DIY Oil cooler

[Biggerhammer]

Well after seeing all the oil cooler kits for sale and being blown away by the prices I decided to see if I could hobble something together on my own. Looked on Amazon and found hoses, sandwich plate and oil radiator all for about $250. What am I missing? How are the kits 2-3 times the cost of putting my own together?

[LimitedSlip]

Perhaps you could post links to the items on Amazon so the forum can see what you are proposing to use?

[FR-S2GT86]

Originally Posted by LimitedSlip

Perhaps you could post links to the items on Amazon so the forum can see what you are proposing to use?

I second this. There are loads of crappy components out on the market nowadays that need to be sifted through with a fine tooth comb to find one decent part. It's not just e-bay that you have to worry about anymore.

[TommyW]

I think its a bad idea to just wing it rather than buying a package from a reputable company. Im sure there are exceptions to both however something goes south with any of the components and things wont end well

[DarkPira7e]

The money you save piecing it together will leak out of those $6 fittings

[Ohio Enthusiast]

Originally Posted by DarkPira7e

The money you save piecing it together will leak out of those $6 fittings

Do the vendors of kits really use higher quality fittings? Plus what's stopping you from buying these higher quality fittings yourself? The cost saving is there to offset the research and development time, even if all you need to do is verify the correct threads on the oil filter or the right length for the hoses. Plus not counting the time investment into figuring out what to buy and then figuring out how to get everything installed vs. getting a ready made kit with instructions. If people priced their wrenching time they would probably opt for an off the shelf solution, but for most of us wrenching is a hobby and the time spent on it is both free and priceless.

If anything, needing to buy a longer hose after you realize that the routing you thought would work and measured for ends up touching the serpentine belt or something is what will eat up into the cost saving.

But if you do your due diligence well and are prepared to put in the work to figure everything out there's no reason why you shouldn't have a well working oil cooler for much less than a vendor's kit. Just look at the Super/Turbo thread for the exact same discussion on Supercharger and Turbo kits vs. full DIY.

[NoHaveMSG]

Originally Posted by Ohio Enthusiast

Do the vendors of kits really use higher quality fittings?

Some do, some don't. I think the key is to make sure you are using quality parts when piecing a kit together.

[DarkPira7e]

Originally Posted by Ohio Enthusiast

Do the vendors of kits really use higher quality fittings? Plus what's stopping you from buying these higher quality fittings yourself?

Yeah I think my statement was aimed more at trying to save money with DIY, rather than doing at at near the same cost as a "kit". Having a far better setup as a result of having quality components like Phenix fittings and a Setrab core being the goal. It's not that it can't be done, I've just seen a lot of miserable experiences because of people using cheap fittings and cores. I had a Mishimoto kit myself that didn't leak, but for the same cost I could've made something pretty amazing that suited my setup better

[86TOYO2k17]

Majority of “kits” are pieced together components, create a basic easily recreatable mounting solution, slap on a vendor label, and then charge 30-50% over the price of components. There is nothing unique, special, or proprietary to these kits.

2 oil coolers and 2 trans coolers on 2 cars 0 issues.

Mocal thermostat plate for oil
Derale fluid thermostat for trans
Aeroquip lines
Use Permatex High Temperature Thread Sealant on all fittings
Warm gear clamps for hoses on fittings
I used
Evil energy AN push lock fittings on one cars setup
AC Performance AN push lock fitting on one cars setup
autobahn radiators on one cars setup
evil energy radiators on one cars setup
M5 riv nuts, straight brace, L corner brace, m5 nuts, bolts, washer, and lock washer to mount everything.

If you want to take it a step further
Mount a 4-6 blade fuse box wired to some toggle switches or fluid thermostat solenoid switches wired to some fans. I used 4 - 120mm IP67 160 cfm fans per cooler 2 for intake 2 for exhaust 8 total on car. This has many benefits but can also be a restriction very dependent on where its mounted and car use etc... worked incredibly well for me.

[Grady]

I do not see any issue building you oil cooler, Just use quality parts. Do not cheep out on hoses and connectors. I pieced mine together, M sandwich plate, M oil cooler. AN quality hoses and fittings. I did not do a extension plate on the adapter I just trimmed the oil filter cup to fit the M sandwich plate.

[86TOYO2k17]

Originally Posted by Grady

I do not see any issue building you oil cooler, Just use quality parts. Do not cheep out on hoses and connectors. I pieced mine together, M sandwich plate, M oil cooler. AN quality hoses and fittings. I did not do a extension plate on the adapter I just trimmed the oil filter cup to fifth the M sandwich plate.

You can also use the “oem forester cooler” instead of the extension plate and get added bonus of faster warm ups.

[DaveB.inVa]

Originally Posted by 86TOYO2k17

You can also use the “oem forester cooler” instead of the extension plate and get added bonus of faster warm ups.

Did this as well using guides here. For the return everything is pretty much factory parts but I deviated for the inlet and have a tee in the radiator hose with the hose traveling across the top of the engine bay attached to a Grimmspeed strut tower bar making the installation a lot easier. Sort of a mix between the Cusco version and factory.

I've got $279 in it, my peak oil temps were brought down from 260-265 to 225-230.

For a street vehicle its great, faster warmup, decently cheap, good fitment using factory parts and just enough cooling to take the edge off.

[Takumi788]

Maximal Performance puts together all of this stuff for you. It is basically a DIY kit that someone else did all the hard work on. They will even make you custom length hoses if you want to put it somewhere weird. The cheapest kit by a mile. I have had it on my track car for 5 years with no issue.
CLICK HERE
They also sell the mocal thermostat sandwich plate separate if you want to go that route.

[86TOYO2k17]

Originally Posted by DaveB.inVa

Did this as well using guides here. For the return everything is pretty much factory parts but I deviated for the inlet and have a tee in the radiator hose with the hose traveling across the top of the engine bay attached to a Grimmspeed strut tower bar making the installation a lot easier. Sort of a mix between the Cusco version and factory.

I've got $279 in it, my peak oil temps were brought down from 260-265 to 225-230.

For a street vehicle its great, faster warmup, decently cheap, good fitment using factory parts and just enough cooling to take the edge off.

I was saying using them in tandem. You don’t need then spacer plate.’