I think I have the oil cooler plumbing figured out

[JaBey]

I just had one qustion that I didn't see anyone else address. The exhaust manifold it typically the hottest piece on any engine, yet in your diagram, the oil cooler and lines would be placed very close to the manifold and header pipes. It almost seems that any temp reduction produced will be offset as it passes a super heated metal line next to the header. But it was a rough draw so maybe I just misunderstood.

[Lucky]

the lines could easily go in front of the pipes, especialy on a faired Visuon.  the other design Rick mentioned, comes out of the cover, coils a few times (or just "SS's) and goes right back in.  I'm favoriung this method.

[jone]

what about the cooler line size,shoud it be at least same size
as the hole in the filter case?
if its the main oil pressure chanel you are going to use,would
smaller diameter line choke the oil flow?
heard that many xz:s have oil problems,at least in Finland
dont know is it about pressure or heat or what,but several
bikes have had engine failures because of oil problem.
other thing is the exhaust pipes,they go very near to oilpan,
i think they might heat the oil too, at least when not driving
highway.

[Lucky]

one of the things i'll be trying to do is match or increase the passage size (approx 9mm) it might be tough to do, we'll see...
--Lucky

[Lucky]

I got the plugs back from the machine shop today, a little less finely finished than I would have liked, but wholy acceptable. I had to take some fine emery paper to the flat end to make a bit of a champher to start it straight, but that's fine, i'd rather it was a bit oversize.

I have one halfway installed on my spare cover. there are pics of that & the plugs on the cooler page: http://www.xz550.com/oil_gallery.html

I have enough plugs to do 20 coolers

For the "out" fitting on the cover I looked at all sorts of brass fittings and decieded that this is not the way to go.  there would be too much of a compromise between I.D. and how much meat would need to be removed on the boss on the case.

I think a better way to go would be a piece of steel tubing (brake line) pressed in.  I have no experience doing this, but it should be pretty straight forward I imagine.  any suggestions? epoxy on the outside? Also, the end would need to be flaired...

so, new comments?

[ArrrGeee]

Hmmm....
I believe brass or stainless barb fittings go down to 1/16 npt. or smaller.  Thats fairly small, I don't know what diameter hole you are working with but I wouldn't write it off just yet.
there are specialty fitting companys that make very small fittings and pipe nipples for this kind of application.
I know there isn't much room but you really want something threaded into that hole, preferably stainless steel.

The other option means having pieces made up (brake line is too soft) and then taking the case to a machine shop to install it, and also risking the case cracking if the fit isn't right.

here is a link to a company that carries small fittings brass or stainless.
http://www.microgroup.com/


-Ron

[Lucky]

The reason I ddin't go with any brass fittings from the hardware store (and this is an "old yankees" hardware store) is that the brass fittings were too thick-walled. In order to keep the ID anywhere near original, the OD would have to be minimum 1/2", and the threaded portion even larger.

Brake line was a first idea because it's cheap, readily available and available without having to buy 6 ft sections..
I figured the fitting itself would be around an inch & 1/2 long, including the pressed in part, so I wasn't too worried about it being soft.

I played with the pricing on the link you provided, and $25 for 2 ft of 9mm ID stainless tubing is reasonable too, I don't have the $$ for it now though, so I might experiment with brake line for the reasons listed above. (read cheap!:) )

BTW, I still need a oil filter cap (with o-ring & screws) if anyone out there has one.

--Lucky

[jasonm.]

When dealing with hoses and fittings. Any type of fitting that has a hose clamped on it, has an i.d. of at least 25% less than the hose. Flow restriction...So a 3/8" hose would be on a fitting that has an i.d. of about 1/4"...not good! Also there is only one flat surface on the oil filter cover that a fitting can be tapped into. Plus the cover is not very thick. You CANNOT put a fitting on the rounded side of the cover...it will leak! I have a cover tapped(1/4npt) to check oil pressure when working on a Vision. Cannot give it up just yet. ?Also by design , oil coolers do lessen pressure some.

[Lucky]

Ok, here's what i've come up with:

The plug removed from the case mesured 385" at it's smallest OD (tapered)
the plug for the oil filter feed measures .359 (so that's my Ideal minium ID)
The ID of the fitting I found today for the oil "out" fitting is .280 giving a reduction of.079.  Less than 25%

I'll post details & pics of the fitting soon.
It's Napa part #90-552 3/8" double barb hose coupler

It should go in with a few carefully placed hits with a plastic mallot.  All but two of the barbs will be removed from one end so that the boss on the fitting mates up with the boss on the case.. It could be secured in with epoxy putty.

I also went to the junk yard (on the muddiest day of the year mind you) and pulled a power steering cooler off a Ford Sable. it's kind of long, the ID is .268 (about 25% reduction) and it's a simple curved tube

--Lucky

[Lucky]

The page has been updated with pics of the exit fitting installed, and the Ford cooler: http://www.xz550.com/oil_gallery.html

Really all I have left to do is fully install the plug & fitting, find a filter cap & install a 90 degree 3/8 ID bulkhead fitting, replace the crank seal in the cover, mount the cooler, cover & lines and test it out.

Of course, I need to get my bike running first, lol (stator, R/R & Rebuild the new carbs)

--Lucky

[jasonm.]

Hey, we a splitting hairs here> .28" is just over .25" Question, is that fitting pressed in? Expect a reduction in pressure of 10-20% at a given oil temp vs. without the cooler. Coolers do differ on flow reduction. Lockharts I have tested are actually not as bad as others that make claims of no reduction of pressure(basically a lie). The "cooler" you have found will hardly reduce the temps significantly. "Pipe" coolers like what you have will only do a 5-15 degree reduction. Get a real cooler. I have 5...want to buy one? 2 are lockharts. one is an original Yamaha XS850 cooler.

[Lucky]

I hunted the entire junkyard for tube type coolers, all I could find were ?flat tube type coolers. ?I settled for the Sable cooler because it had a large enough inside diameter.

I don't want to buy a cooler just yet I want to experiment and see what kind of cooling I can get using the minimum amount of money and materials. ?I'm already into this for about $100 as it is, and I don't have a working cooler yet.

If you want to make me a deal then send me an ?email.

The brass fitting is pressed in with and barb and a half, I figured I'd set it in with epoxy.  The boss on the fitting keeps it square.

-- Lucky

[Walt_M.]

Hate to be a 'wet blanket' here with all the time, money and effort you've put into this but, when I hear the word 'epoxy' used in association with hot engine oil, I do not get the 'warm fuzzies'. Also, will the oil temperature reduction be enough to actually help extend stator life? I am thinking of getting some of those temperature sensing strips to put on my left side engine cover just to see if I can find out how hot it gets. I know mine runs really hot, probably the second hottest part on the engine.

[Lucky]

The fitting is pressed in very tightly, and the epoxy would just be a bit of insurance.. Weather that particular cooler makes enough of a differance, well, i'll have to do some testing & see...

I'd like to find a way to take oil tempuratures directly from either the exit side of the cooler, or the stator side of the case.  probably get ideas on that from Rick G.  directly from the oil, not the outside of the case.

I had another thought, adding fins to the oil filter cap mat add some additional cooling as well, and probably not too hard to do... but one project at a time.
--Lucky