Topic: Can someone explain to me how this works

[Honda550k]

I had recently bought an oil cooler adapter. Just wondering how this thermostat works. I've searched for derale oil adaptors and couldn't find out how they work.

Thanks.

[bjbuchanan]

Hopefully it came with the bolt that makes it useful? It usually has some kinda hollow or threaded bolt to hold the adapter to the block (Don't forget the big o-ring!) and then you screw your stock housing in to place like a regular stock setup, stock bolt and housing. The o-ring for the adapter is (almost always) the same size as a stock filter housing o-ring.

You gotta then run 3/8" hose up to wherever you located a little mini radiator. Cooler rads off a nighthawk work, lots of stuff out there. I personally went to autozone and asked to see in the back where they keep the aftermarket/generic power steering and tranny coolers. The smallest size one fits the space nicely up above the exhaust and under the neck

[Honda550k]

Thanks for the reply chanan. Yeah it came with the bolt and cooler. I was just wondering how the spring loaded thermostat actually works. More specifically, how does hot engine oil open the passage way to the oil cooler itself. Just curious to know how the mechanism works.

[Don R]

I would assume just like the thermostat on your cars cooling system. Something expands (mercury?) when it's heated and overcomes the spring opening the bypass to the cooler.

[MarshallCS]

A wax containing particles of copper melts and expands in the thermostat pushing open a valve that allows fluid (oil in this case) to pass through. When the temperature is below the melting point, the wax re-hardens and closes the valve.




Marshall

[Bodi]

It's a small version of a radiator thermostat as i remember, I looked at one years ago. The oil comes out the offcentre hole and returns through the centre hole. The adapter collects the oil from the feed hole and sends it out the fitting that connects to the big cavity on the engine side. Return from the cooler goes to the small cavity on the filter side, to fill the filter housing and pass through the filter and return to the motor. Cold, the thermostat is open between the small front cavity and larger rear cavity. That lets oil pass through bypassing the cooler, the cooler will still have some flow but most should bypass it. Hot, the thermostat closes that "shortcut" so oil from the motor must go through the cooler to get across the adapter.

[Honda550k]

Interesting. Thanks. And what is typically the melting pointon these valves.