Ebay Oil Cooler
01-13-2014, 09:21 AM
#1
Ebay Oil Cooler
Hello everyone. 
I can't find any reviews for this ebay vendor. I bought a few miscellaneous fittings from them (bolts, fender washers, etc) from them before, and the service is fine. However, this is the first time I'm actually considering purchasing a functioning part from them.
I recently acquired a Mishimoto sandwich plate adapter and I'm trying to DIY an oil cooler now, and a transmission cooler in the future. I have several questions I'm hoping vendors/members can help me answer.
1. Has anyone bought from speed daddy before? This is the auction link I'm looking at. I would *like* to buy Setrab, for the reputation, but that is a little more than I want to spend for an oil cooler core.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/UNIVERSAL-16-ROW-POWDER-COATED-ALUMINUM-ENGINE-TRANSMIS-SION-OIL-COOLER-SILVER-/170886950579?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item27c9a7eeb3&vxp=mtr2. I'm aware than oil coolers often come in -8AN and -10AN fittings, would there be a problem in having a -10AN hose going to a -8AN fitted cooler via the appropriate reducers?
3. How do you feel about wireless oil temperature sensors, is there one in particular you recommend?
4. In general, is there anything else I should worry about?
Thanks everyone, I'm due for an oil change soon and I'd like to accomplish all of this at the same time.
Cheers,
Anthony
I can't find any reviews for this ebay vendor. I bought a few miscellaneous fittings from them (bolts, fender washers, etc) from them before, and the service is fine. However, this is the first time I'm actually considering purchasing a functioning part from them.
I recently acquired a Mishimoto sandwich plate adapter and I'm trying to DIY an oil cooler now, and a transmission cooler in the future. I have several questions I'm hoping vendors/members can help me answer.
1. Has anyone bought from speed daddy before? This is the auction link I'm looking at. I would *like* to buy Setrab, for the reputation, but that is a little more than I want to spend for an oil cooler core.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/UNIVERSAL-16-ROW-POWDER-COATED-ALUMINUM-ENGINE-TRANSMIS-SION-OIL-COOLER-SILVER-/170886950579?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item27c9a7eeb3&vxp=mtr2. I'm aware than oil coolers often come in -8AN and -10AN fittings, would there be a problem in having a -10AN hose going to a -8AN fitted cooler via the appropriate reducers?
3. How do you feel about wireless oil temperature sensors, is there one in particular you recommend?
4. In general, is there anything else I should worry about?
Thanks everyone, I'm due for an oil change soon and I'd like to accomplish all of this at the same time.
Cheers,
Anthony
01-14-2014, 10:33 AM
#2
Y'all let me down, guys. I ended up buying all the stuff anyways.
Speed Daddy 19 row oil cooler core $45
2 x 90 deg -10AN fittings $17 ea
2 x -10AN straight fittings $9 ea
10 ft -10AN braided stainless hose $65
2 x Mishimoto M20 x -10AN banjo fittings $30 ea
1 x Mishimoto thermostatic sandwich plate adapter
It *might* all get in by friday, in which case stay tuned for a GoFightNguyen Oil Cooler DIY! Now with 20% more Bull****ting!
Cheers,
Anthony
Speed Daddy 19 row oil cooler core $45
2 x 90 deg -10AN fittings $17 ea
2 x -10AN straight fittings $9 ea
10 ft -10AN braided stainless hose $65
2 x Mishimoto M20 x -10AN banjo fittings $30 ea
1 x Mishimoto thermostatic sandwich plate adapter
It *might* all get in by friday, in which case stay tuned for a GoFightNguyen Oil Cooler DIY! Now with 20% more Bull****ting!
Cheers,
Anthony
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Robert_K (01-20-2014)
01-15-2014, 09:44 AM
#5
You know there are multiple oil cooler DIYs for the 370Z posted in various forums, don't you? One or two in particular are extremely detailed and very informative. Lot s of do's and dont's and info to keep you form making mistakes. I'd link you to them but I'm lazy and I figure you are probably as proficient at using Google as I am.
Good luck. Post details when your done documenting your success or failure.
Good luck. Post details when your done documenting your success or failure.
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01-19-2014, 08:42 PM
#8
Whew, installed. 3 hours all in, but that's because I had to make a custom bracket to mount the oil cooler and running the lines was a pain in the ***. I'll drive with it for a few hundred miles and let you guys know how it works out.
