Fitting a Boss 302 oil cooler to my GT?

[WJBertrand]

I've added a tune to my 2013 GT and am thinking about adding an oil cooler for a little extra measure of safety. The easiest, most direct way seems to be fitting the Ford Racing oil to water cooler that comes as OEM on the Boss 302. I realize this won't be as effective as a full oil to air cooler but it's a lot less expensive and as a factory fitted part I find that attractive. Any reason I shouldn't go ahead with this? Thanks.

 

[VoodooBoss]

IMO there is no reason not to. There have been a few failures of the stock cooler but it's not widespread and I wouldn't worry about it. If you want an air to oil cooler read the thread below.

https://trackmustangsonline.com/index.php?topic=6652.0

 

[Grant 302]

The parts you buy now should be 'updated' and the potential failure should be less of a concern.

If you're using your car on the track, then you might consider carrying a spare or your takeoff parts...just in case. That's what I'm doing.

 

[WJBertrand]

Thanks for the replies, the DIY, air/oil cooler project looks cool, (sorry bad pun) but it's still more than twice the price. How can one distinguish the updated parts?


-Jeff

 

[Grant 302]

Not sure if there's a foolproof way to tell, but I think the new/revised ones have a woven/nylon wrap on a section of the hard lines near the sway bar to help resist abrasion. Otherwise, I would assume you get the revised part if you buy new.

More reading about the failures:
https://trackmustangsonline.com/index.php?topic=6666.0

 

[WJBertrand]

Not sure if there's a foolproof way to tell, but I think the new/revised ones have a woven/nylon wrap on a section of the hard lines near the sway bar to help resist abrasion. Otherwise, I would assume you get the revised part if you buy new.

More reading about the failures:
https://trackmustangsonline.com/index.php?topic=6666.0

Well, I sure don't like reading about those failures, but then again I don't, and don't plan to, track my car. My kit did have the nylon wrap on the tubes. I thought I would mention the place I purchased the kit from called fordracingpartsbydonwood.com good prices, lots of email communication and quick delivery.

Received the kit Friday after ordering on Tuesday, did the installation yesterday. Pretty straight forward installation, though I had to visit 4 stores before finding the required 14mm hex socket, Finally found it in the oil change section at my local Pep Boys.

 

[WJBertrand]

Another question. I've seen some posters on other forums that claim that Boss 302s overheat on the track but that the GTs do not. The claim is that this oil-to-water cooler is a major part of the cause. Struggling to make sense of that. I haven't seen any discussion like that on this forum. My experience so far is that the Gauge Mode oil temp gauge is running a bit lower than before and the coolant temp gauge has not changed from before I installed the cooler. This is of course not track use but spirited canyons, heavy stop and go traffic and freeway cruising for me.

Common sense tells me this overheating problem for the 302 vs. the GT on the track is bogus information, and why would Ford include this cooler on a car they expect to see track time if it made things worse? I won't argue that the OEM cooler is as effective as a large oil-to-air cooler, but I have a hard time believing it doesn't help some and much harder time believing it would make overall cooling worse.

Is there any data on oil temps with and without this OEM cooler? Thanks

 

[Grant 302]

If you're not using the car on track, then I think you need to ignore most of that data anyway. But the Bosses do generate more heat as far as I can tell, so if kept in the upper RPMs, a Boss can easily overheat with the stock cooler in warm weather. GTs have the benefit of piston cooling jets, and that reduces the net load on the coolant side. So it's not that the cooler creates the overheat problem. It's just that the Boss is capable of generating a lot more heat.

The OEM cooler is capable of transferring as much or more heat than many of the oil/air units. The trouble is that it dumps the heat into the coolant system, instead of directly to the air.

You'll have to search some of the old oil cooler threads, but there's some pretty good data in there.

For street use, don't worry about it though.

 

[JScheier]

Common sense tells me this overheating problem for the 302 vs. the GT on the track is bogus information, and why would Ford include this cooler on a car they expect to see track time if it made things worse? I won't argue that the OEM cooler is as effective as a large oil-to-air cooler, but I have a hard time believing it doesn't help some and much harder time believing it would make overall cooling worse.

As one of those individuals posting 'bogus' information, I'd invite you out to the track for a quick demo. Shouldn't take more than 10 minutes of lapping at speed. Heck, we can even run your car for an 'unbiased' example of how to overheat a boss on the track

Several differences in addition to the oil cooler that can cause the issue, not least of which is the more restrictive front grille on the '12 Boss vs. the GT. Take a look at the banner photo (and many of the older banner photos) where the grille is removed. It's not just for looks.

