RPM Oil Cooler Done, Headers Done.

[racerrad8]

I hope to gawd there are others out there that have thought the same, but are too frightened to ask...

No, I am glad you did, and I am happy to answer the questions or concerns you have. I hope there isn't anybody out there that is afraid to ask any question about anything I make or supply. I take pride in making products that work better than stock, look better than stock and not create additional problems for anyone down the line.

But - headers fitted, and all that money spent, to have oil line fittings resting on the headers?  How long before the heat damages stuff / discolors / or the nice blue alloy cracks with the heat?  With the lines now sitting against 2 headers (or near as), the chance of 2 hot spots is (I say) fairly big.

I can honestly say I had not looked closely at the pictures posted in this thread, but after you comments/concerns I went back and looked.

I see that the hose(s) might need to be turned away from the header by rotating the back towards the engine, but they do not appear to be touching as I can see the fitting in the reflection. It is difficult to see in these photos as they are from an angle.

I have had the cooler on my bike for over two years and have not had any issue with heat affecting the fittings/hoses and I live in Central California where we see summer temp above 100* on a regular basis.

Can I ask RPM why the design of the exiting line feeds are in this position (either end) and not machined in the center running down clear of the headers like the original cooler? If the cooler was made the same way, but the oil feed lines kept running central, then it'd still perform the same?

Is there an advantage to the lines being on the far corners of the cooler?  I can understand it to be better for if hot oil goes in the furthest away point, and "cooled" exits at the opposite furthest point.  But, does it not counteract by now being so close (or touching as these photos seem to show) the downpipes? As the exiting "cool" oil will be subjected to instant heat up when passing the header?

Actually both the O.E. cooler and the RPM cooler have the fittings at the far ends of the cooler. The fittings for the coolers are always placed at the ends to ensure proper oil flow and effect cooling. The O.E. cooler has the fittings manufactured combined with a specific hose at a 90* angle to the cooler. This allows the hose to travel horizontally across the top of the header before turning down in the center to the oil pan fittings. Also the O.E. is more than an 1" shorter than the RPM as it is only a five row cooler compared to a twelve row.

If the fittings were placed into the center of the cooler then the cooler would fill, but not use the outer portions of the cooler. The fittings must be at each end of the cooler to flow oil completely though the core and cool the oil.

If the lines were made shorter, and the feeds were made in the middle, you'd still get the nice easy connect, and the lines would run straight down, inbetween the biggest gap available which is the central space of the 2 inner headers.  But then I suppose you wouldn't have the distance between the entering oil, and the exiting.  So - I ask if that would be counteracted with the cooler having being made bigger?  Questions questions!

I tried several ways to get the cooler lines to run back down the center portion of the header when designing the cooler kit. But due to the increased height of the cooler and the fittings available for use, there is just not a good way to get the hoses across the top of the header to the center opening. I found that much more of the hose was exposed to more heat sources of the header when trying to get back to the center space to route the hoses downward. With the exclusion of having a propriety cooler made with specific fittings/attachments this is the kit in its form. I did contact the cooler manufacture about making me a specific cooler and they told me the minimum amount of coolers they would entertain in making was 2500, plus the design fees. We since I have introduced the RPM oil cooler kit I have sold 23 and there are four out there that were prototype/test kits. In that time I have had one bad fitting which required a hose to be replaced, but it leaked at installation. So, I see no time in the future where I could ever justify the manufacture of 2500 coolers.

During the testing of the cooler, I rode with my infrared heat gun and would take temps of the fitting at stops. I can tell you that the fitting and headers at that point are in a great source of air flow and there was never a temperature I observed that caused any concern for me regarding a heat issue on the fitting or hose.

I hope I have answered your questions and addressed your concerns. If you, or anyone else for that matter, have further questions or concerns please let me know.

Randy - RPM

[aviationfred]

I had similar thoughts about the AN fittings being close to the headers. Thank you Randy for your great response.

I do have a question, Has the thought of a 90 degree AN fitting been considered, and if used, would the hoses be long enough?

Fred

[racerrad8]

Has the thought of a 90 degree AN fitting been considered, and if used, would the hoses be long enough?

Fred

Fred,

I did try and use a variety of fitting to make is work. The 90* fitting will only allow the hose to point forward around the header and straight back toward the engine. The issue with going straight back was the hose actually contacted the head/cylinder area and made the have to make more turns & twists.

This also could lead to hose failure due to rubbing. Believe me, I tried a variety of fittings & configurations and the 30 & 60* fitting were the best routing for the hoses. I think Pat's bike might even have the 45* fitting hoses still on it...

Randy - RPM

[Anti-Dive Dave]

Mr Randy wrote: "I hope I have answered your questions and addressed your concerns. If you, or anyone else for that matter, have further questions or concerns please let me know".

YES SIR! - MANY thanks for such an explanatory explanation (does that even make sense?  Can there be such a phrase?  Well, I guess there is now!)

I'm humbled you took the time to write all that, and in such a "polite" way too.  I was expecting a bombardment of electronic flak!

Again, my sincere thanks for setting my mind at rest!

David.

[racerman_27410]

i have the setrab 10 row cooler and made up my own lines.  Not sure how much cooling difference between a 10 row and a 12 row as they are both larger than the stock cooler but Randy makes it easy with the nice kit and i really like the built in thermostat on his cooler.... it takes my FJ quite awhile to come up to operating temps in the cooler months since the setrab does not have this feature.


circa 2001.....




KOokaloo!

[X-Ray]

Yep, no part of the hose or fittings actually touches the headers, and as you have mentioned, I was a little confused also as to why the oil lines were not designed to follow the original tucked in oil lines, but after reading Randys explanation I understand why.  I am going to find one of those oil temp gauges that screw in to the filler hole just for reference, but after having just done 1100 kms on our 3 day Aussie Rally, the cooler passed with flying colours. There may be a way to purchase different fittings etc and route the hoses exactly how you would like, (as Flips has done with his oil cooler lines), but I'm happy with the way it works. I'll see if I can take a clearer pic of the lines.

Big thumbs up from me,  

[X-Ray]

I see that the hose(s) might need to be turned away from the header by rotating the back towards the engine, but they do not appear to be touching as I can see the fitting in the reflection. It is difficult to see in these photos as they are from an angle.

Randy - RPM

Actually after looking just now at the hoses I could probably turn them a little more so they are pointing more straight back to the engine, instead of the 45 degree angle I have them on now. I haven't used these fittings before so can they be undone/retightened again without damaging the seal etc? Thought I'd better check before I undo them,

[racerrad8]

Yes, they can be used over & over again. Loosen the fittings and rotate them away from header. No issue at all.

Randy - RPM

[X-Ray]

What would we do without you Randy,
Thanks Kindly,