Engine crash bar as oil cooler?
#41
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: The Internet (& Dyer, Indiana)
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The crash bar is just a big heat sink and the added volume of oil will reduce operating tempature. Thats just science, cant dispute that.
My concern would be that after shutdown gravity will allow the oil in the crashbar to drain back into the lowest point. The oil pan. If the level of the oil is high enough to come in contact with the crankshaft, on startup the crank will whip the oil into foam. Aerated oil will not be picked up by the oil pump in sufficent amounts to properly lube the engine.
Im curious what the oil level is before startup when 1.5 qts are added for the crashbar.
My concern would be that after shutdown gravity will allow the oil in the crashbar to drain back into the lowest point. The oil pan. If the level of the oil is high enough to come in contact with the crankshaft, on startup the crank will whip the oil into foam. Aerated oil will not be picked up by the oil pump in sufficent amounts to properly lube the engine.
Im curious what the oil level is before startup when 1.5 qts are added for the crashbar.
Air in that crash bar that has to go somewhere after start-up.
Will his motor starve for while, as this displaced oil is "catching up"?
Without having fins on the crashbar, you might as well be installing an auxilery oil tank for the extra volume of oil. No need for it to be shaped as a crashbar. Install a tank. Better yet, install one with fins on it. Matter of fact, they make those. They call them oil coolers.
#43
There is a reason why some people SHOULD only buy stuff to have some one else install it...
And they want to turn it around on those that have the initiative to do things themselves. It ain't because I can't afford it, it's because I CAN DO IT!
Too many tv commercials draining this country of the very things we grew our reputation upon. Now that reputation has turned to ****, and those same people wonder why...
And they want to turn it around on those that have the initiative to do things themselves. It ain't because I can't afford it, it's because I CAN DO IT!
Too many tv commercials draining this country of the very things we grew our reputation upon. Now that reputation has turned to ****, and those same people wonder why...
#44
I ran a crashbar oil cooler for years without problems.
I stopped using it when I came upon a good used HD oil cooler and thought I'd give it a try too. The results were the same drop in temps. I would NOT hesitate to go back to it. It does get HOT, expecially on the inlet side where I needed gloves to touch it. It got so hot in the summer that it melted the paint on the inside of my lower fairings. The outlet side is just a tad cooler. As long as you seal everything well it won't be a problem. Cleaning the inside of the bar is important as you need to remove ALL traces of metal from drilling and tapping. I used my shop vac and forced air. Finally I used the shop vac to pull some string through, and then followed it with a shotgun cleaning patch tied to the string to clean out the whole inside. It cooled as well as an oil cooler, that's my experience, others experience will no doubt be different.
I stopped using it when I came upon a good used HD oil cooler and thought I'd give it a try too. The results were the same drop in temps. I would NOT hesitate to go back to it. It does get HOT, expecially on the inlet side where I needed gloves to touch it. It got so hot in the summer that it melted the paint on the inside of my lower fairings. The outlet side is just a tad cooler. As long as you seal everything well it won't be a problem. Cleaning the inside of the bar is important as you need to remove ALL traces of metal from drilling and tapping. I used my shop vac and forced air. Finally I used the shop vac to pull some string through, and then followed it with a shotgun cleaning patch tied to the string to clean out the whole inside. It cooled as well as an oil cooler, that's my experience, others experience will no doubt be different.
#45
#46
I ran a crashbar oil cooler for years without problems.
I stopped using it when I came upon a good used HD oil cooler and thought I'd give it a try too. The results were the same drop in temps. I would NOT hesitate to go back to it. It does get HOT, expecially on the inlet side where I needed gloves to touch it. It got so hot in the summer that it melted the paint on the inside of my lower fairings. The outlet side is just a tad cooler. As long as you seal everything well it won't be a problem. Cleaning the inside of the bar is important as you need to remove ALL traces of metal from drilling and tapping. I used my shop vac and forced air. Finally I used the shop vac to pull some string through, and then followed it with a shotgun cleaning patch tied to the string to clean out the whole inside. It cooled as well as an oil cooler, that's my experience, others experience will no doubt be different.
I stopped using it when I came upon a good used HD oil cooler and thought I'd give it a try too. The results were the same drop in temps. I would NOT hesitate to go back to it. It does get HOT, expecially on the inlet side where I needed gloves to touch it. It got so hot in the summer that it melted the paint on the inside of my lower fairings. The outlet side is just a tad cooler. As long as you seal everything well it won't be a problem. Cleaning the inside of the bar is important as you need to remove ALL traces of metal from drilling and tapping. I used my shop vac and forced air. Finally I used the shop vac to pull some string through, and then followed it with a shotgun cleaning patch tied to the string to clean out the whole inside. It cooled as well as an oil cooler, that's my experience, others experience will no doubt be different.
I'd have done the same mod to my 05 roadglide here, but it had an HD premium low mount oil cooler on it when I bought it...but I may end up making the change in the future as I see the fins are pretty beat up and bent from eating rocks down there behind the front wheel. If I had a choice between the crash guard oil cooler and paying a bunch more money for some finned model, I'll take the engine guard.
PS: My FLHT didn't have the hard fairing lowers so I couldn't attest to having any problem with the heat affecting them or the paint as Mark had. I did run the nylon HD soft lowers...or chaps and they never deformed or disfigured at all.
#47
#48
#50
An oil cooler mounted down low on the front of the frame just seems a lot more efficient than using the engine guard as an oil cooler. Thats an awful lot more oil and distance for the engine oil pump to move the oil. Would it cause starvation or oil pressure problems? I am not sure but it does push the boundaries a bit. Plus that hot guard would end up burning your hand or leg at some point.