Is there any data on oil temps with and without this OEM cooler? Thanks

Not really as a true test would be same track, same day, same conditions with and without a cooler on the same car. I'm seeing 20-30* lower oil temps, on average, with the additional air-to-oil cooler. I also have a significantly larger radiator and a GT500 fan.... and I can still peg that needle in 10 laps

 

[Hermes]

I think another difference between the GT and the Boss is that we are revving the BOSS up to 7500 RPM. I've only had overheating issues once and when I noticed it, I started shifting a little earlier, since someone had mentioned that would help and sure enough, shifting at 6800 RPM vs. 7500 RPM did the trick. Temps actually started to come down even though I was still driving hard [I would say flat out, but I realized I don't have a flat out gear].

 

[JScheier]

I think another difference between the GT and the Boss is that we are revving the BOSS up to 7500 RPM. I've only had overheating issues once and when I noticed it, I started shifting a little earlier, since someone had mentioned that would help and sure enough, shifting at 6800 RPM vs. 7500 RPM did the trick. Temps actually started to come down even though I was still driving hard [I would say flat out, but I realized I don't have a flat out gear].

Yes... this does also help. I've done several fliers and gotten the car into the red (not limping)... backed off and short-shifted for a couple of laps.... then gotten back into it for another lap or so trying to set either a good qualifier or good TT lap time. Unfortunately, once you get it hot, it doesn't tend to cool back down for very long if you get back in it.

 

[WJBertrand]

Thanks for the replies guys, I feel a bit better now. I do drive the car in a spirited manner but on the street you cannot maintain that like you can on the track. My aim in fitting it was to better help the oil cope with the long change intervals (>7000 miles IME) that the oil life monitoring system gives. I'll probably keep this car a long time so am interested in long-term reliability and durability.

I am really surprised to hear that the Boss does overheat so readily on the track though. Sounds like Ford may not have really expected people to track them as hard as they are. I've been keeping an eye on the coolant temperatures and so far it hasn't budged compared to before fitting the cooler, so for my use pattern the cooling system seems up to the task of cooling the oil too.

The other thought I had is that since the oil generally reaches operating temperature later than the coolant does in normal driving, that this cooler will actually help get the oil warmed up a bit quicker and avoid the possibility of over-cooling the oil.

 

[TMSBOSS]

The other thought I had is that since the oil generally reaches operating temperature later than the coolant does in normal driving, that this cooler will actually help get the oil warmed up a bit quicker and avoid the possibility of over-cooling the oil.

Yes, the oil to water cooler does warm up the oil quicker on start up.

I have both the stock Boss cooler and an air to oil cooler. Warm up time for the oil remains the same. Temps on track are down.

Unless you need an all out air to oil cooler system the combination of factory oil to water and oil to air coolers seems to,work for many track rats.

The addition of the stock Boss cooler to the GT should, should improve both warmup and cooling.

 

[WJBertrand]

Thanks, good info.


-Jeff

 

[WJBertrand]

Old thread, sorry about that but I had a thought about the Boss 302's tendency to overheat on the track whereas the GT does not seem to have that problem. One of the suspected culprits is the oil to water cooler. I've recently learned that this cooler is also fitted to track pack GTs.

Do track pack GTs also show the tendency to run hot on the track compared to non-track pack GTs?


-Jeff

 

[VoodooBoss]

The biggest problem with the Bosses overheating on track is the fog lamp delete pieces blocking airflow through the radiator. It was rumored that the cooler was part of the problem. While it may not help the coolant temp issue I don't think it's the problem either.

 

[TMSBOSS]

Several drives have posted that their cure for over heating, temp at best, is to short shift. Basically dropping the shift points down to where you would shift a GT, mid to upper 6000 range.

Less heat produced, less heat issues.

This makes me think a Boss cooler on a GT will work fine.

 

[WJBertrand]

The biggest problem with the Bosses overheating on track is the fog lamp delete pieces blocking airflow through the radiator. It was rumored that the cooler was part of the problem. While it may not help the coolant temp issue I don't think it's the problem either.

Interesting, wouldn't the actual fog lights on the GT block as much air as the delete pieces on the 302 or are the fog lights usually removed for the track?

 

[F.D. Sako]

It's the extra RPM (and possibly the leaner track tune) that contributed to the overheating in the bosses. People eliminated the overheating by replacing with more efficient grill, installing external oil coolers, and some upgraded radiators and hoods.

 

[todcp]

To reply the earlier question on GT Track Pack. I have a track pack GT and run instructor/advanced group with Nitto NT01 and have not had an issue with overheating. The hottest day I have been on track was mid eighties air temp.