GFN
GFN
02-28-2014, 09:29 AM
#11
Everything got in on time and I installed it, total time was probably 3 hours.
Install:
The install went pretty much as expected, I did some research and decided that I wanted to custom make a bracket rather than trying to buy one from Stillen or Mishimoto. I bought some .5" machine bolts, the appropriate nuts, and a 20" long piece of aluminum L bracket.
The install was pretty straight forward. Take off your bumper, start the first part of an oil change, and drain the old oil/remove the filter. I loosely fitted the 90 degree banjo fittings to the plate and torqued the 10an lines to that, then ran it all to the oil cooler.
I cut the aluminum bracket to size and drilled some holes to match up with holes conveniently available in the radiator shroud. Everything bolted up and I topped it up to a total of 7 quarts.
The only issue I had was that the 10an oil cooler lines rested almost directly on top of the sway bar at its highest setting. There was a LITTLE bit of slack in the lines, but it made me nervous. I took it on a shakedown run, and didn't have any problems.
A couple days later, I was driving to lunch and smelled something burning. Uh oh. I got to the place and pulled into a parking spot and got out of the car. I looked back, and there was a little trail of oil following me and terminating at the parking spot. I looked under the car and I was losing oil at a fairly good clip.
My fear was that I had bumped the sway bar into the oil fittings and snapped off the threaded oil fitting that the filter usually screws on to. I ended up losing all 7 quarts right there in the parking lot. Infiniti took care of me, they towed my car to the nearest dealership (right across the street), and the service advisor looked at it. Technically he wasn't supposed to work on aftermarket parts, but he agreed to work with me.
The next day, he got it up on a lift and called me back in. He showed me that the thermostatic fitting on the side of the sandwich plate had a bad o-ring. That's all. It leaked under pressure, got on my splash guard, and dribbled out when I stopped. He cleaned it up, changed the O-ring, and told me I was good to go. He DID recommend that I swap the straight 10an fittings I had previously mounted to the banjo fittings out for some 45 degree 10an fittings to raise the lines and have them clear the strut bar completely.
I took the car to Jtran the next weekend, brought them the 45 degree aeroquip fittings I wanted to install and they got it all knocked out in an hour.
The bad experience I had has nothing to do with my install, or with the kit I built. It was just a bad O-ring. **** happens, I guess. No damage to the car, thank god, and everything has been chugging along perfectly since then.
Review:
The oil cooler works, I can feel it venting heat when I put my hand near it and idle the car after driving. I don't have a temperature gauge on the plate (yet), so I can't give you exact numbers. Honestly, for 90% of driving out there, the oil cooler falls into the "doesn't hurt, isn't necessary" box. If I track the car (eventually), I imagine it'll have some benefit. The increased oil volume helps with cooling as is, and the oil cooler definitely doesn't hurt. I would recommend this as a later mod. My plan is to (someday) go forced induction, so all my mods are going to be leading up to that. With a super or turbocharger, an oil cooler is definitely a good idea, and that's my reason for putting it in.
If you have specific questions, feel free to ask, I'm not really sure what else to say. It doesn't leak, it works, and it is much cheaper than a full Mishimoto or Stillen kit. I think all in, my total cost was probably <300 bucks, including the money I spent at the dealership getting it fixed and the shop time at Jtran. That's a win in my book.
Install:
The install went pretty much as expected, I did some research and decided that I wanted to custom make a bracket rather than trying to buy one from Stillen or Mishimoto. I bought some .5" machine bolts, the appropriate nuts, and a 20" long piece of aluminum L bracket.
The install was pretty straight forward. Take off your bumper, start the first part of an oil change, and drain the old oil/remove the filter. I loosely fitted the 90 degree banjo fittings to the plate and torqued the 10an lines to that, then ran it all to the oil cooler.
I cut the aluminum bracket to size and drilled some holes to match up with holes conveniently available in the radiator shroud. Everything bolted up and I topped it up to a total of 7 quarts.
The only issue I had was that the 10an oil cooler lines rested almost directly on top of the sway bar at its highest setting. There was a LITTLE bit of slack in the lines, but it made me nervous. I took it on a shakedown run, and didn't have any problems.
