Does my radiator have an engine oil cooler?

[jared999]

I need a new radiator and want to confirm if my radiator has the oil cooler option before I order the wrong part. I opened my hood and took some photos of the driver side.
I circled a line that I think may be an oil cooler line.

I found this thread, but did not want to necro the thing and there are no photos of the lines in question.

Oil cooler Lines

I am having a oil drip on my 2009 Yukon . My buddy said oli cooler line, I called up my GM dealer service was told 2.7 hrs to replace the lines plus the lines, total $650.00 I went to a private service center He said 3 hours plus the lines. while I waited he the parts person some numbers, maybe...

www.tahoeyukonforum.com

 

[Doubeleive]

I need a new radiator and want to confirm if my radiator has the oil cooler option before I order the wrong part. I opened my hood and took some photos of the driver side.
I circled a line that I think may be an oil cooler line.

I found this thread, but did not want to necro the thing and there are no photos of the lines in question.

Oil cooler Lines

I am having a oil drip on my 2009 Yukon . My buddy said oli cooler line, I called up my GM dealer service was told 2.7 hrs to replace the lines plus the lines, total $650.00 I went to a private service center He said 3 hours plus the lines. while I waited he the parts person some numbers, maybe...

www.tahoeyukonforum.com

View attachment 442053

View attachment 442054

View attachment 442055
View attachment 442056

View attachment 442057

those lines are for the power steering cooler which is a separate piece, not part of the radiator, it does look like it might have the option for it on the radiator end cap but the fittings are not there and if there is no plug in it then it's likely contaminated anyway. you can add a oil cooler if so desired with a adapter plate, 2 lines and a radiator

*also if the radiator does have a oil cooler it doesn't matter, that part just isn't used if you do not have the lines for it.

 

[Doubeleive]

also kind of weird that a ltz doesn't have a oil cooler...

 

[Sparksalot]

Based on the last pic it doesn’t appear you have the extra lines going to the driver side end tank. Those would be for the oil cooler.

 

[jared999]

those lines are for the power steering cooler which is a separate piece, not part of the radiator, it does look like it might have the option for it on the radiator end cap but the fittings are not there and if there is no plug in it then it's likely contaminated anyway. you can add a oil cooler if so desired with a adapter plate, 2 lines and a radiator

*also if the radiator does have a oil cooler it doesn't matter, that part just isn't used if you do not have the lines for it.

Would it be beneficial for me to add the oem oil cooler? Maybe I can just go find the parts.

I don't tow, but I do live in TX and it gets hot as hell here.

 

[Doubeleive]

Would it be beneficial for me to add the oem oil cooler? Maybe I can just go find the parts.

I don't tow, but I do live in TX and it gets hot as hell here.

couldn't hurt that's for sure.
you need the adapter plate that goes above the oil filter (the plate has fittings for the oil cooler lines)
the 2 oil cooler lines
radiator with oil cooler option.
best places to shop are probably amazon/rock auto

 

[jared999]

couldn't hurt that's for sure.
you need the adapter plate that goes above the oil filter (the plate has fittings for the oil cooler lines)
the 2 oil cooler lines
radiator with oil cooler option.
best places to shop are probably amazon/rock auto

Rock auto is my go to for most stuff. I've spent a ton there on various cars over the years. Their prices are almost always the best, they have the 5% perpetual coupon available and I just stack that with a 2-3% cash back credit card I have

 

[Doubeleive]

Rock auto is my go to for most stuff. I've spent a ton there on various cars over the years. Their prices are almost always the best, they have the 5% perpetual coupon available and I just stack that with a 2-3% cash back credit card I have

I have a business account on amazon so no sales tax and a lot of stuff is free shipping so amazon gets my money if the prices are close

 

[strutaeng]

The engine oil cooler (it seems to me at least) was more like a towing option. I believe all 2500+ trucks have engine oil coolers.

Like mentioned, it doesn't hurt. The only real drawback is that it does introduce more sources of potential leaks down the road.

I rebuilt the LQ4 engine on my 06 Suburban 2500 a few months ago. The engine oil cooler lines had started to seep. When I reinstalled the engine I had a block-off plate and temporarily installed that just to get the truck running again. Well, I've been driving the truck for 7 months like that, lol. I bought new GM Genuine bought cooler lines, just haven't had time to install them.

@Doubeleive the adapter plate is part of the oil cooler lines assembly, no?

 

[Doubeleive]

The engine oil cooler (it seems to me at least) was more like a towing option. I believe all 2500+ trucks have engine oil coolers.

Like mentioned, it doesn't hurt. The only real drawback is that it introduce more sources of potential leaks down the road.

