Without a doubt, oil is the most important fluid contained within a car. The sheer amount of moving parts inevitably transfers into a tonne of friction, which when spawned from metal-on-metal contact can be extremely wearing on the components. Oil is therefore used to lubricate these moving parts and in turn, picks up a lot of heat.
As with the vast majority of heat energy created by an engine, it generally needs to be released to the surroundings through some form of a heat exchanger. With the water-cooling system, there’s the radiator and with the oil system, you can use oil coolers.
How Engine Oil Cooler Works
From all of the fluids that are found in your car, there is without a doubt that oil plays the most important role. The moving parts will create friction and external conditions can also cause the components to heat up. The oil will provide the lubrication that is needed to make sure that these parts will not be easily prone to wear and tear.
A heat exchanger is important for every engine, which has the main function of getting rid of the energy that is created by the engine as it works. If your vehicle has a water-cooling system, it will rely on the function of a radiator. On the other hand, if you have an oil system, an oil cooler is necessary, which is the focus of this post.
An oil cooler is a component that looks like a small cross-flow heat exchanger. To make it more efficient, it can be positioned in varying places in the engine depending on where it is deemed to be suitable. The oil inside the cooler will help to keep the optimal temperature range of the engine and its parts.
The oil will enter the oil cooler while its temperature is still high. Inside the cooler, it will go around tubes that are equipped with fins that release heat. Once the oil is processed, it will exit at a temperature that is already colder. At this point, it is ready for circulation and will once again go through the same process.
The Good
The most exceptional benefit of using an engine oil cooler is that it cools the components, and hence, this can be a great way to extend the functional life of an engine. This is because of the lower temperature that protects the engine components from quickly deteriorating.
The Bad
The main disadvantage of an engine oil cooler is that the placement can be quite a challenge, especially if you plan to do it on your own. The attachment will depend on the type of vehicle that you have. To be sure, it would be best to ask the help of a pro to do it for you.
