Vehicles are fitted with an engine oil cooling system that attempts to keep the lubricating oil within its optimum operating temperature range. Engine oil generally operates best at temperatures between 180F and 200F.
There are two common types of engine oil cooling systems, which are tube and fin systems, and stacked plate coolers. When engine oil is cooled to the correct temperature, it acts as a coolant, lubricant and cleansing agent for parts of the engine including the camshaft, connecting rods and pistons.
Oil cooled through a tube and fin system moves the oil through tubes to be cooled by air diverted through the engine before passing through the engine again. Problems with this type of cooling system include the cooling of oil in the center of the tube is insufficient.
The stacked plate system pushes engine oil through a series of tightly stacked plates to be air cooled. Problems with this system include the tightly stacked plates allowing insufficient airflow to cool the oil.
