decision time - oil coolers necessary?
 

currently working on oil-lines, and have started wondering if the stock oil-cooler is really necessary?

Other then reduced oil capacity...are there any other issues I may encounter in a non-autobahn continent?

thanks,
manny

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Not absolutely necessary.

While not being mandatory having a oil cooler helps pro-long the life of your oil and maintains a lower temp for critical engine parts. I would recommend maintaining a oil cooler in your rig. If you put it in a truck you intend to tow or go off road with it will become increasingly valuable.

Just wondering what other compromises I will be making, by eliminating the stock oil-cooler.

will be performing oil-changes at 3K...honest :)

Before I put a cooler in, I'd put an oil temperature gauge on it to see what is actually happening and base my decision on that. These engines and their coolers were engineered prior to the widespread use of synthetic oils which perform better at higher temperatures.

You did not say if the Engine has a Turbo. If so the Engine has Nozzles that direct the Oil up and into passages in the Piston's Heads to cool the Pistons.

The Turbocharger is cooled by the Oil.

You do not need to use the stock Oil Cooler but considering the type of parts that need cooling by Oil some sort of Oil Cooler seems important.

It's in his sig. Turbodiesel.

I think its just easier to say... It had one, put it back on, isnt everyones goal to increase performance or increase dependibility? Why go backwords?

We had a long discussion about oil coolers some years ago. My (inadequate) memory tells me that MB put oil coolers on models with AC and not necessarily on other models. I owned a 307d with the OM616 without an oil cooler.

that sounds right for non-turbo cars but i believe all the turbo's got them, maybe im wrong. My 240 has ac and a oil cooler

I like how this same exact post is on both std and here.

Nothing wrong with asking opinions from various places/forums. there will be people reading this forum/thread that may never see the one on STD.

A oil temp gauge would be good to have. be interesting to see where the temp is with and with out the oil cooler. the hottest part of summer vs the coldest part of winter would be interesting to see the variation if there is any.

Charlie

i drove mine on a gentle cruise (~55mph) of about 4 hrs with the oil cooler bypassed

how did you bypass it? Knowing how would be useful knowledge when a cooler hose breaks.

out and back to the filter using the lines that were there near the oil cooler, cut the rubber lines and used a 90deg L shaped plastic elbow with multiple hose clamps