Delete oil cooler?

[L31MaxExpress]

Plus he lives in hot as balls TX.

Yep in bumper to bumper traffic over the asphalt I have seen ambient sensor behind the grille in some of my vehicles read 115°F and more during the heat of the day.

 

[L31MaxExpress]

On a hot day in september of 2014. Pre oil cooler.

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A couple of days later still in the heat wave after swapping out the radiator for a 454/8.1 core and adding the oil cooler. Looks like they were taken about 70 miles apart. 85,95x vs 86,029. I ran almost all highway at the time to and from work. Funny that it appears that it used a needles width of gas, lol. For those always bashing my 18-19 mpg highway that I frequently observed as impossible. I think the first picture was probably a Saturday after working, swapped the radiator on a Sunday and the second picture was after my commute on a Monday. I was ~70 miles round trip everyday. Van got driven alot because the Titan got about 15 mpg on premium and the van would get 18-19 on 87.

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[L31MaxExpress]

Maybe van's don't have quite the airflow trucks do?

They are worse than a truck for sure. You still do not see vans with electric fans from GM.

I found out all these years fighting airflow, the OEM condensor that was a solid 2" wide was a big culprit in the lack of airflow. Swapped a modern thinner micro tube parallel flow on it and instantly the fans are drawing 2x the airflow.

This is with 6,000 cfm worth of 16" Flexalite flex wave fans. Low/High speed OEM style 3 relay harness from BP Engineering. The fans move pretty good CFM even on low speed now.

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[454cid]

On a hot day in september of 2014. Pre oil cooler.

You must be registered for see images attach

A couple of days later still in the heat wave after swapping out the radiator for a 454/8.1 core and adding the oil cooler. Looks like they were taken about 70 miles apart. 85,95x vs 86,029. I ran almost all highway at the time to and from work. Funny that it appears that it used a needles width of gas, lol. For those always bashing my 18-19 mpg highway that I frequently observed as impossible. I think the first picture was probably a Saturday after working, swapped the radiator on a Sunday and the second picture was after my commute on a Monday. I was ~70 miles round trip everyday. Van got driven alot because the Titan got about 15 mpg on premium and the van would get 18-19 on 87.

You must be registered for see images attach

Are you sure the old radiator wasn't partially plugged? The after picture looks like it's running low, which is the way some GM gauges run.

 

[1998_K1500_Sub]

Definitely deleting the hoses. Alloy Works sells a four row radiator that it says "dramatically increases surface area" that enebles "the heat to dissipate 35 to 45% more efficently than stock" It has a transmission cooler and is $299

What you're after, with an oil cooler during towing, is shedding the heat added to the oil due to spinning the engine at higher RPM. Engine temperature / radiator capacity isn't the focus, although it's certainly important; I suspect the OEM radiator would suit you fine if it's in good condition.

With limited towing, the use of synthetic oils and / or more frequent oil changes will get the job done w/o the oil cooler.

A 180deg thermostat won't buy you much if anything. That topic was covered about a month ago in another thread.

 

[L31MaxExpress]

Are you sure the old radiator wasn't partially plugged? The after picture looks like it's running low, which is the way some GM gauges run.

I run a 170°F thermostat. OE radiator was clean, just too small and thin to keep it cool. It ran hot from the time it had 13K on it and was a year old. The replacement had a 3" wider core that was 2x as thick. Dual core vs Single core.

 

[Wozny]

What did you have to do to get it to bolt on? Was the new one meant for another Chevy? I’ve got a 92 with a 5.7, would it fit on that? I just finished replacing my adapter gaskets and replaced the quick couplers with standard brass flare fittings. Just flared the AC Delco aluminum tubes. The radiator fittings I just replaced the O rings. No leaks!

 

[Wozny]

They are worse than a truck for sure. You still do not see vans with electric fans from GM.

I found out all these years fighting airflow, the OEM condensor that was a solid 2" wide was a big culprit in the lack of airflow. Swapped a modern thinner micro tube parallel flow on it and instantly the fans are drawing 2x the airflow.

This is with 6,000 cfm worth of 16" Flexalite flex wave fans. Low/High speed OEM style 3 relay harness from BP Engineering. The fans move pretty good CFM even on low speed now.

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Which airflow are you taking about, the AC condenser air flow? Thanks

 

[454cid]

What did you have to do to get it to bolt on? Was the new one meant for another Chevy? I’ve got a 92 with a 5.7, would it fit on that? I just finished replacing my adapter gaskets and replaced the quick couplers with standard brass flare fittings. Just flared the AC Delco aluminum tubes. The radiator fittings I just replaced the O rings. No leaks!

Did one of the original fittings have a little plastic extension on it, that fit inside the casting?

 

[thinger2]

I yanked mine out a couple of years ago and havent had any problems.
The gasket under the adapter was brittle and cooked and spewing oil.
And the hoses were original and leaking at the fittings.
I live seattle so heat isnt usually a problem but big hills and stuck in traffic are.
Last summer it hit 106 while towing my maxima up the hills and I had no difference in oil temp.
I deleted mine because of the garbage quality of replacement lines.
Just too big of a risk. If you blow a line or a fitting you can pump it dry in no time.
You can be metal on metal before you even notice it.
The an fittings are one method for curing the problem.
I really dont think solid copper lines and flares are a good idea.
Back in the last century I worked on commercial boats. The only fuel system the coast guard allowed was solid flared copper.
And every two years or so a line would crack inside the flare fitting and suck air and dump fuel in the bilge.
If you do delete them, you just need a regular 350 oil pump adapter for a verticle filter.
I used the aftermarket Melling part but any boneyard 350 has one. Get the bolts too.
The Melling did not come with bolts and finding the right hardware was a bit of a pain.
Use locktite on the bolts.
Make sure the filter doesnt hit the bolt heads before the o ring seals.
DO NOT put a gasket between the new adapter and the block.
That will plug the bypass
The filter gasket seals that connection.
If you have a 4x4, you need a short filter to clear the front shaft.
I use the AC Delco PF 454
Plug the oil line ports in the radiator.
Just to keep water dirt bugs etc out of it incase you change your mind later.
I used the plastic shipping plugs leftover from when I replaced my radiator years ago. ( Always keep those type of plugs, they come in handy)
If you dont have that type of plug, the threads on the rad end of your hose are metric and they are the same thread and pitch as some Honda oil pan drain pulgs.
At least on a 94 they are.
I dont recall the size and pitch but that is pretty easy to figure out.