S2 Oil Cooler

[Race5103]

I am now repairing the oil cooler for the 2nd time in 7 years. Possibly since the earlier one was the first time for me I made a few mistakes, but either way I am fed up with repairing such a stupid design. I am an engineer so don't feel bad about saying that from an engineering standpoint just because you can doesn't mean you should. This is a beyond stupid feature for a car that already features aluminum fins on the oil pan and when air to oil coolers seem to work well even on the track.

I've been told a turbo uses an air to oil cooler that can simply be bolted on. But when I looked at schematics at the dealership it doesn't seem possible to me. Does anyone have any info on this change?

Lou

[Tom]

I am now repairing the oil cooler for the 2nd time in 7 years. Possibly since the earlier one was the first time for me I made a few mistakes, but either way I am fed up with repairing such a stupid design. I am an engineer so don't feel bad about saying that from an engineering standpoint just because you can doesn't mean you should. This is a beyond stupid feature for a car that already features aluminum fins on the oil pan and when air to oil coolers seem to work well even on the track.

I've been told a turbo uses an air to oil cooler that can simply be bolted on. But when I looked at schematics at the dealership it doesn't seem possible to me. Does anyone have any info on this change?

Lou

What car do you have? A 944s2? The turbo does have an external cooler/radiator, but there are also aftermarket oil cooler kits that probably offer more cooling. Is this for a track car?

[four0four]

I think the S2 has similarly an air-to-oil cooler as well, it's just a different core design (longer than tall, positioned horizontally on the right side) to the turbo's vertically oriented cooler.

I suppose it's not implausible someone deleted it and stuck an NA oil/water cooler on yours though.

Also plausible is that the oil console (where the filter, oprv, pressure sensor, thermostat, and takeoffs for oil cooler live) is still seeing coolant/oil mix...the engineering reason for that is simply the block design inherited from the NA!

To bolt on the turbo cooler you would need the oil console from a turbo, the cooler, and the hoses (these can be made up easily with AN lines/fittings, and M22->AN adapters on the console and the cooler).


Edit: whups, Tom beat me

[Race5103]

Thanks for the replies gents. I should have been more clear. The car is an S2 and there is no air/oil cooler on S2s there is just this troublesome water/oil cooler. The car is not a track car. Just a good old daily driver. The problem with oil mixing into the water is not small and is enormously messy to clean out. Then working on the cooler requires removing the exhaust manifold. I can't see a reason not to just try and delete the entire thing. The finned oil pan is already more cooling than 99.9% of cars on the road. But maybe when I remove everything AGAIN I will see a way to install an aftermarket air/oil system.

[Tom]

Thanks for the replies gents. I should have been more clear. The car is an S2 and there is no air/oil cooler on S2s there is just this troublesome water/oil cooler. The car is not a track car. Just a good old daily driver. The problem with oil mixing into the water is not small and is enormously messy to clean out. Then working on the cooler requires removing the exhaust manifold. I can't see a reason not to just try and delete the entire thing. The finned oil pan is already more cooling than 99.9% of cars on the road. But maybe when I remove everything AGAIN I will see a way to install an aftermarket air/oil system.

I thought the S2 did have an external oil cooler? Like this one:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/255277766857

For what it's worth, I have a 3 liter block in my turbo, and I used the 951 oil thermostat housing (no cooler) with a 951 external oil cooler -- all 951 parts and hoses. It all works just like it does on a 951. However, be aware that the 951 oil thermostat housing still has seals inside that can mix oil and coolant when they go bad, much like the n/a cars. You can read all about them here:

https://carpokes.com/viewtopic.php?p=3290

[Bergerac]

The S2 most certainly does have an external cooler, I just pulled mine off and cleaned it

[Race5103]

Maybe I should start again and I will look more closely at my car. But whether or not it has an external oil cooler isn't the issue. The issue is the possibility of removing the water/oil cooler which fails and is a pain to repair.

[Race5103]

Tom:
Thanks for the reply about the 951 system, but that is exactly what I am trying to get away from. The water/oil cooler makes no logical sense to me. Any possible benefits in my opinion are outweighed by the maintenance.

[Tom]

Tom:
Thanks for the reply about the 951 system, but that is exactly what I am trying to get away from. The water/oil cooler makes no logical sense to me. Any possible benefits in my opinion are outweighed by the maintenance.

The 951 has no oil/water cooler. It has an external air/oil cooler. But it connects to the block in the same place as the n/a cooler and therefore is equally vulnerable to mixing if the seals leak.

[Bergerac]

Maybe I should start again and I will look more closely at my car. But whether or not it has an external oil cooler isn't the issue. The issue is the possibility of removing the water/oil cooler which fails and is a pain to repair.

There is no water/oil cooler.