Adding a sandwich type oil warmer to the Mirage
 

I am thinking about adding a VW TDI sandwich type oil warmer/cooler to my 2014 Mitsubishi Mirage. Why? Because oil temperature warm up lags behind engine coolant temperatures. Warmer oil reduces pumping losses and lower viscosity obviously has its advantages in engine efficiency. Add that to the fact that all the Honda high mileage vehicles had these (VX, HX, Insight), and it lends some real credibility that there is a benefit. We had a lengthy discussion on the topic here started by Oil Pan with some great info in it:

Fast warm up ideas: Oil to coolant heat exchanger

A few years ago, I swapped out the engine in my sister's TDI with one that didn't have a broken timing belt. I kept a bunch of parts off the old engine, and parted out the rest of it. Amongst those parts was the sandwich plate oil warmer/cooler that all TDIs of that era (ALH engine) have. So, I am thinking about slapping it on the 'ol Mirage. Here is what it looks like:

https://c1552172.ssl.cf0.rackcdn.com/993960_x800.webp



How does this work? Basically, you unscrew your oil filter, then screw this thing on, and then screw your oil filter on to the sandwich cooler. You also have to route some coolant lines to the cooler. As the oil is pumped through the filter, the engine coolant flows through the warmer/cooler and heats things up (and cools once the oil exceeds coolant temps). Its a pretty nifty little device. Here is a picture of the one on a 2001 Honda Insight. The coolant lines aren't hooked up in the picture.

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...1&d=1484320996



This is the part I have below. So, there is a slight hang up. Notice, no filter screwed to the cooler? Its just a bolt that holds it on.

https://ecomodder.com/forum/attachme...1&d=1540906482



Typically, there is a tube that threads into block to hold the cooler on. That tube also has threads to hold your oil filter on. This is not so in the case of the VW TDI. Therefore, I need to make or buy this threaded tube. This is what it will look like:

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...1&d=1484406303



However, I really haven't been able to find this type of bolt anywhere yet. I know the filter thread for the Mirage is M20x1.5. However, finding threaded parts that large isn't the easiest. So, I am looking for suggestions on how to make this part.

I thought first about taking a 3/4" tube and M20x1.5 die and just threading it. However, that really doesn't leave a ton of thread as M20 is larger than 3/4".

My next thought is to purchase a super cheap oil filter sandwich plate, and take the threaded part out of there, cut it and extend it. But, I'm quite open to other ideas.

https://ecomodder.com/forum/attachme...1&d=1540908534

It's always amusing to me how performance guys see this as an "oil cooler" and we EcoModders see it as an "oil warmer." :)

Have you considered adding an oil temperature gauge, y'know, for science?

I put one of these on my firebird.
Imo the oil warms up about twice as fast according to the pressure gauge.

Yep, I have. I'm not exactly sure where I'd put it though. If you're going to nerd out, you'd like one in the pan and then after the heater to see how much its really doing.

I do like Oil Pan's method of using a pressure gauge to monitor things too. Its straight forward and tells you when the oil is thinning out.

A vw cooled exhaust manifold would be nice. They heat up very fast.

I've read mixed reviews of the oil temp senders that replace a drain plug, since they are in a vulnerable location and read the coldest oil in the system. I'm thinking the best method would be one of those long probes, mounted a little higher on the sump pan and in the rear for protection from the wind. It would read warmer oil that way.

But oil pressure is a decent proxy for what you're after. In fact, it might be useful for other things like determining the ideal oil viscosity and checking whether the pressure relief valve works correctly. :thumbup:

I'll just point out that Honda actually dropped this device from the insight MY2003 and on and nobody seems to be able to detect a milage difference between these later cars and the MY2000-2002.

Same reaction! I actually had a cooler on my car before, for track use... not that it made a huge difference to how long I could stay out, because my brakes would cook well before my oil!

is it just a threaded rod, or an exact replica of the one in the picture?

It could be a threaded rod with a nut, but it would have to be a threaded rod that is drilled out. The center of the tube is used to pass oil through it.

