Oil Sandwich Plate Adapters + Aftermark Coolers

[kpetronis]

All,
I run a modded GT at HPDEs and I've floated around on a few different oil cooling threads to get the idea of how it all works together. Maybe I just suck at using Google, but I can't even get a straight answer if the GTs have an oil temp sensor (I thought for sure yes, but maybe not?). So I thought about going the sandwich plate/sensor/gauge route to employ oil temp and oil pressure sensors.

I'm new to most of this stuff so bear with me:

So here be my question(s):
(1) I just bought the stock Boss cooler (still in box) - I'm assuming I can tack a Glowshift sandwich plate and sensors between it and the filter for readings (though...I will have to double check clearance) yes?

(2) That said, down the road if need be...I'd like to have the option to add an external cooler (similar to Cooltech cooler) over the top of the Boss cooler which looks like it's meant for that. So...how would that work if I still would like to keep the sensors?
It seems like it would be (Boss Cooler Block) -> (Thermostatic sandwich plate that routes to external cooler) -> (Sandwich plate with sensors) -> (Oil filter). That seems like a crazy amount of sandwiching...would that even work? Or is there a thermostatic sandwich plate available that would not only route oil to an external cooler, but also has couple other 1/8" NPT ports for sensors?

Mainly I foresee this need because I *just* took care of coolant/engine temperature issues by getting a wide-open grill for more airflow and changing the radiator fluid and adding Purple Ice (which is only a minor improvement, I know). I fear that now I've got it under control, I'll have problems again now that the oil will try to be cooled via my coolant temp hence create a need for an external cooler in the future. At some point I'll get the guts to cut holes in my hood and add vents..but that will be awhile.

 

[VoodooBoss]

The search function works pretty well on this site. Below is a current thread and there are a couple of others on this subject with a lot of good info.

https://trackmustangsonline.com/index.php?topic=5574.0

I'm no expert on this but I'll attempt to answer your questions as I've been researching the same thing although I already have the Boss oil cooler. There is no oil temp sensor on a Boss or GT so you're heading in the right direction. I'm planning on using the Prosport sandwich plate for the sensor and possibly add the cooler at a later date.

http://prosportgauges.com/oil-filter-adaptor-plate.aspx

1. Yes you should be able to use the sandwich plate with the Boss oil cooler.
2. Yes with the correct sandwich plate you'll be able to add an oil cooler.

 

[KBBOSS1086]

I have been researching different air to oil coolers and sandwich plates for the past couple months. Unless there's one out there that I have not come across there is no sandwich plate with oil cooler ports, sensor ports and a thermostat. You have to stack 2 different sandwich plates to get everything you're looking for. There is not enough room to add 2 more plates to the boss water to oil cooler.

The consensus seems to be that if you have the boss water to oil cooler already you can add a sandwich plate with the cooler ports and sensor ports (no thermostat) - the water to oil cooler will help to warm your oil up in place of the thermostat. The only drawback to this setup I believe is that you will likely need to let the car warm up a little longer before driving.

The other option is to get 2 sandwich plates and remove the water to oil cooler. One of them should have a thermostat and oil cooler ports and the other will have the sensor ports. Mocal makes a sandwich plate with a thermo and cooler ports but it's around $120.

 

[gww52]

I was using a sandwich plate for picking up oil temp before I got the FRPP cooler.I was going to use an inline cooler sensor mount but there is no room for it.
I ended up mounting the sensor in the Canton plate.I also enlarged and polished all the interior surfaces of the adaptor for better oil flow.That alone gained back nearly 10 PSI of pressure from a stock adaptor.

 

[VoodooBoss]

I have been researching different air to oil coolers and sandwich plates for the past couple months. Unless there's one out there that I have not come across there is no sandwich plate with oil cooler ports, sensor ports and a thermostat. You have to stack 2 different sandwich plates to get everything you're looking for. There is not enough room to add 2 more plates to the boss water to oil cooler.

The consensus seems to be that if you have the boss water to oil cooler already you can add a sandwich plate with the cooler ports and sensor ports (no thermostat) - the water to oil cooler will help to warm your oil up in place of the thermostat. The only drawback to this setup I believe is that you will likely need to let the car warm up a little longer before driving.

The other option is to get 2 sandwich plates and remove the water to oil cooler. One of them should have a thermostat and oil cooler ports and the other will have the sensor ports. Mocal makes a sandwich plate with a thermo and cooler ports but it's around $120.

My bad I thought the Proport worked for both. What about this one Steve is using?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/AN-10-Aluminum-Oil-Cooler-Filter-Sandwich-Adapter-Plate-for-Mercury-Ford-Trucks-/110836766506?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item19ce62d72a

 

[kpetronis]

Sean do you have a link to the Mocal one you speak of? I quickly Googled and didn't see anything obvious, looked like they all were the usual plate w/ cooler ports but not additional sensor ports too.

