Does my radiator have an engine oil cooler?

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Marky Dissod

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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

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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.
IMG_7739.jpeg
 

strutaeng

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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.
 

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jared999

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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

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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.
 

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