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Bronze idler arm bushing and oil-cooler 140-160

posted by  someone claiming to be AnthonyH on  Wed May 28 06:13 CST 2003 [RELATED]

Hello...
First, I got annoyed by Volvo's idler arm bushing design, so I turned my own out of bronze and put them in, so far so good. (been in for 4 weeks now.) Steering feel is alot better. But I can't think of the downsides yet, so if anyone has comments about it,please speak out. (I am now thinking of changing it to urethane or teflon, might do better at shock absorbing.)

Second, I got an oil-cooler from a RX7 today, looks huge! Anyways, I am gonna turn/mill an adapter to go on the oil-filter thing and build another thing I can screw the filter on so I can also relocate the filter so somewhere easier to access. But the question is that will the Volvo oil-pump handle it? (I mean will it build pressure fast enough...) And since I have too much time (hahaha.) and already have the cooler, do you think it is worth it to put it in?
Cheers!








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    Bronze idler arm bushing and oil-cooler 140-160

    uid 14369's pic
    posted by  KLR142 on  Wed May 28 10:03 CST 2003
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    last visit: Mon May 9 12:44 CST 2011
    [RELATED]

    hey Anthony, I'd be interested in one of those improved bronze bushings if you want to make another and ship it to me. I'd pay you for it don't worry. I don't know if it will fix my problem though. Did the idler arms change between models/years or are they the same? Thanks,
    Kyle








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      Bronze idler arm bushing and oil-cooler 140-160

      posted by  someone claiming to be AnthonyH on  Thu May 29 04:12 CST 2003 [RELATED]

      Umm... as far as I know is that all the bushings are all the same.
      Dunno if you really want one from me... (although I can make you one.) cause I live in Thailand and it'd be a long way to ship, haha. The reason of making this new bush was because the Volvo bushings seem to go bad so fast...(old rubber... been stored in the dealer for too long. He said the last shipment came in 15 years ago...haha...)







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    Bronze idler arm bushing and oil-cooler 140-160

    posted by  Phil S. on  Wed May 28 06:42 CST 2003
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    last visit: Fri Oct 24 13:18 CST 2014
    [RELATED]

    Sure, the pump will be fine with it pressurewise. Relocating the filter for convenience is a fine idea -- you can get ready-made fittings to do that at any air-cooled VW place, BTW. Just be sure to use hydraulic hose that's rated for 100 PSI and 300 degrees F or better. There's special blue hose that's better yet (the VW place should have that, too).

    My question is, why an oil cooler? I think it's counterproductive unless you're going to be running near the redline for sustained periods. You want the oil to come up to full temp as quickly as possible, and there's really no tendency for it to get much hotter than that unless you're running La Carrera or something. I've even seen racers tape cardboard over theirs on cool days.

    Bronze idler arm bushing is fine with me...

    (Edit: didn't mean to parrot John -- cross-posted!)








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      Bronze idler arm bushing and oil-cooler 140-160

      posted by  someone claiming to be AnthonyH on  Thu May 29 04:08 CST 2003 [RELATED]

      Hello.
      Umm... the reason of an oil-cooler is because I want to relocate the oil-filter anyways, (the cooler was a cheap as free...haha.) my car is RHD so it's a pain to get the filter out of its current possition. Bangkok traffic jam gets the engine pretty hot. (it was 43c in the shade a few days ago... so I bet alot more on the road. Thus, it's hot here whole year round.) So I think an oil-cooler might help the engine out some. No? I am also thinking of putting a thermostat for it so it can by-pass the oil when the engine is cold. Should be good I'd guess...haha. (Atleast it'd be a fun project.)
      Cheers.








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        Bronze idler arm bushing and oil-cooler 140-160

        uid 4846's pic
        posted by  JohnMc on  Thu May 29 04:32 CST 2003
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        last visit: Thu Oct 23 07:42 CST 2014
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        The oil is not cooling the combustion heat, that is handled by the coolant and the radiator. It is cooling the bearings and removing all the friction heat they generate (the cooling of the oil is probably more important than the lubrication - at least in a short term sense). So the oil will only get hot if the engine is run hard and fast for a long time.

        Not trying to discourage you, just so you realize only a race car run at full throttle for hours on end really needs an oil cooler. With a thermostatic bypass on the radiator you won't be doing any harm.

        The OE oil coolers that Volvo used to put on 1800's are a little misnamed - the heat probably went the other way 1/2 the time - with the coolant warming the oil slightly. My VR6 equipped VW also has a oil/coolant heat exchanger. Mostly warms the oil up quicker, might occasionally cool it down as well.








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          Bronze idler arm bushing and oil-cooler 140-160

          posted by  someone claiming to be AnthonyH on  Thu May 29 04:41 CST 2003 [RELATED]

          Humm... I agree with you. I might just build the adapter now to relocate the filter, and put the fittings on so I can fit the cooler on in the future. (As I am planning to turbo the engine too... got a turbo from a S14 nissan for 30$... and the engine it came from had only 50k kilometers on it...) So the cooler might be useful when the time comes.
          Cheers.








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            Bronze idler arm bushing and oil-cooler 140-160

            uid 4846's pic
            posted by  JohnMc on  Thu May 29 04:59 CST 2003
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            last visit: Thu Oct 23 07:42 CST 2014
            [RELATED]

            Especially if it is an oil cooled turbo - that does put a lot of heat into the oil.








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              Bronze idler arm bushing and oil-cooler 140-160

              posted by  someone claiming to be AnthonyH on  Thu May 29 05:26 CST 2003 [RELATED]

              Cool... atleast now I see some use in the cooler... Many thanks for all the replies!
              Cheers!








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      Bronze idler arm bushing and oil-cooler 140-160

      uid 4846's pic
      posted by  JohnMc on  Wed May 28 07:29 CST 2003
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      last visit: Thu Oct 23 07:42 CST 2014
      [RELATED]

      My first 1800E ('72 model) had an oil temp gauge (and no cooler), and in 4 years of driving it I never saw a high reading once, even when driving it at 100+ mph for 30 minutes at a time in hot weather. On my current 1800E, some previous owner took out the oil temp and put in a (nearly) matching Smiths ammeter.

      The B18 engine that was in my PV originally would overheat the oil with ahrd highway useage, but it had broken rings on a couple of pistons and was probably blowing hot gasses right down into the crankcase. Putting a cooler on that engine would have been like putting a band-aid on a broken leg.

      Here's one of the thermostats KGTrimning sells for oil coolers:









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    Bronze idler arm bushing and oil-cooler 140-160

    uid 4846's pic
    posted by  JohnMc on  Wed May 28 06:32 CST 2003
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    last visit: Thu Oct 23 07:42 CST 2014
    [RELATED]

    Older style idler arms had either metal bushings or needle bearings in them, I guess the rubber bushing is a little lower maintenance (no grease fitting!) as well as absorbs a bit of road vibration (although not from the left side).

    Unless you like playing around with the lathe block adapters and filter mounts are available from many places for Volvo engines, www.kgtrimning.com for one. A thing to think about with an oil cooler is that in many sitiations the oil doesn't need cooling, and if too cold it might not work as well. Coolant/oil heat exchangers work properly because the coolant temp is regulated and the heat can flow both ways. But for air/oil radiators you can also buy bypass thermostats to bypass the radiator when the oil isn't too hot.








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