1934 Super 8 oil cooler question

[Super8]

Hello,

 

I just started up my newly restored Super 8. It is a 1933 but is equipped with an oil cooler so i believe that it is a 1934 engine.

 

Upon starting, the oil pressure was extremely high (around 80 PSI). We lowered it by adjusting the regulator set screw. It looks like the initial pressure spike sent oil on the water side as the coolant shows a lot of oil in it but the oil does not show water in it. We believe that the high pressure allowed oil to blow by in the cooler. Would this be possible? Has anyone encountered this condition? What is not clear is that now that the pressure is within spec we wonder if the blow by continues or is it just remnants floating to the surface or permanent damage. Does someone has either photos or material describing the cooler? We may have to remove  it but would like to know what We are facing.

 

Many thanks

 

Francois Masbou

file

[Classic Car Fan]

I would remove the oil cooler and check it for leaks. There is a good chance that it is perforated, could have been there, may have been caused by excessive oil pressure. I had the same problem with my car. The photo is the oil cooler form a 1935 Eight. 

[trimacar]

I had the same problem on a '34 Pierce with a similar oil cooler.  At idle, the water "pressure" from the pump was pushing water into the oil, and oil getting in the water.

 

A good radiator shop can find the leak and fix it.  The fix will consist of plugging the cell that's leaking with solder. 

 

The alternative is to fabricate a piece of copper pipe with fittings, same through dimensions as cooler, and eliminate it entirely by removing cooler and replacing with pipe.  The reason that the cooler was put on Pierce Arrows was due to the new hydraulic valve lifters they used, and the thought that the hydraulic action would heat up the oil excessively.  This doesn't happen, even without the cooler.

[Owen_Dyneto]

A large number of '34 Eight and Super Eight 1934 Packard owners have been thru this problem.  You can try if you're willing to make the effort but chances are very largely in favor of the heat exchanger core not being repairable.  Just make a shunt to transport the oil from the inlet across to the outlet.  Make sure you don't choke down the diameter of the internal oil passage as this is a full-flow system.

Edited May 22, 2018 by Owen_Dyneto (see edit history)

[trimacar]

There you go, that's exactly what I was talking about.

 

You don't happen to need a manifold set, do you?  Have a very nice 33/34 Super Eight intake and exhaust set for sale, no cracks, nothing broken, no repairs.  Will work with someone who needs/wants it and make it very affordable.

[Super8]

Many thanks for the usual great support. A couple more questions result from the discussion though. Firstly, if you shunt the system is it not going to result in unacceptably higher oil temperatures? Also, if you put a through pipe, how do you seal the ends so that it does not leak between the end of the pipe and the housing?

[Matt Harwood]

I seem to recall a mechanic friend of mine who was working on a '34 Packard I had a number of years ago telling me that it's not exactly an oil cooler, more of an oil temperature regulator. It's designed to help the oil warm up faster in cold weather and keep the oil close to the coolant temperature all the time. More akin to the transmission coolers that run through the radiator. So I don't think that you'll see abnormally high oil temperatures without it, it might just take a little longer to warm up. I seem to recall the oil pan holds something like 10 quarts of oil, so I bet you could drive for a half-hour with that much oil and still dip your finger in it and not get burned. You're in no danger of cooking the oil in a low-stress motor like that and since you only drive in warm weather, the warm-up function is irrelevant.

 

For sealing it, you can probably solder a fitting onto the existing pipe or even use one of the swege-type fittings which do a pretty good job of sealing against copper as long as it's still round. Don't over-torque it, just snug should be enough to seat the ferrules.

 

Hope this helps!

Edited May 22, 2018 by Matt Harwood (see edit history)

[trimacar]

On the Pierce applications I've worked on, a thin gasket internal to housing seals it.  Thus, you have a gasket both inside and outside the housing...

[Owen_Dyneto]

Yes, as trimacar said,  you seal the ends with paper gaskets.  And as to worrying about oil temperatures being too high without the cooler,  I've driven my '34 about 40,000 miles with just a shunt in place and no engine problems.  

[Super8]

Thanks to all for the usual great assistance of this forum.