandwich plate to see if it would work (see photo, it adds about 2.25 inches in height). It baaarely clears my hood and the hoses make contact with the high pressure A/C line AND I had to put aside the oil sensor port adapter for the left/front hose. It was just too tall, but I’m told there’s a way to get oil temp and pressure elsewhere so I left it out entirely. I put some electrical wire wraps around the part of the oil cooler lines that makes contact with the A/C line so it wouldn’t rub on the woven material (see photo). The tops of the lines leave the slightest of indents in my hood insulation (BRZ not FRS), so I kept it. Best of both types? Either way, currently running both oil coolers, 8 or so track days no leaks no issues. ...Have yet to figure out how to properly drain the cooler of oil during an oil change. Just using the normal drain plug, and replacing the same amount of oil as before despite the extra capacity afforded by the cooler. I don’t want to try having the car on but engine not running (I assume this means the oil pump is running) for fear of running the oil pump dry/losing prime. Any advice? https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...c4f8bb7f86.jpg https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...ee3893a68c.jpg Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk |
This guide is great @JBezgus! Much easier than attempting to Google translate the JDM instructions.
Just finished my install and wanted to add my notes to the hive mind here: Quote:
The “S” bracket bolt order needed to be different than the "U" bracket bolt order in order to match your S bracket picture and the Greddy JDM picture, I went with: Bolt Bracket Duct Washer Cooler Lock washer Nut -------- Other Install notes: I made a trip to home depot for *high temp* electrical tape to re-wrap the wires after splitting off the ambient temp probe from the stock loom. I used 3M Super 88 electrical tape, because I know it works... I’ve had cheap electrical tape turn to goo in high temp applications in the past. Definitely worth the extra dollar or two. I ended up not thinking I needed the washer neck relocation bracket, after I clocked the hose to filter connections. There was enough extra loom for the oil hose that I was able to trim some off of the main runs and add it to a section of the hose in the engine bay which looked like it could potentially rub on the metal fitting of the AC hardline. I was still able to cover the runs in front of the radiator past the duct with the loom as well. I'll see about uploading a picture of this. The double zip tie spacing technique worked out great. I went with 2-3 wraps of teflon tape on all fittings. No leaks or weeping at all after doing several laps of my test loop run. It takes roughly twice as long to come up to temp (in September California ~65 degree F ambient weather) and held rock solid at a hair over the 190 F line on the stock dash gauge. I added a little more than 1L of new oil along with a FRAM XG4386 filter and the dipstick was indicating just a tiny bit lower after my test run. I’d estimate 1.2L of additional oil to get to the same spot on the dipstick. (as measured 5 minutes after shutdown both times) I had one question come up during the install and CSG was very quick to respond to it. Great service, fast shipping, I'm a happy customer. |
Possible ignorant question regarding oil sensors:
So I already have the non-oil cooler Greddy sandwich plate as I'm running an oil temp and oil pressure sensor there. Am I correct that the oil cooler sandwich plate will replace it and I can fit the sensors into where the lower gold colored bolts are? There's a sensor adaptor for the left side hose. Will I be using that instead? Is there a better place to install either sensor? |
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I believe you could do either or; either use the sensor adapter that’s comes with the oil cooler on the left side hose, or, use the lower bungs to put your current oil temp and pressure sensors M18 bolts in since they use the same 1/8PT fittings for the sensors. Which way would be preferential? I’d think using the oil-cooler sensor adapter, so you’re getting your pressure and temperature information on the same side, post-cooler core, rather than getting one reading pre-core and one post-core. However I’ll defer to those more knowledgeable than me to confirm, as I only use the built in oil temp gauge and OEM sensor on my 17, and don’t have any external pressure sensor at the moment. |
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Thinking out loud, but maybe using one in the adapter, and one below the AN fitting in an effort to maintain as much consistency as possible. Though I have also heard of (and admittedly need to do more research into) putting the oil pressure sensor into the top of the block. |
super informative and super helpful op - saved for future reference and sharing!
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Do you guys know what this part is and where it needs to be relocated? Seems to be missing from both Greddy’s original instructions and the write up above
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Mine is a USDM FRS from 2014, base spec (I imported it from the US) |
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Here’s my own solution:
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Hachi.... nicely done sir.
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Hi
Does anyone have a picture or how to of mounting this with an aftermarket front bash bar? I have the JDL turbo kit and bar. Thanks |
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