Low slung oil cooler.

[Bitza]

Hi all, has anyone hung an oil cooler off the exhaust rocker cover of a 1000ds type engine, ie. a low slung cooler. If so how did you do it? thanks Bitza.

[350TSS]

My original rocker cover with the cast in bracket got broken trying to unthread a seized in rubber isolation mount.
My solution was to replace two of the rocker cover screws with SS studding about 30mm long, then buy 2 long SS 6mm spacer nuts from Screwfix and machine one end to replicate the size of the socket cap screw head. The studding extends through the long nut to which an aluminium bracket is bolted.

[Bitza]

Thanks for that, but I think I'll butcher the original cooler bracketed rocker cover and make a new one for the lower cover with a bit of welding, have to see how that turns out? Bitza

[Flip]

Not sure if this will work on the DS engine but I’ve seen this done on a few of the air cooled motors by simply using the valve cover with the oil cooler mount on the exhaust side and then routing the hoses to suit like so:

[Mr Gazza]

Woo! That's a fancy set up with two coolers in line and a thermostat too... Don't like the stone guards much though.

Bitza, I think you can just take the whole set up for a low cooler, from an SS model. They have short, straight oil lines and the proper bracket on the valve cover. ( I think the temp sensor should stay at the top?
Just a matter of finding if the covers from SS are interchangeable with the DS.. Not sure that the two models overlapped? Or that the covers are essential in the mix anyway.

[Darkness]

Originally Posted by Mr Gazza

Woo! That's a fancy set up with two coolers in line and a thermostat too... Don't like the stone guards much though.

I thought we’d established that in the UK it is better to blank off part of the standard oil cooler in winter, so when would you need double oil coolers in the Uk?

A thermostat is a good idea though provided it bypasses flow rather than stopping it, especially if the cooler is oversized.

[Bitza]

I used a set up similar to that in Flip's photo when I was using a bored out 900 lump, the lower exhaust rocker cover being off a 750 SS. I did this because I had been told that 944cc engines tended to run a bit hot, and as I had raised the compression & advanced the valve timing (giving more power & torque) there is the basic law of inefficency to consider, ie more power means more wasted energy given off as heat. Unfortuneately the 900 series rocker covers don't fit 1000 heads, but my butchering of the original 1000 cooler carrying cover is now being welded up, should be ready early next week. Bitza.