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oil cooler zetec

richard munnis - 22/9/15 at 02:55 PM

Hi folks
Is a oil cooler a good job to run on a 1800 cc zetec silvertop as i do alot of trackdays and oil pressure drops greatly as car gets warm cheers in advance Richard

Paul Turner - 22/9/15 at 03:10 PM

On the track its generally a good idea but on the road I have not had one fitted in the 13 or 14 years the Zetec has been in. Done a few trackdays and even then the oil temp has barely risen above 100 degrees. Simply not needed on the road since the oil temp never gets above 80 degrees even on the hottest days in traffic.

If you fit one make sure you have a thermostat fitted either at the filter or in the oil lines to avoid over cooling.

richard munnis - 22/9/15 at 04:52 PM

Thank you for reply cheers Richard

SteveRST - 22/9/15 at 08:02 PM

I shall be fitting one very soon (zetec 2.0 turbo), but before I did so I fitted an oil temp gauge just so I could see what it was doing. Seeing around 90c on the road under normal conditions, 100-105c when blating a bit in low ambient temps. Did a track day at Snetterton yesterday and was seeing 120-125c when ambient temps were just 12-14c in the dry so I can quite imagine easily pushing 130c+ on a hot day. One the way back home on the motrway was seeing 80c in the rain and with sub 10c ambient temps.

I notice pressure drop and noisy hydraulic tappets when oil gets very hot.

I'm planning on fitting a thermostatic valve so don't get overcooling of the oil.

[Edited on 22/9/15 by SteveRST]

bi22le - 22/9/15 at 10:03 PM

Oil pressure may not be related to temp.

Driving harder on track will raise the temp but also cause oil starvation due to the oil sloshing around in the sump.

Get an oil temp gauge fitted first or if you have deep pockets do both. Starvation will blow your engine on a heart beat so is more important then temp which will take longer.

Also change your oil more regularly and for a better grade. There is plenty of info on passionford for your engine.

Good oil grades like fusch titan pro r that i use can operate fine at 120deg. Its just that 90 deg is preferred!!!!

Re reading your OP. Definately cjeck your oil grade , quality and age.

richard munnis - 22/9/15 at 11:41 PM

Hi folk's
I run 10 60 oil the best money can buy

coozer - 23/9/15 at 01:35 AM

10 60 is the wrong oil for the zetec. Next thing will be the big ends knocking shouting TOO THICK!

Get the proper 5/30 ford oil.

Zetecs don't like oil coolers, the st170 had a thing round the oil filter base plumbed into the coolant so keeps the oil at around 90/100. Get one of them.

Paul Turner - 23/9/15 at 07:52 AM

quote:
Originally posted by richard munnis
Hi folk's
I run 10 60 oil the best money can buy

When Ford introduced the Zetec back in the early 90's they specified 10w 40 oil and had tappet issues. They changed the spec to 5w 30 and no more issues. 5w 30 is pretty much standard on all new motors these days and Ford had stuck with it on all subsequent engines.

So why use something that's way thicker than a huge multi national manufacturer specifies after millions of miles of development. The oil pump will be struggling to get it around the engine for one thing, its not designed for such a thick gloop.

When I did trackdays I used Motul 5w 30 from Opie. Very expensive but stayed in grade and never had any pressure issues even when the oil got hotter than normal.

Still use 5w 30 but since I only use it on the road for a couple of thousand miles a year I use a Ford spec 5w 30, currently a Motul form Opie (again).

richard munnis - 23/9/15 at 08:52 AM

Many thanks for all the info will change back to 5 30 Motul oil.
Cheers Richard

cliftyhanger - 23/9/15 at 10:36 AM

The idea of the oil/water heat exchanger is probably the best. It should help the oil get up to temp quicker (if plumbed in correctly) which is a very good thing, plus prevent the oil running too hot. Win-win.

I would assume the genuine ford oil is very much a compromise between performance and cost. After all it is aimed at the virtual 100% of cars that are used as everyday hacks and serviced as such, not at cars producing 50% more power than std and driven rather harder than expected. So for hard use a "better" oil is wise, Motul being right up there. Mobil 1 pretty good too, look for an ester based synthetic.