OIL THERMOSTAT FITTING TO MINI ERA TURBO

[R1036]

I thought that the oil needs to be permanently circulating the system or the mains and big ends get dry causing it to seize

[prop]

The oil thermostat bypasses the the oil cooler until the oil reaches the temperature of 80 degrees so the oil flow from the engine to the filter and back into the engine is not interrupted. The whole of the oil system is kept under pressure as normal. All the thermostat does is divert the oil flow through the cooler when the oil reaches 80 degrees. One would hope that Mocal who produce the thermostat and oil coolers know what they are doing with oil systems. As I have stated this is an experiment and I will report my findings when I put the car back on the road. Hopefully I won't melt the bottom end

[R1036]

ah ok I see how this works.....I will keep an eye on this progress

[prop]

Took the car out today. I now have the thermostat fitted and I have a temperature gauge fitted to the sump. It was a good hot day today the sump oil gauge showed the oil temperature rising, the original gauge showed no movement. The thermostat obviously working. As the temperature in the sump rose to about 80 degrees the temperature of the oil cooler started to rise reducing the temperature in the sump, I would assume as the thermostat is working, on a cooler day the oil would circulate longer within the engine before needing to be cooled, therefore heating up quicker which is the effect I am trying to attain. At the moment I am happy with how it is working. I will continue to update as I use the car through the season. I have also reinstated the auxiliary radiator for this season. The water temperature while out today stayed around the 80 degrees level which is probably correct as the coolant thermostat is 88 degrees. I would like it if it had reached nearer 90 degrees I will live with it this season as if I get stuck in traffic I want as much cooling as possible.

Fitting the thermostat is an experiment to see if it is a worthwhile addition for the ERA and also to give information and how I tackled the job.

[prop]

I ran the car through 2019 and I didn’t see much of a change in the oil temperature. This year 2020 done very little as COVID 19 shut down most gatherings. I think the thermostat I have fitted needs to be checked as I am not sure it is working properly. I am also worried about the rubber hose I have used. My post on poor quality rubber explains my concerns.

[prop]

Not run the car much last year as we all have been less active on the classic car scene. When I did have the ERA out I still have an issue with the oil temp. The temperature gauge I fitted to the sump gives me the same reading as the oil cooler gauge. So is the thermostat I fitted actually working?
The Mocal thermostat I fitted was second hand so possibly not. I contacted Mocal and they supply a refurb kit. I ordered one with 92 degree wax stat. So I will post a strip down and rebuild when I get the parts. The sales manager was very helpful and it turns out he is a mini fan. His father was a champion mini 7 driver. Very interesting. Good guy.

[prop]

I overhauled the stat (see other post). I took the car out the other day. The ambient temperature was about 12 degrees. I did about 30 miles. The gauge didn’t get past 50 deg. (It starts at 50) the other gauge I have connected to the sump had started to rise off it’s stop but it’s first increment is 50 also. I suspect that when the ambient temperature reaches about 20 deg and I give the car a 100mile thrash I will see some heat in the oil. I will keep updating as we hopefully leave lockdown.

[prop]

Done 3 trips to car shows and the oil thermostat seems to be working fine. I got the temperature to 80 degrees on the sump gauge while the oil cooler gauge didn’t rise at all so the thermostat is doing its job. I am very pleased with the results and happy my oil is reaching a good working temperature. The low temperature has been a concern to me for a while. No longer ha ha

[prop]

I recently drove a new VW transporter, It has a oil temperature display on the center console. After a fairly long trip it had reached 98 degrees. That is the temperature oil should run at to work properly.