- Posts: 6
- Thank you received: 1
Lockhart oil cooler
- Dime
- Topic Author
- Offline
- User
I am not familiar with oil coolers at all. The zn1100 has a Lockhart oil cooler on it. From what I have read there is supposed to be a thermostat in these which dictates when the oil will actually run through the cooler. How would I confirm this is working correctly?
Secondly how do I make sure the oil gets drained from the cooler on an oil change?
Thank you.
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
- baldy110
- Offline
- User
- Posts: 2272
- Thank you received: 512
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
- toolmaker
- Offline
- User
- Posts: 217
- Thank you received: 19
I live near Portland, Oregon and my rider is a '76 KZ900 I bought new. I'm also in the process of restoring another one and a '73 Z1.
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
- gordone
- Offline
- Sustaining Member
- Posts: 1384
- Thank you received: 68
1981 KZ650-D4, with 1981 z750L engine (Wiensco 810 big bore).
Project:
www.kzrider.com/forum/11-projects/607213...sr-1981-z750l-engine
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
- hugo
- Offline
- Sustaining Member
- '92 Zephyr 750
- Posts: 279
- Thank you received: 71
The oil cooler is merely a safety device which prevents the oil from getting close to boiling point and loosing its lubricity. Its main funtion however is removing the extra heat produced at the wet clutch...only spot where oil is used as coolant...hence the word 'wet'. no need for any thermostat....when the motorcycle is not moving, the oil cooler has no effect whatsoever.
...unlike most people think, the oil cooler does not help cool the engine. It is an OIL cooler, not an engine cooler..and has nothing to do with the fact the engine is air-cooled. Even high performance liquid cooled motorcycles have oil coolers...where they take care of the same thing....the wet clutch. Look behind the pipes of a the newest Yamaha FZ-10 (MT-10) below the radiator...….that is an oil cooler.
...when draining oil, gravity takes care of bringing the oil down
..best analogy in a car is the autotranny ATF cooler, even though in a car the transmission and engine are separated. No one worries about thermostat or draining ATF from cooler in a car.
...like with the autotranny, the motorcycle will work perfectly well without the oil cooler, but it certainly contributes to the longevity of whatever machine is on.
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
- SWest
- Offline
- Sustaining Member
- 10 22 2014
- Posts: 23038
- Thank you received: 2763
If I lived in a colder climate I'd have a thermostat. I might still get one but so far I haven't had to.
Steve
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
- BohicaBob
- Offline
- Sustaining Member
- Posts: 267
- Thank you received: 36
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
- DOHC
- Offline
- Sustaining Member
- Those Doe-Hawks really go!
- Posts: 1228
- Thank you received: 535
Dime wrote: I am not familiar with oil coolers at all. The zn1100 has a Lockhart oil cooler on it. From what I have read there is supposed to be a thermostat in these which dictates when the oil will actually run through the cooler. How would I confirm this is working correctly?
Derale made a line of coolers with a built in thermostat. I have a picture of the box for the kit that I had, but I don't have a picture of the insert that showed a diagram of how the thermostat worked. But basically there is a metallic finger in the input side tube, and when the oil is cold the finger acts to block the upper cross tubes on the cooler, diverting oil into the single bottom cross tube. When it warms up, the finger (bimetallic strip) bends back allowing oil to flow through all cross tubes.
I don't know if Lockhart made a cooler with the same setup. Maybe try looking down into the inlet port to see if there is anything that would divert the oil flow.
'78 Z1-R in blue , '78 Z1-R in black, '78 Z1-R in pieces
My dad's '74 Z1
'00 ZRX1100
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
- 650ed
- Offline
- User
- Posts: 15343
- Thank you received: 2829
If my bike had an oil cooler I certainly would want it controlled by a thermostat. Otherwise, it would extend the length of time the engine would take to reach proper operating temperatures. This would be especially true when the air temperature was cool. Ed
1977 KZ650-C1 Original Owner - Stock (with additional invisible FIAMM horn)
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
- DOHC
- Offline
- Sustaining Member
- Those Doe-Hawks really go!
- Posts: 1228
- Thank you received: 535
hugo wrote: ...unlike most people think, the oil cooler does not help cool the engine. It is an OIL cooler, not an engine cooler..and has nothing to do with the fact the engine is air-cooled.
I don't really agree, but I admit that an oil cooler may not be very efficient for an engine like the Kz that was not expressly designed to be oil cooled.
However, your statement is certainly not true for the air/oil cooled Suzuki GSXR engines. These engines were explicitly designed to use oil to keep the internal parts of the engine cool.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suzuki_Advanced_Cooling_System
"The SACS system uses high volumes of engine oil aimed at strategic points of the engine, like the top of the combustion chamber, which are not typically well served by air cooling alone. In order to provide enough oil for both cooling and lubrication, the system uses a double-chamber oil pump, using the high-pressure side for lubrication of the parts (crankshaft, connecting rods, valvetrain), while the low-pressure, high-volume side provides oil to the cooling and filtering circuit. The oil removes heat from hot engine parts through direct contact, is pumped away and subsequently routed through the oil filter, followed by routing through an oil cooler before being returned to the main sump."
'78 Z1-R in blue , '78 Z1-R in black, '78 Z1-R in pieces
My dad's '74 Z1
'00 ZRX1100
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
- BohicaBob
- Offline
- Sustaining Member
- Posts: 267
- Thank you received: 36
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.