Installing an oil cooler on the 3.3/3.8 presents a few problems, mainly the lack of any remote oil lines. The best (and only) real solution to this is a remote filter kit (expensive, and the filter is already in a really good place), or an oil cooler adaptor that mounts between the filter and the block... they are commonly called a "sandwich plate".

The sandwich plate solution works very well, as a few cars come equipped with them from the factory. However, they can cost anywhere from $85-$140, the solution I stumbled upon will cost less than 50 bucks total.

Instead of buying some unknown product on ebay or something, why not just spend ten bucks on one from a junkyard? If it came off of a car that originally came with it, it probably works pretty good, right? All you need is the sandwich plate and the longer threaded tube the filter spins onto, the tube threads into the block.

By now I may have caught the interest of a few people, but you're probably wondering what car this part can be found on... I got this one off of an '89 Volvo 740 turbo w/ intercooler with the B230FT engine (the four banger), all turbo Volvo cars before '89 use this piece, after that, the sandwich plate is swapped for a remote filter adapter (I'll try that later). It uses a very similar oil filter... the threads are the same (3/4X16), and the o-ring seal on the filter is the same size. A really nice feature is the integrated thermostat, this prevents overcooling the oil, and oil starvation on startup.

This is what I got off the car. Not a huge load of stuff, just enough to get the job done. I removed the fittings for the metal cooler lines, and made my own from parts at Lowe's. The sandwich plate uses 3/8" FLARE fittings, NOT iron pipe thread. Unfortunately, I was unable to obtain a 3/8" flare to 3/8" hose barb, so I had to use two. I used four fittings (five if you include the plug) for the feed side, so I can add a temp sensor later.

expand

expand

I lost the seal for the sandwich plate when I took it off the car, so I had to get another one. Don't lose this damn thing! They are impossible to find. If you do lose it, or the original is damaged, you can get one from a Fram PH8212 oil filter. just pull it out of the filter and set it in the sandwich plate.

expand

expand

expand

expand

I had a spare oil cooler laying around, so I'll use this one. A six-pass cooler (of this design) is adequate, so I'm using an eight-pass cooler. I like overkill. I used copper pipe holders as mounting tabs, you can get them at Lowe's in the plumbing section. I'm using 3/8" transmission cooler hose to hook up the oil cooler, it's about $1.25 a foot at autozone (you won't find it cheaper).

expand

expand

You might as well do this during an oil change. The firts thing to do would be to drain the oil and remove the filter. With the filter removed, unscrew the filter stud using the "sandwich nut" method... use two nuts screwed together to remove the stud.

expand

expand

remove the two nuts from the stock filter stud, and transfer them to the longer filter stud. You can save the stock filter stud if you want, but you won't need it again for this project.

expand

expand

Install the longer filter stud using the sandwich nut method.

expand

Put a teensy bit of RTV or "high tack" on the sandwich plate seal, and set it into the sandwich plate. You only need enough to keep it from falling off, don't smother it.

expand

Mount the sandwich plate to the block, and secure it with the nut. The original nut will need a 1 3/16" deep socket, a wrench will be troublesome. Install the oil lines, and route them to where the heat exchanger will be. Make sure fo secure them before driving the car, you don't want them rubbing on things.

expand

expand

Install the heat exchanger in a good location... the orientation is up to you, but I chose to have the fittings pointing up. I did it this way to keep the dipstick accurate. If there is a reason not to do this (besides retaining old oil during an oil change), please let me know.

expand

Install the oil filter and fill the crankcase to the proper level.

expand

Run the engine, and check for leaks. Pay extra attention to where the fittings thread into the sandwich plate... both fittings leaked on me, despite teflon tape and wrenching them really tight. Once the oil got on the threads, they bottomed out easily, and the leak stopped.

One thing I should mention is to do your very best to find 3/8" flare to 3/8" or 1'2" barb fittings. A 90 degree elbow would be ideal, due to clearance issues. It wasn't a big deal making everything fit, it's just something to consider for a cleaner install.

4-11-07
My transmission likes to get hot, so I upgraded the oil cooler yet again. I couldn't fit one that would be big enough back there, so I stacked two smaller ones and hooked them together... combined, it's a 10-pass cooler.

expand

Page 1: Main page
Page 2: Engine rebuild/upgrades
Page 3: Power seat installation
Page 4: EVIC installation and features
Page 5: Brake upgrades
Page 6: Susspension
Page 7: Hydraulic roller lifters
Page 8: You are here
Page 9: Electronics (in progress)