My type R engine in my 92 civic hatch has always run really really hot and today after trying to screw around with my cooling system I opted to remove the B&M engine oil cooler from my car.

I felt that it was constricting the air flow to the radiator and thus causing the engine to run hotter than it should.

To make a long story short I removed it but kept the stock type r coolant based oil cooler in place.

Anyone here feel that I should have kept the B&M oil cooler in place? I don't race but I do occasionally drive the car hard and the temps in my climate aren't overly hot for the most part.

Thanks

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by stevescivic &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">My type R engine in my 92 civic hatch has always run really really hot and today after trying to screw around with my cooling system I opted to remove the B&M engine oil cooler from my car.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Shoulda left the oil cooler in.



Regardless, what was running hot about it? Water, oil, OEM gauge? When was it hot?

 

Why dont you mount it on the firewall with an electric fan hooked up to it? that way if it does start heating up you can switch the fan on and cool the oil slightly.. less lines too. And thus not restricting airflow to the radiator?

 

car temps never rise above the normal levels.

The engine is hot b/c I can't even touch it after I've driven it like I can with my friend's civic SiR.

Plus on warmer days when I drive my car around the idle begins to misfire and the idle speed begins to drop to ridculously low rpm's to the point of nearly stalling.

When its cool out the car seems to never run poorly.

I found the B&M cooler somewhat of a pain b/c the hoses were starting to leak on them.

thanks

 

I don't think you really have a cooling problem. If you don't road race, you could remove it if it's leaking. The sandwich plate thing is kind of a pain in the ***

 

yeah I never street race for long. Maybe the odd drag here and there but its always at night and it generally is quite cool at that time.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by stevescivic &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">car temps never rise above the normal levels.

The engine is hot b/c I can't even touch it after I've driven it like I can with my friend's civic SiR.

Plus on warmer days when I drive my car around the idle begins to misfire and the idle speed begins to drop to ridculously low rpm's to the point of nearly stalling.

When its cool out the car seems to never run poorly.

I found the B&M cooler somewhat of a pain b/c the hoses were starting to leak on them.

thanks</TD></TR></TABLE>

I don't think the "touch test" is an accurate gauge of engine temps. Get an accurate oil and water temp gauge if you're serious. If the stock gauge says the temps are fine, then they most likely are.

I don't think that the little B&M cooler would restrict airflow to your rad enough to cause a problem. Have you checked the other little things that could be causing your problem? Thermostat, plugs, distributor, wires, etc....

IMO, if the car doesn't stall, who cares where it idles? Just burns less gas, that's all.

The reason you notice that it "runs better" when it is cold out is most likely related to the ambient air temps being lower. Cooler air is denser and has more oxygen in it. If this is the case you could try a hondata IM gasket.

Removing the cooler was probably a good idea for you. The ongoing maintenance associated with after market gizmos is not worth it if you're not going to use them.

 

actually the oil cooler sits in front of my a/c condenser. The problem I had with it being mounted there was that it didn't allow my a/c to work right. In fact my a/c almost never cooled right unless I was driving on the highway.

The honda radiator and a/c condenser are quite small and the b&m oil cooler occupies probably 1/3 of the total height of the a/c condenser which for a/c is a bad thing.

In any case it was quite warm today and I drove it around and my a/c now works properly. My car drives fine except the odd time when I pull up to a light and the idle gets really really low (like 550-600 rpm low). I just blip the gas pedal and it sorta recovers back to idling at around 900-1000 rpm. When it gets hot it almost acts like its misfiring and thus has difficulty holding a steady idle.

I'll drive around for a few more days as its supposed to get hotter over the next little bit.

thanks for replies!