I guess worst case scenario you could do a remote oil plate and move it elsewhere for clearance yeah? Or...I could just lose the stock Boss cooler. Which would seem silly seeing as how I just bought it but...it's only $140 anyway and can probably just sell it to someone for $100 afterward.

 

[Brandon302]

I have been researching different air to oil coolers and sandwich plates for the past couple months. Unless there's one out there that I have not come across there is no sandwich plate with oil cooler ports, sensor ports and a thermostat. You have to stack 2 different sandwich plates to get everything you're looking for. There is not enough room to add 2 more plates to the boss water to oil cooler.

The consensus seems to be that if you have the boss water to oil cooler already you can add a sandwich plate with the cooler ports and sensor ports (no thermostat) - the water to oil cooler will help to warm your oil up in place of the thermostat. The only drawback to this setup I believe is that you will likely need to let the car warm up a little longer before driving.

The other option is to get 2 sandwich plates and remove the water to oil cooler. One of them should have a thermostat and oil cooler ports and the other will have the sensor ports. Mocal makes a sandwich plate with a thermo and cooler ports but it's around $120.

If you wanted a thermostat without using two sandwich plates you could always run one in line before your air-to-oil cooler. I currently have that setup on another car since the stock oil pre-heater was removed.

 

[KBBOSS1086]

That is a good option, Brandon. Thanks for the suggestion.

Here's the link to the Mocal adapter with a thermostat.

http://www.speedandhose.com/setrab-oil-coolers/oil-cooler-adapters/oil-filter-adapters.html

 

[2012Boss302]

sorry for the ignorance but, couldn't these plates just be drilled and tapped for a sensor??

 

[kpetronis]

Now that I think about the logistics of it all...probably not likely for one of these to be a a sandwich plate/sensor/thermostat switch all in one because you've got the wall between the two sides of the plate going right down the middle where it lets the oil through after its brought up to temp. Methinks if you were to put sensors in it you'd have to put them after the thermostatic spring, and to do that you'd have to make the the plate extra thick to have room for the sensors...and by that point you might as well use two plates anyway.

Thanks for the info all.

 

[nota4re]

If you are doing your own oil cooler kit, by all means you need to make sure that you keep the OEM oil cooler in place and run the additional cooler in series. This is what both the Ford Racing kit does as well as our Cool Tech kit. Both of us had tested and shared the data for a "replacement-only" oil to air cooler and they were near as effective as running the two coolers in series. The other thing I would advise to be careful of is in the selection of the heat exchanger itself. Make sure to look at the specifications and, in particular the pressure drop across the heat exchanger. The more resistance, the more work you are placing on the oil pump. You will need to have some concern for longevity of the oil pump - i.e., not something you want to have fail. Finally, think about thermostatic control. Our testing revealed surprisingly long oil temp warm-up times with just the OEM cooler in place.... and we were testing in mild Southern California conditions. I've got to assume that Ford know what they're doing but I certainly wouldn't advocate adding to this already long warm-up time by adding a cooler in series.

 

[KBBOSS1086]

Thanks for the additional info. food for thought as we proceed.

 

[steveespo]

Kendal
Good to have you back posting. I have a question, I have just picked up a 34 plate Setrab cooler to replace the FRRP sized unit. With the increased cooling capacity do you think I can get rid of the water to air Boss cooler? I subscribe to the water is preheating the oil theory, but if you are correct I wouldn't need the Boss cooler and could eliminate a few potential fail points.
Let us know what you think.
Steve

 

[steveespo]

My latest cooling improvement parts;





Increased plate frame Setrab Engine oil cooler and Ford Racing FR500 power steering cooler to be used as part of my Transmission cooling setup. Will post up pics when I get rolling.
Steve

 

[KBBOSS1086]

This may be a silly question but I was thinking about what you said, Kendal about using a thermostat and about not wanting to put undue strain on the oil pump by using a cooler that does not flow well enough.

Before the thermostat opens, the oil pump will still be trying to push the oil through the system but won't be able to. I'm thinking 2 things can happen before the thermostat opens:

Wouldn't it prevent the oil from efficiently circulating throughout the engine during startup (oil may not reach the top end)?

Also, untilt the thermo is open does it strain the oil pump? If the path of the oil is blocked wouldn't it me like trying to blow air through a blocked hose? I'd think this would put a lot of strain on the pump.

I could be over thinking this but thought I would put this out there.

