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Grex sandwichplate flow direction? Hi! I'm in the progress of installing an oil cooler in my R33. It's a Grex/Greddy oil cooler kit which includes everything you need for Installing, all good. The question is I'm not sure which port on the thermostat that is inlet an which is outlet? (look at picture) BTW will the Grex thermostat allow any oil through the oil cooler when the Engine is still cold? or do I have to wait until it opens to be able to top up the oil level? Thanks in advance!

Hi all, here's a writeup on the recent oil cooler kit installation on my R34 GTT. References I would recommend the following threads and pages as a reference before an installation: http://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/79130-r33-oil-cooler-installation/page-6 http://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/462034-oil-cooler-orientation-trans-engine-steering-etc/ http://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/461812-oil-cooler-recommendations-for-r34-gtt/?p=7658099 http://www.trak-life.com/diy-r33-skyline-oil-cooler-with-thermostat/ http://er34.blogspot.com.au/2007/03/trustgreddy-oil-cooler-kit-installed.html http://www.gtr.co.uk/forum/56507-aftermarket-oil-cooler-location-poll.html These might also help: Taking Off Gtt R34 Front Bumper With Pictures: http://www.skylinesaustralia.com/forums/topic/248385-taking-off-gtt-r34-front-bumper/ Installing Return Flow Fmic on R34 GTT: http://www.skylinesaustralia.com/forums/topic/288799-installing-return-flow-fmic/ R34 Gtt Front Mount Intercooler Installation: http://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/348655-r34-gtt-front-mount-intercooler-installation/ Choosing the oil cooler kit Here's what I wanted from the kit: Full kit with a decent size core Good quality lines and fittings (JIC or similar) With thermostat as the car is both street and track Sandwich plate with spots for oil temp and pressure sensor too Prefer oil filter in original location if possible Prefer not having to bleed cooler separately when changing oil I ended up buying a Driftworks oil cooler kit off another member: http://www.driftworks.com/thermostatic-oil-cooler-kit-for-all-engines.html The kit comes with: Mocal 19 row oil cooler Mocal 92 degree thermostatic sandwich plate Braided oil cooler hoses Thermostatic sandwich plate fittings Oil filter adapter/fitting The Mocal sandwich plate doesn't have sensor fittings so I will need to use separate fittings for those. I am also planning on removing the original sensor sandwich plate I ran for my Defis, although some people do run two plates stacked: http://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/402155-using-two-oil-sandwich-plates/ Installing the core and hoses The installation is relatively straightforward, just fiddly because there's not a whole lot of space to play with as the photos below illustrate. Have a good look around the front of the car to find and measure potential installation locations before pulling out the front bar. Generally the options are: Between radiator and intercooler seems the most common (if you don't have a FMIC you probably shouldn't worry about an oil cooler just yet...) Driver side guard Passenger side guard Some have even installed the cooler under the car, which may not be ideal for ground clearance, or airflow unless you add a shroud. Also consider any other coolers you may want to put in later; I installed a power steering cooler at the same time (in the driver side guard). Here are the general steps for installing between rad and IC: Remove engine undertray Remove guard liners Remove front bar Remove front bar support bar above the reo bar Remove reo bar Remove intercooler. I have a Trust turnflow and I ended up just loosening the clamps and moving it out a little sitting on a box because I was too slack to remove the airbox and piping.. Mock up oil cooler position! Use duct tape or whatever you need and double check the following: Sufficient clearance in every direction, also once the IC is back in place Can you connect up the oil cooler hoses? Braided hose doesn't like to do tight bends, luckily mine came with 90 degree fittings. Can you run the cooler hoses neatly into the engine bay? These commonly run under the chassis rail and above the subframe near the tow point. Do the cooler hoses reach their destination? Depending on your sandwich plate you may need some additional 45 or 90 degree Where do the horns go? I had to move one to the other side of the bonnet latch. Does the bonnet close fully? Again mine didn't at first so needed to move the horn again.. Depending on the size of the core, you can modify an auto trans cooler bracket or fabricate a new one. I cut the top part off the existing bracket and made small L brackets to securely connect the bottom part to the oil cooler core. Make a C bracket for the top of the oil cooler core and secure it to the radiator support part of the chassis. You may want to add a second vertical bracket too, depending on how well the bottom of the core is mounted. Before finalising the hose runs and tightening the hoses, put the following items back in place: Intercooler, remember to re-tighen the clamps Reo bar Front bar support bar Test fit the front bar. Does it crimp the hoses? Does anything scuff? I had to trim back the front bar vent/box near the fog light for more clearance between the front bar and the chassis rail for the oil cooler hose. Remove front bar again Make a support clip for the oil cooler hoses. I used two basic 25mm hose clips from Bunnings, padded P clips would be better. Test fit the guard liner. I had a to trim back a fair bit of plastic around the cooler hoses to get it back into place. Tighen and secure the oil cooler hoses. Think of the braided hose as sandpaper, and check for any areas where the hose may scuff the chassis or other parts. I cut off a length of clear hose and split it down the side, then secured it onto the cooler hose near the headlight and chassis rail to prevent scuffing. Once you're happy with the oil cooler placement, hose runs and clearances put the front end back together and tighten everything back up: Reo bar Front bar support bar Front bar Guard liners You may want to leave the undertray off until you've hooked up the cooler and tested everything For adjusting cooler hose lengths, turning over the engine to fill the cooler and other great tips, check out the excellent Trak-Life oil cooler writeup here: http://www.trak-life.com/diy-r33-skyline-oil-cooler-with-thermostat/ I've left hooking up the oily end with my workshop, I'll add here once I have the car back. Photos Mocal sandwich plate and core: R34 GTT auto trans cooler bracket: R34 GTT auto trans cooler bracket cut to suit the Mocal core: Oil cooler core mounted between radiator and intercooler: Oil cooler hoses test run: Oil cooler hose bracket: Scuff guards made out of transparent plastic hose: Oil cooler mounted: Guard liner trimmed: Oil cooler hoses in engine bay, these need to be secured properly once the sandwich plate is in place:

