Well, I got to thinking (a dangerous situation) and began to wonder if a oil cooler was a worthwhile investment. I am assuming that by having one, the oil is kept at a lower temperature overall, thereby extending oil life? Am I missing an important feature?

Also, I was thinking about remote oil pump/reservoir arrangements. I'd like something along these lines, as I really hate the idea of my oil sloshing and getting blown onto the cylinder walls during extreme rpm situations. Being that the 2.8 doesn't have such a huge following (as far as popular aftermarket parts go...) is there anyone who makes a kit like this? I think it would be pretty handy. Not to mention, it would free up a bit of room under there...

Ramblings!

Steve

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Where you thinking of something like this?
http://www.calgaryfieros.com/OSGdocs/mod.windage-tray.html

quote Originally posted by The Funkmaster: Well, I got to thinking (a dangerous situation) and began to wonder if a oil cooler was a worthwhile investment. I am assuming that by having one, the oil is kept at a lower temperature overall, thereby extending oil life? Am I missing an important feature? Steve

Generally engine oil coolers are used on high performance/race cars to keep the oil below a certain temp. The term "oil coolers" can also apply to transmission oil coolers, which are standard on all cars equipped with automatic trannys.
You could also probably benefit from one if you had a turbo. Problem is, on a Fiero, they need to be in the airstream, which means up front, so you would have to run oil lines all the way back to the engine. You could put one closer and use an auxillary fan.
This would seem a lot of trouble to me for a stock Fiero, especially with today's modern synthetic oils which have a very high temp rating............Paul

Totally forgot about turbos. Thanks mate! Now it all makes sense... Excellent. Thanks!

Steve

here's a link to a thread with pics of an oil cooler/remote sump install on my '84 track car. the cooler is in the trunk, with a cutout covered by mesh so it gets air. the accu-sump is in passenger footwell (basically, it is a pressured reservoir). on a street car, this stuff would be overkill.

https://www.fiero.nl/forum/Forum2/HTML/074171.html

In my opinon they are not worth the effort unless you're running a turbo and then with a lot of boast. I have an intercooled turbo 2.8 and lots of other mods and my engine runs nice and cool. If you look at our sight 'trueleo.com' you'll see the oilcooler setup on my sons MR2 turbo. That 2.0 4banger made over like 540 HP and revied to 13,000 so it needed one along with the dry sump setup. Your money and labor would be better spent elsewhere, but thats just my thoughts on it.

My oil cooler works great.
Fits easily into the Fiero Warehouse full side panel scoop. (They can be mounted on the driver or passenger side with no problems.)
Aids in keeping the engine cooler AND the engine compartment is cooler as well.

For $45 at Summit Racing it's not that expensive and works very well.
http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.asp?autofilter=1&part=BMM%2D7 0265&N=4294888847+115&autoview=sku

(NOTE: You will need to get a remote oil filter kit in order to put the cooler inline.
You can get one for the 2.8L/3.1L/3.4L V-6's here: http://www.northernautoparts.com/ProductModelDetail.cfm?ProductModelId=9481 )



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Happiness isn't around the corner...
Happiness IS the corner.
ZZ4 Powered !!

[This message has been edited by Oreif (edited 06-21-2006).]

You can get an oil-water cooler from any 91-93 3.4 DOHC. It will bolt right up to the 2.8. You might have to get creative with the coolant lines (plumb them into the heater system..) or they might work as is, not sure.

The 3.4 DOHC cooler gets its water out of the block here (note the block is upside down in this pic):

If you're lucky your 2.8 will just have a plug there and you can replace it with a hose fitting.

The coolant outlet from the cooler goes directly back to the water pump. If the 2.8 water pump has an extra inlet you could just use that, otherwise you'll have to T into something else.


You can also get a similar cooler on ebay; make sure you ask for it with the 18mm adapter nut:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/XTRA-HD-Water-to-Engine-Oil-Cooler-PH8A-3-4-16-New_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ46095QQihZ019QQitemZ8077051944

I don't really think the cooler necessary on a 2.8. My 3.4 DOHC needs it; up in the canyons and at the track my oil gets too hot. I don't think the 2.8 is powerful enough to make enough heat even in racing conditions.

Good advice above concerning oil coolers. I'll add two comments:

1) Before you go to the trouble of buying and installing an oil cooler, invest in an oil temperature gauge. It will tell you your actual oil temperatures, and then you can decide whether or not you need a cooler. If your oil temperature almost always stays below 220 F, you probably don't need a cooler. True synthetic oils can run even hotter without problems.

2) If you install an external oil cooler, do yourself a favor and install a thermostat as well ... as close to the engine block as possible. Ideal oil temperature is around 190 to 200 F, and it is counterproductive to be pumping cold oil (below 180 F) through an external cooler, especially in winter.

Forget about converting any Fiero engine to dry sump lubrication. Even if it were relatively easy to do (it's not ... been there, done that), the marginal benefits would not justify the added complexity. If you are concerned about oil starvation during aggressive driving, look into something available off the shelf like Accusump, which will also provide prestart oiling as an added benefit.

[This message has been edited by Marvin McInnis (edited 06-22-2006).]

You guys are pros! Thanks for all the replies, very very helpful!