I just ordered the 15 row Series 9 Setrab cooler and an inline thrermostat to place on one of the sandqich plate fittings. I'm leaning towards not using the OEM cooler due to the fact that I just had a failure with it at my last track day. The metal elbow that comes off the OEM cooler cracked right where it commected to the plate. I couldn't figure out why it did it but all of the coolant drained in the first 25 seconds of my run. The car is at the dealer to get it replaced as I type but as Steve mentioned, I'd like to eliminate as many potential points of failure as possible going forward.

Thanks for sharing your expereince/knowledge on this topic.

Sean

 

[Theviking]

I was looking for details on the adapter when installing my cooler and came across this info on their site. Looks like they don't create a dead path of any sort even when the thermostat is closed.

http://greddy-usa.blogspot.com/2009/06/greddy-oil-coolers-kit-101.html

 

[nota4re]

Hi Steve, and all other members!!

Sorry it has been so long. The day job (i.e., the necessary evil to have the toys) has had me pretty swamped!! As many of you know our primary hobby buisness is with the Ford GT's. Long story short, I had a fellow GT Owner make me an offer I couldn't refuse on my 2012 LS. BUT - many of you probably know that we have a 2013 LS (SBY) and we have held on to that one!! OK, back to somef the questions....

I have a question, I have just picked up a 34 plate Setrab cooler to replace the FRRP sized unit. With the increased cooling capacity do you think I can get rid of the water to air Boss cooler? I subscribe to the water is preheating the oil theory, but if you are correct I wouldn't need the Boss cooler and could eliminate a few potential fail points.
Let us know what you think.

This is a monster-sized cooler! The most critical factor for cooling is going to be getting airflow at least "to" if not "through" the cooler. Mounting locations are limited with our big bumpers and bumper beams, etc. Get a mounting location and then think about adding any sheetmetal and/or plastic pieces to help divert air to the cooler. You'll be glad you did!! In our testing, the oil takes a LONG time to warm up with the OEM cooler and based on this, my opinion is that it is doing little to nothing to aid in warm-up times. HOWEVER, it is pretty damn effective as a cooler. We tried running a Setrab 924 (not quite as big as your 935) without the OEM cooler and didn't see any benefits over stock - and maybe even slightly worse than stock. The "breakthrough" was to run both coolers in serial. As such, my strong recommendation is leave the OEM cooler in place - although I do agree that it adds a little bit to more potential failure points. (Side note: Have you ever looked at teh Autometer Elite gauges?? I had them in the 2012 LS and one feature I really liked was that you could program a low, normal, and high range into each gauge. You could assign a gauge color to each range. So, if I lost oil pressure, for example, the entire gauge went RED instantly (low range) and I didn't have to depend on my aging eyes to spot an errant needle.)

 

[nota4re]

Before the thermostat opens, the oil pump will still be trying to push the oil through the system but won't be able to. I'm thinking 2 things can happen before the thermostat opens:

Wouldn't it prevent the oil from efficiently circulating throughout the engine during startup (oil may not reach the top end)?

Also, untilt the thermo is open does it strain the oil pump? If the path of the oil is blocked wouldn't it me like trying to blow air through a blocked hose? I'd think this would put a lot of strain on the pump.

I could be over thinking this but thought I would put this out there.

Hi Sean!

Great questions! I think already proactively answered by another member but bascially the thermostat is just moving a diverter valve. It never really puts an obstacle in the path of the oil - nor pressure against the pump. When closed, it basically just diverts the oil through a "normal" path back to the engine and when open, it allows the oil to come through the cooler. By design (and with no drawback) these thermostats never totally block flow through the cooler - they're always letting a small amount of oil through - just not enough for it to be effectively cooled until the thermostat opens. Again, our instrumented experience was that the OEM cooler was quite effective. I won't say that our testing was comprehensive, but enough to lead me to believe that the OEM cooler is a good thing and you'll see a jump in temps if you elected to remove it. I hope yours was just a defective one and you'll be "solid" once Ford gets your car back to you.

 

[neema]

I was looking for details on the adapter when installing my cooler and came across this info on their site. Looks like they don't create a dead path of any sort even when the thermostat is closed.

http://greddy-usa.blogspot.com/2009/06/greddy-oil-coolers-kit-101.html

The GREX unit is awesome (Cooltech uses it). I know you would have to relocate your oil filter which may make oil changes a little more difficult, but the thermostatic oil filter housing comes with two sensor bungs for (please correct me if I'm wrong) pressure and temperature settings.

You can also order different springs to adjust the thermostat's opening temperature. Such a cool piece of hardware!!! (I geek out over this stuff)

 

[Theviking]

It only has one 1/8npt port (that I could find) and Kendall suggested against adding a T to this location for both pressure and temp.

New oil filter location pretty much rules out any Jiffy Lube oil changes Not that I would ever bring my car there anyway.