-Rally design seemed to be cheap for hoses, thermo plate and fitting kit, ebay for the cooler though Rally design arnt to much if your already paying postage -13 row seems to be recommended for 2.0+ engines with 150-200bhp -1/2 BSP -It will fit but a 1999 polo 1.4 16v will be easier and has a little captive bolt for undoing it, also other car models will have the same filter -Depends on engine bling really, I wanted plain ones but they where out of stock and I wanted the kit asap.
just did one on my golf last week, fitted it the same way that Stu has in the pictures he posted, I run a single light grill and needed to chop some of the slat gaps back out as they are filled in, also need to fit some sheet to concentrate the air to the cooler as the grill sends it up.
Best way to mount the cooler is horizontally as per GVKs car Vertical mounting alongside the rad only allows a very limited supply of air. Maybe not such an issue on a road car admittedly...
Is this the right shorter filter I need? Listed for polo between 95-2000 (6N1) http://www.vwspares.co.uk/product_info.php?products_id=1181
Well it arrived today - looking forward to fitting it. Says in the leaflet that comes with it the best place is in front the rad but I'm still skeptical about that. Think I'm going to go for down by the bumper openings like GVK's car. Lot of plastic trim/cowling work around though
Have been out today to mock up where to mount this cooler. Have a few options - opinions as to which is best would be great Down in the bumper recess: Think it looks tidiest here, doesn't block the rad much and can be mounted close to the rad as per the mocal instructions. However if I flip it 180 degrees so the oil pipes are at the base it'll push the whole thing up a tad meaning air flow might be restricted? Would need to mount with pipes on base at present so they are long enough to reach the sandwich plate Vertically behind the headlight isn't really option as there's a lot of plastic cowling in the way (I guess I could remove it though) and I think the spotlamps in the grille will be quite restrictive. Nice and close to the sandwich plate though. Lastly, if I relocate the horn I could just bolt it to the slam panel As I say, down in the bumper recess is the preferred place as per GVK's car. However, I would need to mount it on the right hand side due to the rad sitting in at an angle. How critical is hose positioning - does it matter if the hoses are on the top of the cooler or the base?
Mine is a square 19 row item and is mounted just to the left of the inner driver side spot light behind the grill. In this location is blocks roughly 2" of radiator but is in the perfect location for airflow. It uses a sandwich plate along with the std. cooler & I have bought a shorter filter from a MK4 polo to use.
Must have read my mind bumping this thread up as I've been out fitting it properly today (finally!). I've gone for down in the bumper recess in the end. Spend the morning mounting the cooler nicely only to find I had to move it over to the middle slightly as the hoses were ever so slightly too short Here's where I'm at currently (hoses have been tidied, zip tied and protected from the slam panel edges since photo) and using the polo/lupo GTI filter. I reckon the standard would have fitted though. Think I might put some sort of wire guard over the front to help protect from stone chips. One quick query - is this the correct fitting sequence? i.e seal against the oil cooler rather the against the filter All threads have been PTFE taped so shouldn't leak fingers crossed. Will fill it up tomorrow. If anyone spots anything I have neglected please shout whilst it's all in bits
...while we are on the aftermarket oil cooler subject......i run a 13 row mocal as mentioned way back and i am still running the vag water/oil jobbie....now i would ideally like to bin this before it implodes but when i remove it and try to bolt up the mocal thermo plate the threaded pick up that is part of filter housing mount is too long as the thermo plate is not as deep as the horendous vag effort........so the adaptor from mocal will not tighten down(up) onto the housing........how have you guys got around this?
Seal against cooler, the oil filter has its own seal which contacts with the underneath of the sandwich plate. I used std. filter in the end as it goes on easily still, might be a problem is using standard engine mount or if you have worn front mount as it could contact the cross member if the engine moves excessively. I am running a solid front mount so can't see a problem Looks a smart job you've done
Thanks - thought it was however I questioned it as the 'Mocal' logo casting is upside down. Anyway, should be up and running today. Quick query - if I have a thermo plate do I need to run the car upto temp for the thermo to open (should fill the cooler) and then just top up as required?
Yes that would be the correct way of doing it, not sure what volume of oil the cooler will hold so just be careful it doesnt get too low engine-wise. I'm sure it will be OK but worth keeping and eye on
...my oil capacity increased by 1/2 ltr once stat opened and filled flow/return and 13 row cooler..mine is mounted vertically at side of rad so slightly shorter pipes than yours
Cheers chaps. Yeah was around a 1/2 litre increase. I finished installing it yesterday and it seems to be doing a good job so far. Oil didn't go over 104 according to the MFA on the roadtest with some enthusiastic driving on private lanes. Sat at between 92-94 most of the time. Only problem I have found is getting a good seal on some of the unions. PTFE tape has helped a lot however I have a slight weep from one of the connectors (typically the hardest to access with the bumper on etc ). Will also modify the rad cowling for the other side when I get hold of a dremel so that can be installed - just needs a hole cut into it for the oil pipes to go through. I'm assuming when it comes to changing the oil, unless I remove the cooler the car is always going to have 1/2 a litre in there? You can barely see it when the bumper is on which is exactly what I was after
Timo16v - cut down the threaded bar that vw use then use the mocal adapter that the filter screws into. If your binning the factory oil/water cooler then use the 2 mk1 gti water pipes to replace your own
....i am aware they can fail which results in a lovely oily water mix..i want to avoid this also for clearance too as i run with the shorter filter at mo and would like to get a full size one back on there without fear of contact and plenty of room to get tools onto
