Hi guys,

For those of you who have fitted oil coolers with thermostatic plates, what is the best way to do it?

I need to do a full engine oil change anyways, but what is the best procedure?

a - fill engine with oil, run up to temp and let 'stat open and fill the cooler, then top up engine accordingly

b - fill engine as normal, but take off hose to cooler before starting and pre fill cooler, then engine will loose less when 'stat open

c - another option I havent thought of...

If option b, how much should I add to the cooler as a guess? 1 litre?

I have a 19 row cooler located around the tow eye area, so shouldnt hold too much in the cooler and the lines?

Any help will be greatly appreciated

Cheers,
Chris

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Chris
1999 China Gti6 Supercharged [Fun car] >>Project Thread<<
2000 Bianca 306 Diesel [Work runabout]

Thanks Chris.

Only thing about option A is then the engine will loose oil when the 'stat opens but I guess not enough to cause an issue?

How much oil am I expected to loose when the 'stat opens and fills the cooler? A litre or so? If so, when it happens, will turn the car off, let it go cold then top up and check levels again a few times? on hot and cold engine.

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Chris
1999 China Gti6 Supercharged [Fun car] >>Project Thread<<
2000 Bianca 306 Diesel [Work runabout]

Will be fine. 1l of oil wont take you down on the level enough to worry about. IIRC the low level on the dipstick is about 2-2.5 leters

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Clicky: [url =http://www.306gti6.com]click here[/url] remove the space between [url &amp; =

You'll be fine running it for just a few minutes then topping it up. Thermostatic plates don't shut off completely, just restrict the flow.

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My 306 Rallye Project Thread

Few recent Youtube track videos, more on my channel
Pair of Rallye's doing a few laps of Anglesey


Lap of Anglesey Coastal

3 sisters circuit

Few laps at Blyton

Yep, dipstick max and min difference is 1 litre.

As for topping up etc, full the engine like normal then run it up to temp (driving) until the oil temp is up to 80c ish and then switch off, allow to cool for a couple of hours and top up to max on the dipstick.

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"Supercharged - 454.1bhp/317.5lb/ft"
Peugeot 306 GTi-6
2000 (X), Moonstone

I'd have the oil flowing into the cooler at the bottom and the return going back from the top, should help get rid of most of the air from the cooler that way i think.

I've always topped up with oil to the max marker, ran the engine for a couple of mins, turned it off, allowed the oil to settle, topped up to max again then run the engine up to temperature. Turned it off, checked the level after it has settled and topped up if necessary.

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Goldie the track car.