I've just put an Atlantic-British rebuilt short block in my 2003 D2, and I'm going to add an oil cooler to help it last a while. I've got a couple of questions for people who have done this.

As near as I can figure out, the 2003/04 are missing a "pressure relief valve" for the oil cooler on the cover plate. What the heck does that do, and what problem am I introducing if I hook a cooler up to the oil ports on the cover plate?

Also, I'm thinking about putting a fluid-control thermostat in, to let the oil get up to operating temperature before opening the oil cooler circuit. The question is, what is operating temperature? If anybody has an oil cooler and an oil temperature gauge, what kind of temps do you see under light load?

Thanks for any help you can give me.

 

Your front cover is compatible with the stock oil cooler lines from a 99-02. No valve issues.

Don't overthink it, install stock lines and if you can find it a 03/04 Trans cooler as the oil cooler (it's bigger). Forget the fluid valve thermostat.

I've done a few and sold the kit to forum members, plug and play.

 

Thanks abran, I probably will buy one of your kits. But what is the difference between the 2003/4 front cover and the 2002 and earlier? I can see that they're not the same, and it's got something to do with the oil cooler delete.

 

03/04 has 2 plugs screwed in the oil cooler ports, earlier doesn't have the plugs but actual cooler lines installed.

Just to be clear, I don't have any kits, I just have coolers. The lines new are quite expensive if you can find them. I'm out of used lines.

 

I found a brand new oil cooler and used lines off Ebay and paid like 150.00 for everything. took about 45 minutes total. hardest part was figuring out how the lines went from cover to the cooler. They both actually come out and up. There should already be clamps, to clamp onto the lines on your engine. The one on the right is a double clamp and one side is available for the oil cooler. Cant remember if tranny line or power steering line is on the other side of the double clamp. Land Rover just stopped installing them, but slot for mounting the cooler is still there.

 

Trans cooler line is on the other side of the double clamp. I was just messing with it today installing my secondary trans cooler.

 

Uh, yeah. Looks like I'm going to be making up my own lines for the oil cooler. What type of fittings are on the ends?

 

I have a few front covers and the older ones have a different thread and size for the oil sender than the newer ones. Or vice versa, I can't remember which.

 

The connection to the front cover is obviously just a pipe thread, probably 1/2-inch. The fitting at the cooler is a plastic quick-disconnect. If you want to build your own lines you will need the plug from the front cover to match a male fitting, then the actual cooler to match a female disconnect. Rover Cannibal quoted the lines, used, at $45 each but they will come down on that price. Get new O-rings for the oil cooler where the disconnects attach.

 

Your line-to-cooler fitting will be something like this. Just measure the pipe size on cooler and order corresponding disconnect and fitting to front cover will be NPT same as the plug in your cover now