I rebuilt the LQ4 engine on my 06 Suburban 2500 a few months ago. The engine oil cooler lines had started to seep. When I reinstalled the engine I had a block-off plate and temporarily installed that just to get the truck running again. Well, I've been driving the truck for 7 months like that, lol. I bought new GM Genuine bought cooler lines, just haven't had time to install them.

@Doubeleive the adapter plate is part of the oil cooler lines assembly, no?

PROBABLY, never had to order any myself

 

[Marky Dissod]

Y'all keep calling the radiator's motor oil tank an oil 'cooler' - it's a heat exchanger.
It's actually meant to help motor oil reach minimum operating temp sooner.

However, once the motor oil reaches or exceeds minimum operating temp,
the coolant is actually warmed by the motor oil -
motor oil would be even hotter and coolant cooler if kept separate,
which can also increase oil consumption.

 

[Sparksalot]

Y'all keep calling the radiator's motor oil tank an oil 'cooler' - it's a heat exchanger.
It's actually meant to help motor oil reach minimum operating temp sooner.

However, once the motor oil reaches or exceeds minimum operating temp,
the coolant is actually warmed by the motor oil -
motor oil would be even hotter and coolant cooler if kept separate,
which can also increase oil consumption.

 

[jared999]

I have a business account on amazon so no sales tax and a lot of stuff is free shipping so amazon gets my money if the prices are close

You can do taxempt from Rockauto too if you set it up. They don't have free shipping, though.

 

[mikez71]

@Doubeleive the adapter plate is part of the oil cooler lines assembly, no?

I ordered one before. The plate/block is part of the lines. The gasket and a bolt? are included too..

 

[jared999]

Y'all keep calling the radiator's motor oil tank an oil 'cooler' - it's a heat exchanger.
It's actually meant to help motor oil reach minimum operating temp sooner.

All cooling systems are heat exchangers. I would think you can call them either or?

 

[strutaeng]

I ordered one before. The plate/block is part of the lines. The gasket and a bolt? are included too..

Yeah. I'm looking at the cooler lines (or whatever they are called?) and I see the same thing: gasket and even bolts are included.

I really should get these installed just to get them out of my garage TBH.

 

[jared999]

also kind of weird that a ltz doesn't have a oil cooler...

I was under the impression that the coolers (both engine and transmission cooling options) were only for the heavy duty (tow) packages. I could be wrong as I don't know what all of the standard options were on LTZ's.

 

[Marky Dissod]

All cooling systems are heat exchangers. I would think you can call them either or?

I suppose this is true. That said:
I typically see air-to-oil / air-to-ATF as coolers because they are being cooled from the outside air.
I typically see coolant-to oil / coolant-to-ATF as exchangers because they exchange 'heats' with each other.

Typically, in the radiator's ATF heat exchanger, coolant is cooled, and ATF is heated.
This seems like a liability once the coolant exceeds 221F.
This also seems to explain why 'Tow Packages' ALSO include a separate air-to-ATF cooler.

Typically, in the radiator's motor oil heat exchanger, motor oil is cooled, and coolant is heated.
This seems to explain why some 'Police Packages' use a separate air-to-motor oil cooler vs an exchanger.

 

[j91z28d1]

I can tell you from personal experience with oil cooling, the end tank oil coolers work very well. you'd need a huge front mount to match the cooling. enough that you'll end up blocking air to the radiator anyways.


nice neat package. in a high end race application the stock lines are a bit flow restricted thou. but usually there's a high pressure bypass in the block above the filter.

 

[j91z28d1]

I suppose this is true. That said:
I typically see air-to-oil / air-to-ATF as coolers because they are being cooled from the outside air.
I typically see coolant-to oil / coolant-to-ATF as exchangers because they exchange 'heats' with each other.

Typically, in the radiator's ATF heat exchanger, coolant is cooled, and ATF is heated.
This seems like a liability once the coolant exceeds 221F.
This also seems to explain why 'Tow Packages' ALSO include a separate air-to-ATF cooler.

Typically, in the radiator's motor oil heat exchanger, motor oil is cooled, and coolant is heated.
This seems to explain why some 'Police Packages' use a separate air-to-motor oil cooler vs an exchanger.

atf is in the cooled side of the radiator, it should never hit 230deg or you'd see really high Temps in the cyl head Temps sensor.

oil is in the hot side, but 250deg oil is fine, it's actually very hot right after the pump compresses it to 60 or so psi, and then the filter and housing are right near the cats. in my ls3 car I had to put a dei heat shield on the oil filter, cat was baking the paint off it. running it thru the 200deg end tank sheds a ton of heat in my tests. and my sensor is in the pan before it goes thru hell. I've seen the difference of hitting 300deg in less then 2 laps with a front mount cooler, to run hot laps till the tires get greasy running it thru the radiator. no noticeable increase in coolent temp in the head sensor.