Quote:
Originally Posted by Dean
Bumping this for a little more discussion on the stock oil cooler and the necessity to replace after engine damage.
I spent a good deal of time looking at this yesterday. While I agree it has a zillion tiny passages that could capture stuff, the theory of that stuff getting into your new engine does not make sense.
First, I would say that the screen on the pan pickup is going to keep most stuff out of the cooler in the first place after the damage.
Second, oil flow through the filter is from outside to inside and the output from the filter goes straight through the "cooler" in the sealed center pipe. Anything that might come free in the cooler would have to go through the filter before entering the engine.
I am not saying that trapped material could not reduce flow or even clog the cooler, but the argument that the material could get back into the engine is highly questionable.
My '07 burned through a piston and there is a lot of unaccounted for aluminum, and because I have the one from my '04 that did not have a significant failure I am going to use it. If I didn't, I would have to do some reverse flushing to see what might come out before I bought a new one.
If all you had was a spun bearing, the amount of material and size of the bits are damn small and easily filterable.
I am not convinced replacing a $200+ cooler is necessary in all but extreme cases.
Maybe I am missing something and would be happy to hear a better explanation of this issue.
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First, it's not necessarily big chunks of metal that are the issue. It's the very tiny, borderline microscopic ones... the ones that will get past the filter even. Normally you'll have this metal in the oil as the motor breaks in and wears normally, but it goes away every time you change the oil and slowly builds back up. But if you've got a ready supply of grit in the cooler constantly washing into the oil at a high rate, then you end up with oil that expires your bearings over a relatively short period of time.
Now, I have first hand experience destroying a motor due to reusing a well-cleaned oil cooler. A new shortblock costs $2000, making a $200 oil cooler chump change to replace "just in case". I just don't know why anyone would risk it... especially if they're installing an expensive, brand new, build motor. Well okay, I know why
Dean would risk it...
Also remember, it may not be as dramatic as my failure was... it may just be the difference between 50,000 miles out of the motor and 100,000 miles... but $200 to double the lifespan of the motor... of course!