Thread: Defender TD5 R380 Oil Cooler

Is it possible to retro fit a cooler to an early R380?

Does anyone have any pictures of the fittings on the gearbox?

Thanks,
James.

I just filled mine after mounting it, certainly isn't an air block after driving it.
No idea what pressure it runs at I figured even if it was full it would drain back to the box when stopped??

Originally Posted by goingbush

I just got my Oil Cooler in the post, Same unit as djam1 but 18"

Im going to silversolder some olives to over pipes and push the hose over just for a bit of extra peace of mind

one thing im unsure of, do you need to bleed the air out of the cooler, if you just connect it and let the oil run thru i cant see how it would fill higher than the hose entry & exit , its just a finned cylinder with ends welded on.

will it be an issue if its got 1/2 air in there or should i drill a hole, tap and bung at a high point ??

Originally Posted by rainman

Is it possible to retro fit a cooler to an early R380?

Does anyone have any pictures of the fittings on the gearbox?

Thanks,
James.

will take some when I get under there.


.

Heres a pic of the pipes going into the R380,
they cross over under the gearbox and go in at the rear on the left side . not much room to play there.

I fitted my r380 cooler today.
because I was going to silversolder the pipes insitu I drained the gearbox as I didnt want an oil fed fire under the car. (The Syntrans is only about 5000 klm old and looking quite brassy, a lot more so than the previous drain after 40,000 , will have to keep an eye on it.)

I first cut the loop in the center because my small pipe cutter would not fit thru the gap between the pipes, then cut the loop away.



standard 1/2 brass olives for copper pipe fit perfectly, clean up the pipe and chamfer the front so that it does not cut into the oil hose. I used a gas torch and soft silver solder.


plenty of slack in the hoses because the Td5 moves a lot on its supple mounts.


job done


Filling up took 600ml more than drained out .
took it for a 15klm drive and the cooler was still bone cold, will have to see after a long run.

Transmission cooling on the Defender has been a concern of mine for some time so thanks for this very interesting thread.

You both appear to have fitted a 'single pass' cooler (inlet & outlet on opposite ends) yet I notice on the linked suppliers website that I can only see 'dual pass' coolers (inlet & outlet on same end). Is there a reason why you chose the single pass units?

I had heard some time ago that the R380 pump would not be powerful enough to handle the extra restriction of a cooler. However, it seems from your experience and from what Ashcrofts have on offer, that this is another of those urban (or rural, in the case of Landys ) myths. I'd be interested in your comments re this aspect.

Thanks again for sharing your experience.

Originally Posted by Xtreme

[snip]
I had heard some time ago that the R380 pump would not be powerful enough to handle the extra restriction of a cooler. However, it seems from your experience and from what Ashcrofts have on offer, that this is another of those urban (or rural, in the case of Landys ) myths. I'd be interested in your comments re this aspect.

Thanks again for sharing your experience.

Absolute myth.

Have you seen the cooler used on the UK Army Wolf ? (or the RRC or Disco V8 dunny brush style ? or the more conventional cooler that sits between the rad and crossmember)

The Wolf one is bloody huge, and sits right where the air con condenser normally would.

Another g/box cooler thread R380 oil cooler and the Wolf pic I was after. That's the cooler sitting front and centre.

Thanks rick130 for dispelling the myth and supplying the link to another interesting, informative thread.

I think I'll be doing some shopping soon and reduce the heat generated around the handbrake this summer.

I appreciate the prompt response, especially from an AULROian who knows oils.