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      01-04-2018, 11:15 AM   #1
Vetracr
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N52 Oil Cooler Installation

As I run HPDE events here in South Florida I run on some pretty hot days. I got concerned when I started seeing oil temps rising above 250 degrees at Sebring. As there is little info available on these cars I did some homework. I found out the oil filter housing on the N52 has the same part number as the N54. A little further digging and I found you could mount the N54 oil thermostat housing to the N52 oil filter housing which allows you to hook up an oil cooler. The only other mod required was to block the coolant line that fed the N52 heat exchanger. While on that topic it must be noted the N52 oil cooler isn't a cooler, its a water/oil heat exchanger whose function is heat up the engine faster to meet smog requirements.
The first picture shows the stock heat exchanger
The second picture shows the oil cooler thermostat housing install
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      01-04-2018, 11:20 AM   #2
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The BMW oil cooler and lines for the N54 costs a fortune so I assembled and built my own installation. After removing the bumper I removed a section of the wheel well and installed a louvered panel to allow air flowing through the oil cooler to escape into the wheel well.
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      01-04-2018, 11:22 AM   #3
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I made my own brackets to support the oil cooler. The only mod I had to make was to install two 1/4" inserts into the aluminum frame rail
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      01-04-2018, 11:28 AM   #4
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My car was a European delivery model which came with headlight washers. This caused a problem because of the space and position of the washers. I had to mount the oil cooler off to the side from the air entry and at the rear of the area available. I chose a Setrab 19 row, 2" wide cooler as it matched the size of the air opening in the grill. I made the mounting brackets from aluminum. One end attached to the frame rail. The other end i attached to an existing frame mount, probably for the factory cooler
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      01-04-2018, 11:33 AM   #5
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As the oil cooler was offset from the grill opening and the area where the cooler was not sealed I had to add air flow shields to direct the air to the oil cooler
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      01-04-2018, 11:36 AM   #6
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The factory grill is a solid piece that blocks any air flow into the area. I removed the grill plate and cut out the solid area. I then added a grill to allow air flow through the grill while still keeping an almost stock appearance
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      01-04-2018, 11:40 AM   #7
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The headlight washers were still a problem. I had to further rim the air shields to clear the washer and hose
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Last edited by Vetracr; 01-04-2018 at 12:04 PM..
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      01-04-2018, 11:42 AM   #8
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As I noted earlier when you remove the factory oil/water heat exchanger you have to cap the water outlet on the feed line to the water pump. a 5/8" Dorman hose cap fits perfectly.
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      01-04-2018, 11:44 AM   #9
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When completed the front of the car looks as shown below. Most people will never notice the change. FYI The line you see below the car is my connection to a battery tender.
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Last edited by Vetracr; 01-04-2018 at 12:03 PM..
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      01-04-2018, 11:55 AM   #10
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Some follow on notes.
Make sure you leave slack in the hose lines to allow for any engine movement.
Fill the oil cooler and the lines with oil before connecting them to the oil thermostat. This can be tricky with bottom outlets on the cooler. I connected one hose line to the cooler and flipped it upside down so I could add oil to the cooler. When the cooler was full. I then attached the second line to the cooler, flipped it over and bolted it in place. I then filled the hoses with oil before attaching them to the oil thermostat. The cooler and hose lines took almost a quart of oil so there will be 8 quarts of oil circulating instead of the factory 7 quarts.
I kept the factory oil thermostat so the engine would heat up the same way as an N54 engine would. The thermostat starts to open at 240 degrees which is just what I wanted.
Its been too cold in Florida to test the new install so I'll have to wait until things thaw out to find out how well cooler will work.
BTW, the whole installation cost me less than half the cost of the BMW cooler.

Last edited by Vetracr; 01-04-2018 at 12:02 PM..
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      01-04-2018, 04:22 PM   #11
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Looks like solid work, great job!
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      01-11-2018, 07:31 AM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Vetracr View Post
Some follow on notes.
The cooler and hose lines took almost a quart of oil so there will be 8 quarts of oil circulating instead of the factory 7 quarts.
But you still drain and fill with 7 because you can't drain the cooler, right?
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      01-11-2018, 07:51 AM   #13
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Correct. You can't drain and refill oil cooler but I change oil and filter after every track event so its not a problem. No different than N54 oil cooler.
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      01-20-2020, 10:04 AM   #14
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hi. I'm interested in your job.
where you get that cap? ebay or amazon?
Please let me know where you bought it or the Url.
thanks
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      01-28-2020, 01:33 PM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jay17 View Post
hi. I'm interested in your job.
where you get that cap? ebay or amazon?
Please let me know where you bought it or the Url.
thanks
Jay,

I purchased 5/8" Dorman cap for water pump outlet at NAPA auto parts store.
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      06-27-2020, 08:55 PM   #16
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Hey guys! Sorry to jump in out of nowhere BUT I am soooo lost right now. The past few days I've been working on my 2006 bmw z4 3.0i (N52) . I could go on forever with how many things I've done to it, but the problem I'm having is lack of knowledge right now.

I've googled diagrams but no such luck. I want to install a oil cooler kit, I've found a neat spot for it and a perfect kit to fit. The kit comes with 2 hoses and I've heard conflicting stories about if I should install a thermostat with it or not? That in itself is confusing the daylights out of me.

Heres my concerns, where the heck do you put a thermostate? Is it needed? And when you mentioned caping the water outlet would that be detrimental?

I found the block off plate online I have also found the N54 plate that will fit perfectly as you mentioned. At durat glance there is 2 holes and I haven't the slightest idea if thoss are both outlets or Inlet/outlet. The stock cooler only has one hose? Right?

Forgive my newbie questions I just don't want to mess anything up and your pictures are exactly what i plan on doing just in a different position. I plan to remove the housing tonight to give me more of an idea.

Any step by step instructions would be awsone or atleast the basics because I have 0 idea.
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      06-28-2020, 08:44 AM   #17
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After looking last night I saw that the line coming from the oil housing splits on it's way to the main thermostat by the water pump- one line goes to water pump another goes to the bottom left inlet to radiator. (If standing infront of the car)

This splitter is the part I'm wondering what to do here. Any help would be great!
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      08-24-2020, 03:19 AM   #18
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Hi, I really like your work on your car. Question, the Bypass Cap did you used to block the coolant feed line that fed the N52 heat exchanger, right? I don't see any picture that how you block this hose line. Thank you!
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