I would imagine the mileage difference is mainly during the warm up period. After that, I can actually see the now 'cooler' hurting things. If the oil can't get as warm as before, it will actually keep the oil slightly thicker. Great if you have short trips, maybe not as great if you typically have long trips?

Probably depends on how much of an effect the thing has on oil temps once everything is warmed up. Oil is not great at transferring heat, so things like oil coolers need to see a big temperature delta to be effective.

Google tells me that the ideal coolant temperature is 195-220°F. Oil is also pretty happy at that temperature range -- it's driving out any water and fuel dilution, but not hot enough for the additives to break down yet.

I think the concern in your post loops back around to the usefulness of checking the oil pressure. If the car spec'd 0W20 originally, but you find that there is plenty of oil pressure even on hot highway runs, you could experiment with 0W16. :thumbup:

I should be able to get some tubing turned down, you would still have to thread it though and probably buy the nut.

What wall thickness do you need/want? We have a lathe at my school I can use, I just have to find a rod/tube that can be used.

Fastenal sells nuts in that size, 2.54 or 3.15 a piece.
Fastenal hyperlink

Using Honda parts would make it a lot easier. Same thread size!

Thanks Matt! That is very generous. I will let you know if I need something made up. I am still trying to figure out if this thing will fit. It looks like it might be very tight, or I may need to remove this chute thing from the Mirage's engine block to get clearance to mount it. Here is a picture from the block heater installation instructions that shows what I'm talking about. A circular warmer would probably work fine, but a square one... I dunno.

https://mirageforum.com/forum/attach...2&d=1540908359

Is this similar to what you are talking about?

https://www.sneedparts.com/oem-parts...SABEgKxBPD_BwE

Since I saw this post I have been looking for something that might fit my Jeep.

Yeah, that is the same thing. They are mostly called a cooler because once the oil does warm up, the engine coolant cools it down.

Ah ok. It was hard finding one that actually used coolant. I think it would work particularly well warming up oil with a higher temperature thermostat and a block heater.

Yes, it certainly would. However, I don't have a spare one kicking around. :)

One of the MirageForum members just eased my mind about the oil warmer also being a oil cooler. He does have the 1.0L, but I don't see that making a big difference. Here is his test data:

My Subaru Outback xt has one from factory it sits between the filter and block. Though that car is far from efficient being an awd wagon with a 2.5l turbo

I would imagine OEMs use them on turbocharged engines to help prevent coking issues.

Dang, now I'm wishing I had one for my Subaru! :thumbup:

Yeah it’s used as a cooler to prevent coking not warm up the oil but I’m sure it does a little of both. It would be easy for you to add one all the ej Subaru blocks have the same external dimensions all you would have to do is install the cooler and the fitting in the block, there is on hard line and three rubber 90 degree hoses possibly put a different water pump on idk if you’re pump would have the fitting the coolant pipe goes to

Good to know Subaruwagon! One more source for possible parts. Thanks.

Aaaand, a quick google search finds us this. $15 shipped. Not bad at all. I just have to figure out if its the same thickness as the VW cooler.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/02-05-Subar...4:pf:0&vxp=mtr

https://ecomodder.com/forum/attachme...1&d=1541208004

I found a bunch of them on the Flexalite website:

https://www.flex-a-lite.com/flex-a-l...mm-thread.html

I have one in the up!
Heats up the coolant really fast, so in turn, that should heat up the oil pretty quickly, too !

I am curious if grille blocking is a nono if one has one of those.

My mothers passat heats up very quickly aswell.

As always, watch engine temperatures when blocking the grille !

In my country engine coolant is NEVER changed. I wonder if it is cooked and needs more frequent changes.

I've heard that it needs to be changed at least every 7 years. Coolant can become very acidic (perhaps from the breakdown of hydrocarbons) and corrode your engine.

When I got my 1990 Mercury in August 2014, it had coolant as brown as mud and I changed the coolant about 5 - 6 weeks later; now the coolant has brown flakes floating around.

