Anyone Use A Mocal Oil Cooler?

[pp205 17]

As above, does anyone have one at all and are they any good?

[Sandy 191]

A proper oil temperature gauge is a better investment IMO, very few Peugeots genuinely overheat the oil.

[Miles 331 1 Cars]

Mocal are one of the largest supplies of coolers etc, I run a 24 row one and does the job just fine, But it's where you mount them is the most important thing

[Jonmurgie 2]

Have used them before, think they are generally considered the daddies so buy with confidence...

 

What spec are you running to make you feel you need an oil cooler?

[pp205 17]

It's not a massive spec I'm running - 1.9 engine with cam(not sure what cam it is), superchip and 1.6 gearbox. My problem at the mo is that the engine is getting really hot even after short journeys and the fan is always coming on. My oil temp gauge always tends to start low and rapidly move up to the gap between the 4th and 5th marker on the guage. I've recently changed the oil and the seal on the oil cooler mount that the filter sits on as it was leaking slightly. When I get back from work and check the oil cooler rubber hoses they are both the same temp so i guess the oil is moving through it correctly. My water temp seems to be ok (needle sat at 3rd marker on gauge, goes to 4th when sat in traffic) and my pressure gauge sits right in the middle.

 

I just obviously don't want to be doing any unecessary damage to the engine, just a bit worried at how hot it seems to be running.

Is it worth getting a garage to check the oil temp with a non-peugeot gauge as I know what Sandy means with the peugeot ones being somewhat unreliable!

[Bonzai 2]

mine has got a mocal, one of the smaller ones. James thinks its off an SBC set-up, i've no idea.

 

day to day the oil takes a while to warm up, atleast 10 minutes before the gauge registers movement. when its warm itll sit on the marker about 1/3 of the gauge. Ive never had it go over halfway, even on track

[Sandy 191]

Over-cooling the oil (less than 75C) or extending warm up time is riskier than overheating it in everyday use. If your oil's running too cool, engine wear occurs continuously. Overheating it shortens the effective life of the oil, but will only cause immediate engine damage if extreme temperatures are reached (140C+) and hard use continues. If you fit a decent gauge, you know when the oil's safely warm and you know when you're risking it. Blindly fitting an air-oil cooler without identifying you have the genuine need for one, seems a bit over-zealous to me; but many people do! I've always used gauges rather than oil-air coolers on my peugeots (TU and XU) and have never seen dangerously hgih temps, on track or the rollers.

[Wurzel 16]

Just to add really, if you are concerned about your engine getting too hot, surely you need to sort out that problem first.

 

What condition is your radiator in? Mine was a bit ropey and when replaced, made a massive difference.

[pp205 17]

Thanks for the advice sandy and wurzel, didn't realise about the damage over cooling the oil can do! Tbh I think my rad is in pretty good nick but it was already in car when I bought it, don't know how old it is so may be sensible to replace it.

[smckeown 1]

Over-cooling the oil (less than 75C) or extending warm up time is riskier than overheating it in everyday use. If your oil's running too cool, engine wear occurs continuously. Overheating it shortens the effective life of the oil, but will only cause immediate engine damage if extreme temperatures are reached (140C+) and hard use continues. If you fit a decent gauge, you know when the oil's safely warm and you know when you're risking it. Blindly fitting an air-oil cooler without identifying you have the genuine need for one, seems a bit over-zealous to me; but many people do! I've always used gauges rather than oil-air coolers on my peugeots (TU and XU) and have never seen dangerously hgih temps, on track or the rollers.

 

Just thought i'd resurect this post as there does seem to be a tendency by people (including me) of bolting bits on the car without researching and thinking things through entirely. So the advice above is good, I also found an old post by your friend and mine on the subjects of temps:

 

Competition cars would want 80C or even a bit less. Oil at about 90-100C

 

On the basis it's possible to regulate water temps with your fan and good quality coolant, how is it possible to regulate the oil temps as effectively ? Can you fit a thermostat that stops the cooler coming on until actually needed ?

 

Is it also a good idea to swap the road car oriented cooling system thermostat you get from a normal engine with a competition one that opens earlier ?

[Normski 1]

Yes, you can have an oil thermostat. Which is a good idea for a road car. Better (for a road car) would be to use a water-oil heat exchanger, as this heats the oil up quicker and doesn't let it cool below the water temp.

For a track/race car, an air-oil cooler of the correct size, big enough to control the temp in the highest ambient temps/hardest running, is the way to go IMO. Because the heat from the oil isn't put into the water system. Not over cooling the oil in this case is done by blocking (air to) part of the oil cooler.

[Oigen 9 2 Cars]

What do you think about this combination: A mocal 13 rows + the water-oil heat exchanger instead the oil thermostat?

[Sandy 191]

The OE style oil-coolant exchanger is very effective, i've tested with and without on the same engine and it warmed up the oil quicker, hovered at coolant temp and struggled to get over 90C oil temp. Thermostat controlled oil coolers still seem to cool the oil during normal driving, when the thermostat should prevent it. Given the extra weight (in the worst place for exta weight bar the roof) and extra connections of an air-oil cooler, i'd rather not have one unless it was absolutely essential.

Yesterday we were mapping a highly strung TU engine with an SPA digital oil temp gauge, it had no oil cooler at all and the ambient temp in the workshop was about 30-35C, the oil temp got just over 105C after some very hard running and quickly receded to around 95C with a short break. That's well within the safe margin for the oil. XU's typically run hotter, but a decent gauge is of more value than a cooler, mostly, I would say.

[snillet 1]

Be beware though that gauges, even well "branded" ones, often is quite off in calibration, so it doesn´t harm to check the calibration of them before you trust them. I always do.

[s16 Peggy 0]

i have one fitted to my S16 and it keeps my temps well under control.