plenum removal / Oil pump
Discussion
I want to take the plemum chamber off my 350 to polish or replace the rocker covers. Is this a simple case of removing the throttle cable and air intake hose and undoing the bolts on the top and lifting off or am I going to get a face full of bits that I won't know where to but back. I quite like the look of the red powdercoted covers from rimmer bros (rb7431pcr)are there any other pitfalls I should look out for.
Also how hard is to fit a new oil pump and will the rimmer parts erc1351a / 614037 do the job, I know I will have to prime the pump.
Does anyone recomend using an oil cooler kit / thermostat and where is the best place to mount the radiator on a road car.
I have a remote oil filter where would the take off for the cooler go?
Many thanks in advance for any advice you can give me.
Also how hard is to fit a new oil pump and will the rimmer parts erc1351a / 614037 do the job, I know I will have to prime the pump.
Does anyone recomend using an oil cooler kit / thermostat and where is the best place to mount the radiator on a road car.
I have a remote oil filter where would the take off for the cooler go?
Many thanks in advance for any advice you can give me.
Plenum removal is as you described but make sure you don't get any air leaks when you replace it.
As for using Rimmer bits... I don't know. My experience is that they are expensive for what they are.
The bigger engine cars came with an oil cooler and thermostat with the rad in the front of the wtaer rad. Do you need it for a 350? Not really. I have one on the 520 but it was a swine to fit!
Steve
www.tvrbooks.co.uk
As for using Rimmer bits... I don't know. My experience is that they are expensive for what they are.
The bigger engine cars came with an oil cooler and thermostat with the rad in the front of the wtaer rad. Do you need it for a 350? Not really. I have one on the 520 but it was a swine to fit!
Steve
www.tvrbooks.co.uk
Replacing the oil pump in situ, is a little tight but it can be done, just remember to pack it with vaseline and I've found it helpsto fill the remote lines with oil as well.If you're going to fit an oil cooler I'd reccommend going up a size on the remote pipes 1/2" to 5/8" as this gave about 1/2 a bar increase in oil pressure on my car and the standard pipes aren't the best in quality in any case.
The easiest way to fit a cooler is via a 'sandwich' plate which goes between the oil filter and remote housing, I'd reccommend one with a thermostat in it and then mount the cooler in front of the water radiator sandwhiched together. That said TVR mounted the cooler behind the rad in the free space behind it but in front will definitly be more effective.
Matt
The easiest way to fit a cooler is via a 'sandwich' plate which goes between the oil filter and remote housing, I'd reccommend one with a thermostat in it and then mount the cooler in front of the water radiator sandwhiched together. That said TVR mounted the cooler behind the rad in the free space behind it but in front will definitly be more effective.
Matt
quote:
I'd reccommend one with a thermostat in it and then mount the cooler in front of the water radiator sandwhiched together. That said TVR mounted the cooler behind the rad in the free space behind it but in front will definitly be more effective.
Since the oil gets a lot hotter than the water, wouldn't it give more total cooling to put the oil rad behind the water rad (i.e. downstream from the pov of the air flow)?
quote:
That said TVR mounted the cooler behind the rad in the free space behind it but in front will definitly be more effective.
Hmmm All the TVR fitted ones are in the front using a special set of brackets that are welded/bolted onto the rad. When I switched to a ally competition rad, I had no plates so the oil cooler was mounted in the space below the haedlamp pods which I don't have anymore.
You will need a thermostat. I used a seperate one as it was cheaper and available!
Steve
www.tvrbooks.co.uk
quote:
I'd have to disagree Pete as the heat capacity of oil is a lot greater than water/coolant so cooling the engine with oil is a lot more effective as a 1° drop in oil temp removes a lot more heat than a 1° drop in water temp.
You coming along next thursday?
Matt
Not if you call me Pete I won't! Looks like I'm putting an engine back into a car!
The issue on cooling is all about the thermal capacity and how much cooling there is to loose the heat. For most of the time, a V8 especially a small one won't even get to 80 degrees to open the stat and cool down so for most of the time, it does nothing. If you are racing around the track, the oil will get warm and a cooler will help both cool it and the engine but as the rad is small and the amount of fluid half that of the cooling then the capacity of the cooling system to remove heat from the engine is a lot lot higher.
Put another way... I need a good cooling system. I don't need an oil cooler. Especially when it springs a leak, ruptures a pipe and and sprays hot oil onto the cooling fan!
Steve
www.tvrbooks.co.uk
That is why I said it was not necessary for many engines. It doesn't do any harm...
Thanks everyone, I think I might leave the oil cooler and make sure the cooling system is in good shape, fit a new 74c thermostat and a kenlowe adjustable temp sensor for the fan. I was a bit worried when the temp jumped 10c on the guage suddenly, but I think I might have some air in the system somewhere as I stopped and turned the engine on after a couple of mins and it had gone back to where it was and stayed there. Is it worth checking the water pump while I am at it? Its only a couple of years old and as far as I can see its mechanical and not a lot can go wrong with it if its not leaking. Where can I get a new temp gauge sensor I have vdo guages?
There was an oil cooler fitted to my 390, it was mounted in front of the water rad just bolted to the spoiler. There was no thermostat fitted.
The lack of a thermostat almost certainly led to premature oil pump drive (and distributor) failing. I fitted an oil temp meter and it never left the blue, even when the water temp was normal.
So I moved the oil rad to just in front of the engine, nd fitted a stat, the advantages to my mind are: -
1) if the water rad gets holed you generally have more time to react, steam is visible and doesn't burn. The water rad should get in the way of most stones.
2) the warmish air passing over the water rad has chance to do a second job cooling the (hotter) oil.
3) the fan is between the two ensuring better cooling in traffic situations.
Russ
The lack of a thermostat almost certainly led to premature oil pump drive (and distributor) failing. I fitted an oil temp meter and it never left the blue, even when the water temp was normal.
So I moved the oil rad to just in front of the engine, nd fitted a stat, the advantages to my mind are: -
1) if the water rad gets holed you generally have more time to react, steam is visible and doesn't burn. The water rad should get in the way of most stones.
2) the warmish air passing over the water rad has chance to do a second job cooling the (hotter) oil.
3) the fan is between the two ensuring better cooling in traffic situations.
Russ
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