Modine oil coolers

[normspanners]

Hi guys anybody fitted or had any dealings with a modine / doughnut style oil, heat exchanger /cooler, I have fitted a few, with good results but was having deliberations with myself about optimum water flow through the unit because when in the heater circuit it will warm the oil, but then when the stat opens it will short circuit the cooling system slightly, in extreme conditions. anybody got advice or ideas

 

[MattF]

but was having deliberations with myself about optimum water flow through the unit because when in the heater circuit it will warm the oil, but then when the stat opens it will short circuit the cooling system slightly, in extreme conditions. anybody got advice or ideas

Can't see what problem that would cause myself. Other than possible slight overcooling, it's still piped into the coolant system, so the coolant system and rad are still doing their job as intended. It's no different to having the matrix valve(s) open. Or, am I missing something?

 

[normspanners]

The point is in the rally car, there is no heater matrix, and that rad would create a slight back pressure, also the heater would cool the water that was heated by the modine and that cooled water would normally now enter the pump, but with no matrix the hot water will travel directly back to the pump inlet, therefore short circuiting the cooling system and heated water will now enter the pump and therefore the block, instead of as normal with all the cooled water from the main rad.

 

[hotrodder]

My daily driver has something very similar to these built into the oil filter housing. It's fed coolant directly from the waterpump via a 1/2 - 5/8" bore bleed which is placed on the bypass side of the thermostat housing between the inlet and the bypass itself i.e. when the engine is cool warmish coolant is diverted back around the engine and to the heat exchanger to heat the oil As the 'stat opens the bypass port gets restricted so the oil heat exchanger is fed more cooler water that's just left the rad and less hot water that's leaving the engine. After passing through the oil heat exchanger the coolant joins the bulk flow through the block, up into the head where again some is bled off for the heater etc* before getting dumped back at the pump inlet while the bulk of it makes it's way to the rad via the thermostat

On a road car coolant that's bled off for the heater is still dumped back into the pump inlet regardless of whether the heater is being used. The thermostat deals with this i.e. pump hotter water into the engine 'cause the heater is off and it opens further diverting more coolant through the rad averaging everything out

Get rid of the heater and use it's feed for an oil-water heat exchanger and it can't work as efficiently as possible as it's typically being fed hot water that's bled out of the head to (origionally) heat the cabin

* For cold countries bleed coolant from the head is also fed through the washer bottle as heated washer jets alone don't always cut it

 

[normspanners]

Cheers for that chaps i have decided to feed the modine from the bottom of the stat so that when the stat is closed the water is forced through the modine warming the oil, then return the water to the top hose via a venturi inlet so that as the normal water flow is pumped to the rad at high speed (when the stat opens) it draws with it the water through the modine heat ex and then the hotter water from the modine is cooled directly by the rad. instead of feeding that hot water back into the pump and then through the block.