sr20 oiling problem after oil cooler/filter relocation install

[mrchomponthis]

My valve train is now creaking at higher rpm's, and ticks at idle. I believe I am not getting enough oil to my valve train. please give me some input. Oil pump going bad? I am using 10w30 oil. or possibly i have the lines hooked up backwards from inlet to outlet.

[mrchomponthis]

just took off the oil cooler and left the oil filter relocation and still sounds like crap

[WISH ONE]

do You know how confusing your post is???

[Lucas180]

is it a lifter tick ? try to bleed the lifters maybe there is air in them ..is whats happened to me i think . or just a plain warn out lifter.

[fliprayzin240sx]

10-30W is too thin for SRs...bump it up to thicker weight specially if you live in hot weather.

[om3ga]

Did you prime it after installing the cooler? Normall you install it then you un plug the ignitor etc and fuel pump fuse and just crank the engine until it fills up all the lines and the cooler. After that you add more oil to make it register as 'FULL' on your dip stick then you start it.

Also yes switch to a thicker oil you could do 10w40 at min. try to find 10w50 or 10w60

[mrchomponthis]

my oil pump can't hold the pressure of the lines and the oil cooler.

[pete240]

This may sound stupid but did you add more oil to compensate for the new oil capacity?

[om3ga]

my oil pump can't hold the pressure of the lines and the oil cooler.

It should be fine however you normally have to prime everything before firing it up after putting an oil cooler on, so maybe it caused a little internal head damage during the initial startup with the cooler.

You are supposed to prime it without the car firing thats why you remove the ignitor and fuel pump fuse and then crank it a bunch. After that you check the oil add accordingly and you are good to go, that way the engine never sees an oil pressure drop/oil starvation while priming the lines and cooler.

[WISH ONE]

You can just unplug the crank angle sensor, its faster. take a picture for reference of how your lines are routed. NVM ill probably see you today anyway... HAPPY BIRTHDAY ERIC!

[240sxScores]

Do you have a thermostat anywhere inline with your cooler setup? If so he wouldnt be able to prime the system because the stat would be closed.

If he has no stat and didnt prime the system maybe air got routed to the head somehow. Pull the valve cover and bleed the lifters and clean out the oil squirters while you're at it.

[350zftw]

^^ yep! sounds like if you just do what some of these guys are saying you should be fine.

with a oil filter relocation, and oil cooler set up,.. i bet u would need everybit of 5 bottles

[mrchomponthis]

going back to stock screw it.

[s14sport]

Do you have a thermostat anywhere inline with your cooler setup? If so he wouldnt be able to prime the system because the stat would be closed.

If he has no stat and didnt prime the system maybe air got routed to the head somehow. Pull the valve cover and bleed the lifters and clean out the oil squirters while you're at it.


If he has a true thermostat made for an oil cooler then that thermostat doesn't completely close. It stays just alittle open under opening temp and at opening temp it fully opens. The greddy oil cooler sandwich plate does this and thats how its supposed to work. Cheap t-stats are no good.

[mrchomponthis]

fixed it wish one is my husband thanks

[SoguRacing]

you probably have air in your lifters if you didn't prime the lines before/during install.

[windjunky]

glad I came across this thread, just about to install one myself. how long do you let the engine crank for? 2-3 min?

[phase2]

One thing you guys have to be-aware when installing oil filter relocation to the SR20 is that you do not want to install the relocation TOO FAR away from the motor, when you do that it will lower the oil pressure of the system. Normally passenger side shock tower is the most you want to extend the oil filter relocation, anything further towards the front of the car will result in a loss of oil pressure (hence lifter might tick..).

[jza240sx]

Yea you should listen to these guys and go thicker oil for a little bit and see what happens

[Pure_JDM]

One thing you guys have to be-aware when installing oil filter relocation to the SR20 is that you do not want to install the relocation TOO FAR away from the motor, when you do that it will lower the oil pressure of the system. Normally passenger side shock tower is the most you want to extend the oil filter relocation, anything further towards the front of the car will result in a loss of oil pressure (hence lifter might tick..).

im about to install an oil cooler as weel, due my research on this forum. seems the sr20 NEEDS all the help it can get when it comes to oiling the valve train... if i get a sandwich plate and cooler, could i run the cooler to sit by my front mount or is that too far forward? i really dont want to have to cut up my silvia front end to add a vent for an under-the-hood location...

[phase2]

You can mount the cooler anywhere you want, it's the oil filter relocation units should stay near the passenger side shock tower area but not too far pass that point is recommended.

[Pure_JDM]

so the donut style "sandwich" plate kind would be ok? i bought one for my ca18det years ago that simply moved the filter down 2 inches or so, and had the oil cooler lines in the sandwich plate... im assuming this would be the same style. thanks for clearing that up man. looks like i'll have a weekend project coming up.

[WISH ONE]

When you do install the cooler, becareful not to intsall too high above your motor either. This is sometimes an issue for externally mounted oilcoolers like in Sandrails and buggies, and an external pump is required.
Its common sense but make sure you connect your lines according to your engines Oil Flow, otherwise you will blow up. lol

[lewisfk]

Did you prime it after installing the cooler? Normall you install it then you un plug the ignitor etc and fuel pump fuse and just crank the engine until it fills up all the lines and the cooler. After that you add more oil to make it register as 'FULL' on your dip stick then you start it.

Also yes switch to a thicker oil you could do 10w40 at min. try to find 10w50 or 10w60

Wow I wished i new that earlier i was running 10w30 mobile one full synthetic! What brand are u running?

[om3ga]

If he has a true thermostat made for an oil cooler then that thermostat doesn't completely close. It stays just alittle open under opening temp and at opening temp it fully opens. The greddy oil cooler sandwich plate does this and thats how its supposed to work. Cheap t-stats are no good.

Precisely, if the thermostat didnt let oil through at all, you would have a low pressure point and an obvious oil starvation occurrence every time your oil got hot. Im not sure how cheap thermostats work but for something as critical as the oiling system i definitely wouldnt cheap out there. Glad to hear everything is working. Possibly do a little more research and then have at it again, Oil coolers are your friend.

[mrchomponthis]

20-50 the end. why run full synthetic anyways?

[twinspool]

I have both sandwich plates with and without thermo, so would it be best to run one with thermo or without so oil pressure wouldn't drop?