A couple days later, I was driving to lunch and smelled something burning. Uh oh. I got to the place and pulled into a parking spot and got out of the car. I looked back, and there was a little trail of oil following me and terminating at the parking spot. I looked under the car and I was losing oil at a fairly good clip.
My fear was that I had bumped the sway bar into the oil fittings and snapped off the threaded oil fitting that the filter usually screws on to. I ended up losing all 7 quarts right there in the parking lot. Infiniti took care of me, they towed my car to the nearest dealership (right across the street), and the service advisor looked at it. Technically he wasn't supposed to work on aftermarket parts, but he agreed to work with me.
The next day, he got it up on a lift and called me back in. He showed me that the thermostatic fitting on the side of the sandwich plate had a bad o-ring. That's all. It leaked under pressure, got on my splash guard, and dribbled out when I stopped. He cleaned it up, changed the O-ring, and told me I was good to go. He DID recommend that I swap the straight 10an fittings I had previously mounted to the banjo fittings out for some 45 degree 10an fittings to raise the lines and have them clear the strut bar completely.
I took the car to Jtran the next weekend, brought them the 45 degree aeroquip fittings I wanted to install and they got it all knocked out in an hour.
The bad experience I had has nothing to do with my install, or with the kit I built. It was just a bad O-ring. **** happens, I guess. No damage to the car, thank god, and everything has been chugging along perfectly since then.
Review:
The oil cooler works, I can feel it venting heat when I put my hand near it and idle the car after driving. I don't have a temperature gauge on the plate (yet), so I can't give you exact numbers. Honestly, for 90% of driving out there, the oil cooler falls into the "doesn't hurt, isn't necessary" box. If I track the car (eventually), I imagine it'll have some benefit. The increased oil volume helps with cooling as is, and the oil cooler definitely doesn't hurt. I would recommend this as a later mod. My plan is to (someday) go forced induction, so all my mods are going to be leading up to that. With a super or turbocharger, an oil cooler is definitely a good idea, and that's my reason for putting it in.
If you have specific questions, feel free to ask, I'm not really sure what else to say. It doesn't leak, it works, and it is much cheaper than a full Mishimoto or Stillen kit. I think all in, my total cost was probably <300 bucks, including the money I spent at the dealership getting it fixed and the shop time at Jtran. That's a win in my book.
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GoFightNguyen (02-28-2014)
02-28-2014, 10:58 AM
#13
So you read the reviews and DIY's that I mentioned in my earlier post and still chose to go with the Mishimoto sandwich plate and had an O ring failure that you luckily caught in time to avoid real damage? You should buy a lottery ticket today before your luck runs out. Good luck in the future and thanks for your honesty in letting the community know about it, a lot of people won't tell you when something didn't work out well on their mods. Props. Hopefully the next guy reads the experience of the 370Z owner who had the exact same failure that you had and makes the connection not to trust their engine to a Mishimoto oil filter sandwich plate. Mocal is about the same price and I haven't read of anyone on our platform having a failure.
Review of Mishimoto Thermostatic Oil Sandwich Plate - Nissan 370Z Forum
Review of Mishimoto Thermostatic Oil Sandwich Plate - Nissan 370Z Forum
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GoFightNguyen (02-28-2014)
02-28-2014, 11:10 AM
#14
I checked all the parts over and it looked okay, but as you said, this is more than a coincidence.
I won't be buying Mishimoto parts again. At least it's just their thermostatic plate, and not the full kit. I've added checking the oil lines/cooler/plate to my monthly car inspection (brakes, tires, fluids, drivers AC line, exhaust connections, and angel eye wiring). I recommend other users do the same. Hopefully they can avoid the problem I had. I tried poor-manning my parts for the kit and bought the plate preowned but unused from another member here. I still came in under budget, but it could EASILY have turned out far, far worse.
Live and learn.
I won't be buying Mishimoto parts again. At least it's just their thermostatic plate, and not the full kit. I've added checking the oil lines/cooler/plate to my monthly car inspection (brakes, tires, fluids, drivers AC line, exhaust connections, and angel eye wiring). I recommend other users do the same. Hopefully they can avoid the problem I had. I tried poor-manning my parts for the kit and bought the plate preowned but unused from another member here. I still came in under budget, but it could EASILY have turned out far, far worse.
Live and learn.