Hi all, I am looking for some recommendations for a good oil cooler kit for an R34 GTT with RB25DET Neo. Probably something similar to the Trust/Greddy kit shown here: http://er34.blogspot.com.au/2007/03/trustgreddy-oil-cooler-kit-installed.html Here's what I think I need: Full kit with a decent size core Good quality lines and fittings (JIC or similar) With thermostat as the car is both street and track Sandwich plate with spots for oil temp and pressure sensor too Prefer oil filter in original location if possible Prefer not having to bleed cooler separately when changing oil I was originally thinking of maybe reusing my Davies Craig 678 trans cooler (it's a big 4WD unit) as an oil cooler now that the auto box is gone, however I'm not sure about the clamped fittings...?

Hi guys I'm reposting from here and here as this is going a bit beyond the scope of the original threads. Anyway I've just had the Driftworks oil cooler kit install completed on my R34 GTT: Mocal/MIH 19 row Oil Cooler Mocal 92 degree thermostatic sandwich plate Braided oil cooler hoses Sandwich plate fittings The cooler seems to work well - in fact too well - as I can't seem to get my oil temp up to the recommended range even after a long drive. Test drives so far (all light cruising until I sort out the temps): Melbourne to Torquay, 1.5h freeway, Defi oil temp is reading 55-60 degrees, ambient temp just under 20 Torquay to Melbourne, oil temp ~60 degrees, ambient temp 25 Suburban driving, slower speed, oil temp 55-64 degrees, ambient temp 25 ... I can think of a couple of potential causes: 1. Maybe the thermostatic wax pellet in the sandwich plate is not working and the cooler circuit is stuck open or opens too early? Trying the core by hand it's hot but not unbearable. It's definitely flowing a lot of oil during each drive, and well below the expected 92 C opening mark. Also driving a couple of k's from cold start you can feel the oil cooler feed hose getting warm straight away whilst return stays cool. 2. I previously had the temp sensor in a separate sandwich plate with oil flowing through it. For this install the workshop removed the factory pressure sensor and teed off that point – I'm guessing this might be after the filter as opposed to before, which would explain the lower reading? Here's how the Defi temp sensor is sitting at the OEM oil pressure sensor location (the other end of the T-piece is currently blank waiting for the Defi pressure sensor): I did some quick temp measurements off the sump earlier tonight (externally using a laser thermometer) and found the following: Defi oil temp reading 53C – sump 68-70C Defi oil temp reading 61C – sump 76C Defi oil temp reading 64C – sump 75C This might support the theory that the OEM oil pressure sensor point is not ideal for getting oil temps? What do you guys think: a faulty thermostat, incorrect temp sensor location, or both?