Last night I removed the oil cooler/warmer from the VW oil filter assembly thing (not mine, but the image below).

https://ecomodder.com/forum/attachme...1&d=1540906482



I think I may be able to reuse the bolt that held it on as an extension tube. I am thinking I will cut off the inner tube, and weld an M20 nut, or a cut up an oil filter (for the female threads) to the end of it. That should create the extension that I need. We will see. Its cold out and the motivation isn't all there, thus no actual pictures. :)

https://mirageforum.com/forum/attach...3&d=1543326068

While I figure out the oil warmer mounting situation, I would also like to look at the coolant plumbing. The coolant system in the Mirage is pretty simple. There are two lines coming off the head. One goes to the throttle body to warm it up, and the other goes to the heater core to provide heat to the cabin. I can tee into either of these to run in parallel, or run the oil warmer in series with either of these items.

I'm not quite sure what I would like to do yet, but I am thinking that running it in series with the throttle body would be a good idea. It can go inline before the throttle and be fine. The throttle body uses much smaller hose than the heater core, but I really don't think that the oil warmer needs THAT much flow. Its sized for 5/8" heater hose which seems a bit overkill. If you look at the Honda oil warmer / cooler, it has a much smaller coolant hose size going to it. The other perk with using the throttle body hose is the proximity to the oil heater. They're literally right next to each other, so the hose runs would be short.

https://ecomodder.com/forum/attachme...1&d=1543416832



https://ecomodder.com/forum/attachme...1&d=1543416844

Alright, I cleaned up the oil warmer and the bolt from the VW. Here are some pictures.

https://mirageforum.com/forum/attach...4&d=1543586499

https://mirageforum.com/forum/attach...5&d=1543586516

https://mirageforum.com/forum/attach...6&d=1543586529

https://mirageforum.com/forum/attach...7&d=1543586541



And, with some brake cleaner, they got a bit cleaner.

The oil warmer measures a couple inches thick. I took a look at the oil filter placement, and there is room in front of it chassis wise. But, the lower radiator hose is going to be right in the way. Its definitely going to hit. I think it may fit by pushing the hose out of the way, but I think it'll be tight. Perhaps I can make a bracket to pull the radiator hose out of the way? We'll see. This is the next thing to look into.

https://mirageforum.com/forum/attach...8&d=1543586579

I think running them in series (oil warmer and throttle body) is a good and simple solution.

I messed with things tonight. I found out that the VW bolt / tube thingy is a 3/4-16 thread, not a M20x1.5 like the OE Mirage filter uses. I'm thinking about just switching to a 3/4-16 filter though. I can't imagine there is much difference. What do you guys think? The filters for my Prius spin right on, and they're a little shorter too...

Funny I saw this today because I plan on doing just the opposite this afternoon, pull the oil cooler off my kid's 2007 Impala cop car. It's leaking like crazy from somewhere on that line and the cooler is only used on the 9C1 police package with the V6. (The SS V8 also has one). I only hope it is as easy to remove as these pictures show. My 2003 6.0 GMC also has one of these I think is where my oil leak is on that as well, but as it tows I think it's worth fixing. I hadn't thought of adding an oil warmer to that, that may be a good idea if I need to cut a leaking line out anyway.

Well the Impala one came off no sweat and as a bonus didn't require and additional parts and drained less than 1/2 quart of oil. Pull the filter, put a 1" deep socket on the "nut" of the threaded sleeve the oil filter threads onto. Tread that out and under it was the regular factory "nut" and filter post was underneath. So just move it out of the way and thread the filter back on. I do see a NOS factory system is $600 on ebay (the list on the part is $950!), so maybe we should pull it all off and clean it up and try and get $100 for it. This style doesn't work as a warmer as it has it's own little air cooled radiator mounted in front of the regular radiator so there is no warm coolant covering the coils. Here's what the ebay one looks like https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/F7wAA...jH/s-l1600.jpg